Damning - "False statements, or failure to cooperate fully shall constitute further material breach of Iraq's obligation" is a statement from Resolution 1441. Powell has spent the last ten minutes documenting Iraq's failure to comply.
This is amazing - Powell is showing before and after shots of chemical storage facilities. Before the inspections, the bunkers in the satellite photos showed definite signs of chemical purposes - decontamination equipment and monitoring gear.
After: all the evidence of chemical purposes was gone, just in time for the UN inspection team. Powell says "it seems the Iraqis were being tipped off".
He's now showing a truck caravan at a suspected Bioweapons site, explaining a pattern of such activity at 30-odd other sites. "why would Iraq suddenly move this equipment if they were interested in showing what they had?" Indeed.
Powell's now talking about Iraqi's intransigence in the face of the UN's demand that Iraq allow its scientists to talk with inspectors, even outside Iraq. Iraq declared only about 1/7 of the number of scientists that western intelligence knew of - and the threats against scientists who cooperated. Scientists were also specifically trained in counterintelligence tactics - or in some cases, replaced with Iraqi intelligence officers. The laundry list of evasions relating to the scientists goes on and on...
"The question is...how much longer before we say enough".
Powell's now talking about the weapons themselves.
Posted by Mitch at February 5, 2003 09:57 AM