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Weapons inspectors to Iraqis: 'Give us what we need'
LARNACA, Cyprus (CNN) -- The United Nations' chief weapons inspectors appealed to Iraqi officials Saturday to be more forthcoming about the country's weapons of mass destruction or face "serious consequences" when the Security Council meets January 27 to assess the inspectors' progress. "We are making a last-ditch effort before the 27th of January to impress upon them: 'This is an opportunity, don't lose that opportunity. Give us what we need to be able to report positively to the Security Council,'" said Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear agency. He added, "If we continue to say we are not able to exclude that you have weapons of mass destruction, that's not sufficient for the Security Council, and that is the beginning of what the Security Council talked about -- serious consequences." Meanwhile in Iraq, U.N. inspectors returned Saturday to an ammunition storage area outside of Baghdad where 12 empty chemical warheads were discovered two days ago. The U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission team found the 122 mm warheads Thursday at the Ukhaider ammunition storage area about 150 kilometers southwest of Baghdad. The empty warheads were uncovered in a large group of bunkers constructed in the late 1990s. At least 11 of the warheads had never been loaded with chemicals; inspectors ordered further tests on the 12th to see if it had ever been loaded. Iraqi officials accused the United Nations of seizing on the discovery as a "pretext" to launch a U.S.-led war on Iraq. Blix played down the find on Friday, saying "it's not something so important" since the missiles were empty, and still on Saturday did not characterize the discovery as significant. (Full story) U.S. President George W. Bush, however, said the discovery was "troubling and serious" and a sign that Iraq is not disarming, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Friday. (Full story) Bush has threatened military action against Iraq if it refuses to abide by United Nations resolutions calling for it to disarm itself of weapons of mass destruction. Baghdad has repeatedly denied possessing such chemical, nuclear or biological weapons. An Iraqi scientist Saturday described what he called "Mafia-like" tactics employed by U.N. inspectors who searched his house and allegedly used his wife's illness to convince him to leave the country. Physicist Faleh Hassan Al Basri said the inspection -- one of two Thursday at the private homes of Iraqi scientists -- was unnecessarily intrusive and included a search of the bedroom where his ailing wife lay in bed. Al Basri said an American female inspector told him the United Nations could help expedite his departure along with his wife, who has diabetes, high blood pressure and kidney stones. Al Basri said he would never agree to leave his country. ElBaradei dismissed the scientist's criticism, telling CNN the inspection was carried out "in a professional way." Protests against a possible U.S.-led war on Iraq were held Saturday in the United States (Full story) and in several other nations. (Full story) Meanwhile, the leader of the U.N. inspection team in Baghdad, Dimitri Perricos, joined biological experts Saturday at a quality control site where all of Iraq's food products are stored, tested and distributed in rations. The inspection team spent about three hours at the food production and testing site, run by the Iraqi government in central Baghdad. They took samples and inspected two large trucks, one of which was a mobile laboratory, according to the director of the facility.
The inspections come a day before a visit to the Iraqi capital by Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei. Both Blix and ElBaradei said they would demand more proactive cooperation from Iraq. "Iraq has to come forward and take a proactive approach to prove they are clean," ElBaradei said Friday. "If they do that, there is a light at the end of the tunnel for them and they can become a full member of the international community." Iraq insists it has fully cooperated with inspectors, even providing access to presidential palaces and the homes of scientists in recent days. Other U.N. weapons inspection teams visited at least six other sites across Iraq Saturday, according to Iraq's Ministry of Information: A chemical team visited Al Qaqaa complex in Yousefiya, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of Baghdad. Previously, Iraq's nuclear program used the site for the production of high explosive lenses, detonators and propellants for nuclear weapons.
A biological team went to Al Koufa College of Medicine, about 150 kilometers (93 miles) southwest of Baghdad. A nuclear team visited Baghdad University's science department. A joint team inspected Al Nuaman Company, located at the Al Rasheed military camp about 11 kilometers (7 miles) southeast of Baghdad. A joint team went to an ammunition warehouse in Al Ukhadher, near the city of Karbala about 150 kilometers (93 miles) south of Baghdad. A nuclear team went to Al Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Center about 10 kilometers (6 miles) south of Baghdad. Several tons of uranium have been under seal at Al Tuwaitha since the previous round of inspections ended in 1998. The United States and other nations have long suspected Iraq of using the Al Tuwaitha compound in Salman Bak to develop nuclear weapons capability. It was bombed by Israel in 1981 and by the U.S. military during the Gulf War. Recent satellite photos have shown construction at the site. The complex includes more than 100 buildings. U.N. teams have visited the site at least four times since inspections resumed in November, carrying out a detailed inventory.
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