- The chief UN weapons inspector yesterday dismissed what
has been billed as a central claim of the speech the US secretary of state,
Colin Powell, will make today to the UN security council.
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- Hans Blix said there was no evidence of mobile biological
weapons laboratories or of Iraq trying to foil inspectors by moving equipment
before his teams arrived.
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- In a series of leaks or previews, the state department
has said Mr Powell will allege that Iraq moved mobile biological weapons
laboratories ahead of an inspection. Dr Blix said he had already inspected
two alleged mobile labs and found nothing: "Two food-testing trucks
have been inspected and nothing has been found."
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- Dr Blix said that the problem of bio-weapons laboratories
on trucks had been around for a while and that he had received tips from
the US that led him to inspect trucks in Iraq. The Iraqis claimed that
the trucks were used to inspect the quality of food production.
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- He also contested the theory that the Iraqis knew in
advance what sites were to be inspected. He added that they expected to
be bugged "by several nations" and took great care not to say
anything Iraqis could overhear.
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- He said he assumed the US secretary of state would not
be indicating sites that the inspectors should visit that he had not told
them about. "It is more likely to be based upon satellite imagery
and upon intercepts of telephone conversations or knowledge about Iraqi
procurement of technical material or chemicals," he said.
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- Dr Blix is travelling to Baghdad for further meetings
with Iraqi officials before reporting to the security council on February
14 and March 1.
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- He said the choice for the UN was between continued containment
and invasion. Both strategies had problems, but an invasion required 250,000
troops and over $100bn while for containment the numbers were 250 inspectors
and $80m.
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- http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,889135,00.html
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- Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited
2003
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