Cablegate: Un/Iraq: Iraq Sends Letter Pre-Emptively Taking

O 060021Z FEB 03
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3591
INFO IRAQ COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
CIA WASHDC IMMEDIATE
DIA WASHDC IMMEDIATE
JOINT STAFF WASHDC//J5/DDPMAW// IMMEDIATE
JOINT STAFF WASHDC//J5/UNMA// IMMEDIATE
NSC WASHDC IMMEDIATE
OSD WASHDC IMMEDIATE
SECDEF WASHDC IMMEDIATE
WHITEHOUSE WASHDC IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 USUN NEW YORK 000298

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PARM UNSC IZ
SUBJECT: UN/IRAQ: IRAQ SENDS LETTER PRE-EMPTIVELY TAKING
ISSUE WITH THE SECRETARY'S FEBRUARY 5 PRESENTATION

1. (U) IRAQI FM NAJI SABRI SUBMITTED THE FOLLOWING LETTER TO
THE SECURITY COUNCIL (S/2003/132), CONCERNING THE U.S.
PRESENTATION TO THE COUNCIL ON FEBRUARY 5. THE FULL TEXT OF
THE LETTER FOLLOWS IN PARA 2.

2. (U) BEGIN TEXT.

THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES HAS ANNOUNCED THAT IT HAS
CALLED FOR A MEETING OF THE SECURITY COUNCIL ON 5 FEBRUARY
2003 AT WHICH UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE COLIN POWELL
WILL PRESENT WHAT HAS BEEN DUBBED "EVIDENCE OF IRAQ'S
POSSESSION OF WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION."

THIS PLAY-ACTING HAS BECOME TRANSPARENT AFTER THE SUBMISSION
BY THE UNITED STATES OF MORE THAN ONE REPORT FILLED WITH
ALLEGATIONS AND ACCUSATIONS DEVOID OF ANY EVIDENCE TO
SUBSTANTIATE THEM, SUCH AS THE REPORT ANNEXED TO THE SPEECH
OF UNITED STATES PRESIDENT BUSH BEFORE THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
ON 12 SEPTEMBER 2002, ENTITLED "A DECADE OF DECEPTION AND
DEFIANCE," AND THE REPORT OF THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
(CIA) OF OCTOBER 2002, ENTITLED "IRAQ'S WEAPONS OF MASS
DESTRUCTION PROGRAMS." IN BOTH THOSE REPORTS, THE BUSH
ADMINISTRATION ACCUSED IRAQ OF DEVELOPING WEAPONS OF MASS
DESTRUCTION AT MORE THAN 50 SITES. BRITISH PRIME MINISTER
TONY BLAIR HAS PLAYED A SUPPORTING ROLE IN THIS REGARD,
PUBLISHING A SIMILAR REPORT IN OCTOBER 2002 IN WHICH HE
CLAIMED THAT THERE EXISTED SPECIFIC SITES IN IRAQ AT WHICH
WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION WERE BEING DEVELOPED.

AFTER IRAQ ACCEPTED THE RETURN OF THE INSPECTORS ON 16
SEPTEMBER 2002 AND AGREED TO DEAL WITH SECURITY COUNCIL
RESOLUTION 1441 (2002), THE UNITED NATIONS MONITORING,
VERIFICATION AND INSPECTION COMMISSION (UNMOVIC) AND THE
INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY (IAEA) WERE REQUESTED TO
ACCORD PRIORITY, IN RESUMING INSPECTIONS, TO SITES ALLEGED BY
THE UNITED STATES AND BRITAIN TO BE DEVELOPING WEAPONS OF
MASS DESTRUCTION PROGRAMMES.

