The following is an archived copy of a message sent to a Discussion List run by the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq.
Views expressed in this archived message are those of the author, not of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq.
[Main archive index/search] [List information] [Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq Homepage]
UK Prime Minister Tony Blair continues to ignore UNSCOM/IAEA's 1991-1998 disarmament record. Below find Blair's reported claim that disarmament is only possible with full Government of Iraq (GoI) cooperation. Below Blair's statements find the 1999 Security Council Disarmament Panel Report's conclusion to the contrary. Source: Mike Peacock, "Britain's Blair Slams Franco-German Iraq Plan", Reuters, 25 February 2003, http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=2285661 [begin] Britain's Tony Blair dismissed on Tuesday a Franco-German plan for peaceful disarmament of Iraq, saying it was "absurd" to think U.N. inspectors could find lethal weapons without Baghdad's full cooperation. "The idea that inspectors could conceivably sniff out the weapons...without the help of Iraqi authorities is absurd," the prime minister told parliament. "They are not a detective agency and even if they were Iraq is a country with a land mass roughly the size of France." [end] Source: Report of the First Panel, Established pursuant to the Note by the President of the Security Council on 30 January 1999 (S/1999/100), Concerning Disarmament and Current and Future Ongoing Monitoring and Verification Issues, S/1999/356, 27 March 1999, para. 25, http://www.un.org/Depts/unmovic/documents/Amorim%20Report.htm [begin] [I]n spite of well-known difficult circumstances, UNSCOM and IAEA have been effective in uncovering and destroying many elements of Iraq's proscribed weapons programmes in accordance with the mandate provided by the Security Council. It is the panel's understanding that IAEA has been able to devise a technically coherent picture of Iraq's nuclear weapons programme. UNSCOM has achieved considerable progress in establishing material balances of Iraq's proscribed weapons. Although important elements still have to be resolved, the bulk of Iraq's proscribed weapons programmes has been eliminated. [end] Nathaniel Hurd NGO Consultant on United Nations' Iraq policy Tel. (Mobile): 917-407-3389 Fax: 718-504-4224 Residential/Mailing Address: 90 7th Ave. Apt. #6 Brooklyn, NY 11217 _________________________________________________________________ Help STOP SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail _______________________________________________ Sent via the discussion list of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq. To unsubscribe, visit http://lists.casi.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/casi-discuss To contact the list manager, email casi-discuss-admin@lists.casi.org.uk All postings are archived on CASI's website: http://www.casi.org.uk