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Iraq offers report on nerve agentLetter is expected to outline test to prove it destroyed VX
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraq has delivered U.N. weapons inspectors a report on VX nerve agent, the United Nations confirmed Friday evening. The 20-page technical letter, written in Arabic, has not been studied but is expected to describe a scientific process by which inspectors could prove that Iraq disposed of its stockpile of the toxic chemical agent. If that proves true, it would be the second time Iraq has offered the United Nations suggestions for a technique to prove that chemical and biological weapons have been destroyed. Last month, Iraq offered technical and analytical advice for how inspectors might use DNA testing of soil samples to measure the amount of VX that Iraq says it poured into the ground 12 years ago. Chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix said in his February 14 report to the Security Council that he was not hopeful such methods could accurately measure the VX. He said inspectors need documentary evidence and testimony from the Iraqis who took part in the disposal. Blix's office confirmed that the report had been received and described the document as a "whole heap of Arabic and English." Mohammed Aldouri, Iraq's ambassador to the United Nations, delivered the documents to Blix's office but said he could not provide details about their contents. Aldouri said the documents were part of an effort by Iraq to demonstrate "that Iraq is really clean of any mass destruction weapons." Aldouri said a copy of the letter was also turned over to U.N. inspectors in Baghdad. The United Nations has been waiting for months for Iraq to provide information that could prove what happened to chemical and biological weapons it possessed in the 1990s. As much as 1,000 tons of VX are unaccounted for. Iraq also cannot account for as much as 2,245 gallons [8,500 liters] of anthrax. VX, a colorless liquid that turns into gas, prevents the transmission of nerve signals, causing loss of muscle control, respiratory paralysis and death. Anthrax is an acute infectious disease caused by the spore-forming bacterium Bacillus anthracis. The spore produces a toxin that can be fatal. Blix said in his report to the Security Council last month that Iraq's inability to prove it destroyed its stock of chemical and biological weapons is "perhaps the most important problem we are facing." Proof that Iraq destroyed its VX and anthrax stocks is included in the six benchmarks proposed by Britain as a way to measure Iraq's compliance with U.N. resolutions. It is also one of five conditions presented in a compromise proposed by Chile. (Full story) Iraqi compliance has divided the Security Council since shortly after it sent weapons inspectors back into the country to look for signs of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons program, which Iraq was ordered to dismantle in the agreement that ended the Persian Gulf War in 1991. Iraq said it has destroyed the weapons but has not been able to prove it in the case of the VX and anthrax. "Although I can understand that it may not be easy for Iraq in all cases to provide the evidence needed, it is not the task of the inspectors to find it. Iraq itself must squarely tackle this task and avoid belittling the questions," Blix said. Iraqi Air Force documents found by inspectors in 1998 show that Iraq dropped more than 13,000 chemical bombs during the Iraq-Iran War that lasted from 1983-1988. Iraq previously claimed that 19,500 bombs were used, which could mean that 3,500 bombs -- with more than 1,000 tons of VX -- are unaccounted for. In a report to the Security Council on January 27, Blix called VX nerve agent one of the most toxic ever developed. Inspectors also await evidence from Iraq that it disposed of its anthrax. Iraq officials have said that report could come within days.
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