Blix sees no evidence Iraq has used banned weapons
27 March – Top United Nations weapons inspector Hans Blix said today he had no evidence that Iraq had used banned
weapons in the current conflict nor did he think they would use them.
Asked by reporters at UN Headquarters in New York about reports that Iraq had used missiles that exceeded the permitted
150-kilometre range, Mr. Blix, Executive Chairman of the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission
(UNMOVIC), said that what he had heard from the United States side was that they had not seen any Scud missiles.
He said his impression was the missiles used were Al Fatah with a range of around 150 kilometres or “a wee bit over.”
Asked whether the use of such missiles was clearly a violation, he said: “No, but the inspectors would like to have
accurate information about it.”
“So far we have not identified or heard from the allies that anything that was proscribed would have been used,” he
added.
Asked whether he was “relieved” that there had not been any apparent use of chemical or biological weapons, which Iraq
has denied having, Mr. Blix said he did not think the Iraqis would use them because then the world would say they were
liars. “In the second place, it would also then change the attitude of the world towards the armed conflict,” he added.
“The scepticism about the armed conflict would, I think, give way to one of greater understanding. So I didn’t think so,
but I may be wrong.”
ENDS