UN team inspects former chemical weapons facility in Iraq
4 December – United Nations experts probing Iraq for weapons of mass destruction today visited Al-Mutanna, north of
Baghdad, where Iraq once had a chemical weapons (CW) warfare programme.
During past visits to the site before the 1998 suspension of the UN arms probe, thousands of CW shells and agents had
been destroyed by the UN. Dimitri Perricos, the leader of the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspections Commission
(UNMOVIC) inspection team, told reporters today that experts wanted to know if some shells containing mustard gas, which
were left out at the site, were still stored there. Mr. Perricos said that in fact the team had found the shells stored
at the site.
Speaking for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Jacques Baute said his team had conducted an inspection
today at the Tuwaitha site run by the Iraqi Atomic Energy Agency. The experts inspected several major areas at the site
for about five hours in order to review changes that had taken place since December 1998. Those changes included
construction or rehabilitation of some buildings, movement of equipment, and changes in areas of responsibility for site
personnel.
Most of the observed changes had been recorded in the backlog of Iraq's own semi-annual declarations that Baghdad
submitted to the IAEA on 1 October. Mr. Baute added that the inspection team had been able to carry out all the
activities it decided to conduct, with Iraqi cooperation.
Asked about a statement by the Iraqi Foreign Minister voicing concern about the attitude of UN weapons inspectors, Mr.
Perricos said that Iraq had accepted Security Council resolution 1441, and therefore all sites in the country could be
subject to inspection. This Presidential Palace was a presidential guesthouse and the team was looking for documents and
other records used just for weapons of mass destruction.
In response to a question on the upcoming Iraqi declaration, Mr. Baute said that all Iraqi declarations were important.
It would be one component of our knowledge. Other knowledge came from documents and additional information provided by
others.
Responding to another question on the practicality of increasing the number of weapons inspectors, Mr. Perricos said
that "we will be using a multiplicity of teams, utilizing multiple disciplines" to conduct weapons inspection in the
coming weeks.
Asked about achievements so far, Mr. Perricos said that his team, which so far had conducted inspections for only one
week, had implemented the original inspection plan. Mr. Baute added that his team now had better knowledge in the areas
of their concern and would accelerate their activities with more inspectors.
In response to a question on reports that the United States is planning to compare the Iraqi declaration against its own
intelligence, Mr. Perricos said that national intelligence had more information, and that his team had not used that
type of information yet.
Meanwhile in New York, UNMOVIC’s quarterly report to the Security Council was issued today. The report notes that the
first team of experts already in Iraq will be followed by additional groups of inspectors drawn from the Commission’s
roster of trained professionals.
UNMOVIC chief Hans Blix is scheduled to present the report to the Council on Friday during consultations.
BRIEFING TRANSCRIPT
Disarming Iraq
Summary of the UNMOVIC/IAEA Press Briefing on Weapons Inspection Activities in Iraq
4 December
Dimitri Perricos, the leader of the UNMOVIC weapons inspection team and the Director of Planning and Operations of
UNMOVIC, briefed the press on the team’s action today by saying that his team had inspected Al-Mutanna, approximately
140 km north of Baghdad. This was the site where Iraq had had a chemical weapons (CW) warfare programme and thousands of
CW shells and agents had been destroyed by the UN weapons inspectors. The team wanted to know if some shells containing
mustard gas, which were left out at the site, were still stored there. Mr. Perricos said that in fact the team had found
the shells stored at the site.
Jacques Baute, the IAEA Iraq Action Team leader, said that his team had conducted an inspection at the Tuwaitha site run
by the Iraqi Atomic Energy Agency. The team inspected several major areas at the site for about five hours in order to
review changes that had taken place since December 1998. Those changes included construction or rehabilitation of some
buildings, movement of equipment, changes in areas of responsibility for site personnel. Most of the observed changes
had been recorded in the backlog of semi-annual declarations that were submitted to the IAEA on 1 October. Mr. Baute
added that the inspection team had been able to carry out all the activities it decided to conduct, with the cooperation
of the Iraqi counterpart.
Asked about the Iraqi Foreign Minister’s statement in which he expressed concern about the attitude of UN weapons
inspectors, Mr. Perricos said that Iraq had accepted Security Council resolution 1441, and therefore that all sites in
Iraq could be subject to inspection. This Presidential Palace was a presidential guesthouse and the team was looking for
documents and other records used just for weapons of mass destruction.
In response to a question on the upcoming Iraqi declaration, Mr. Baute said that all Iraqi declarations were important.
It would be one component of our knowledge. Other knowledge came from documents and additional information provided by
others.
Responding to another question on the practicality of increasing the number of weapons inspectors, Mr. Perricos said
that “we will be using a multiplicity of teams, utilizing multiple disciplines” to conduct weapons inspection in the
coming weeks.
Asked about achievements so far, Mr. Perricos said that his team had conducted inspections for only one week so far, but
that his team had implemented the original inspection plan. Mr. Baute also said that his team now had better knowledge
in the areas of their concern and would accelerate their inspection activities with more inspectors. He said that the
IAEA report to be submitted to the Security Council would be meaningful.
In response to a question on the report of the United States planning to compare the Iraqi declaration against its own
intelligence report, Mr. Perricos said that national intelligence had more information, and that his team had not used
that type of information yet.
Asked about the time frame after the 60-day report, Mr. Perricos went over the time frame indicated in Security Council
resolution 1284, which should follow the time frame indicated in Security Council resolution 1441.
Hiro Ueki
Spokesman for UNMOVIC and the IAEA in Baghdad