INSPECTION WORK BEGAN ON 27 NOVEMBER 2002. AFTER TWO MONTHS
OF INTENSIVE INSPECTIONS INVOLVING THE USE OF
STATE-OF-THE-ART EQUIPMENT FOR DETECTING ANY PROSCRIBED
NUCLEAR, CHEMICAL OR BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY AND THE ANALYSIS OF
WATER, SOIL AND AIR SAMPLES ALL OVER IRAQ DURING 518 TOURS OF
INSPECTION COMPRISING ALL THE SITES THAT WERE THE OBJECT OF
PRESIDENT BUSH'S AND PRIME MINISTER BLAIR'S ACCUSATIONS, AS
WELL AS NUMEROUS OTHER SITES, INCLUDING RESIDENTIAL QUARTERS
IN IRAQI CITIES, THE REPORT OF MESSRS. BLIX AND ELBARADEI,
SUBMITTED TO THE SECURITY COUNCIL ON 27 JANUARY 2003,
SUBSTANTIATED IRAQ'S DECLARATIONS AND CONSEQUENTLY CONFIRMED
THAT THE REPORTS OF PRESIDENT BUSH AND PRIME MINISTER BLAIR
WERE DEVOID OF TRUTH AND HAD BEEN DRAFTED IN ORDER TO DISTORT
THE PICTURE OF IRAQ AND CREATE PRETEXTS FOR AGGRESSION
AGAINST IRAQ AND AGAINST THE REGION AS A WHOLE.

PERHAPS THIS FACT EXPLAINS THE URGENT REQUESTS ADDRESSED TO
STATES BY MESSRS. BLIX AND ELBARADEI TO PROVIDE UNMOVIC AND
IAEA WITH VERIFIABLE EVIDENCE OF ANY PROSCRIBED ACTIVITIES,
SUBSTANCES OR MATERIALS IN IRAQ AND THE INSISTENCE OF STATES
MEMBERS OF THE SECURITY COUNCIL THAT THOSE STATES WHICH ARE
ALLEGING THAT IRAQ IS DEVELOPING WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION
SUBMIT THEIR EVIDENCE TO UNMOVIC AND IAEA PURSUANT TO
PARAGRAPH 10 OF RESOLUTION 1441 (2002), WHICH READS,
"REQUESTS ALL MEMBER STATES TO GIVE FULL SUPPORT TO UNMOVIC
AND THE IAEA IN THE DISCHARGE OF THEIR MANDATES, INCLUDING BY
PROVIDING ANY INFORMATION RELATED TO PROHIBITED PROGRAMMES OR
OTHER ASPECTS OF THEIR MANDATES ..."

ON THE BASIS OF THE ABOVE TEXT, CONTAINED IN THE SECURITY
COUNCIL RESOLUTION, WE REQUEST THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED
STATES, THROUGH YOU, TO SUBMIT IMMEDIATELY ITS ALLEGED
EVIDENCE TO THE TECHNICAL COMMITTEE ENTRUSTED BY THE UNITED
NATIONS WITH VERIFYING SUCH ALLEGATIONS, NAMELY UNMOVIC (IF
THEY RELATE TO PROSCRIBED ACTIVITIES IN THE CHEMICAL,
BIOLOGICAL OR MISSILE FIELDS) OR IAEA (IF THEY RELATE TO
PROSCRIBED ACTIVITIES IN THE NUCLEAR FIELD), SO AS TO ENABLE
THE TWO ORGANIZATIONS TO BEGIN THEIR INVESTIGATIONS
IMMEDIATELY AND INFORM THE SECURITY COUNCIL AND THE
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY OF THE EXTENT TO WHICH THOSE
ALLEGATIONS ARE CORRECT.

IN THIS CONNECTION, WE CAUTION AGAINST USING THE GENERAL
ASSEMBLY OR THE SECURITY COUNCIL AS FORUMS FOR SPREADING
FALSE ACCUSATIONS AND FABRICATED EVIDENCE IN OPEN DISREGARD
FOR THE MECHANISMS PRESCRIBED BY THE SECURITY COUNCIL

UNCLASSIFIED

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