USA Today November 27, 2002
Iraq: A full-page graphic on what U.N inspectors will do and where they'll look.
United Nations resolutions passed after the 1991 Gulf War -- and updated in a new U.N. resolution Nov. 8 -- require Iraq to end any chemical, biological or nuclear weapons programs. Today, U.N. inspectors are set to begin hunting for banned weapons or weapons production facilities for the first time since they left in December 1998, just ahead of bombing strikes by U.S. and British warplanes. The issue then was Iraqi obstructionism: Inspectors said Iraqi officials were deliberately blocking access to sites, barring interviews with Iraqi scientists and even snatching potentially incriminating documents out of inspectors' hands. Inspectors have said they will begin this time by returning to sites they visited four years ago to check on monitoring equipment they left behind. Visits to higher-profile sites that could spark renewed confrontations with Iraqi officials would come later. The Bush administration has threatened to take military action if Iraq once again obstructs inspectors.
Key dates in the resumption of weapons inspections in Iraq
September 12: President Bush speaks at United Nations, calls on member nations to force Iraq to disarm and threatens U.S. military force if the U.N. won't act.
November 8: U.N. Security Council votes 15-0 to adopt resolution authorizing restart of U.N. weapons inspections, with "serious consequences" if Iraq fails to comply.
November 13: Iraq sends letter to United Nations to say it will admit inspectors.
December 8: Deadline for Iraq to make full declaration of any banned weapons or weapons production sites, including "dual-use" facilities that produce civilian products but could also be used to make weapons.
January 27: Weapons inspectors must report findings to Security Council.
Going in
Inspectors will visit sites that include presidential compounds, declared weapons facilities that were closed during previous inspections, and "dual-use" facilities. To determine which sites will be visited, inspectors used records from 1991-1998 U.N. inspections, current information from U.S. and other intelligence agencies, satellite photos and reams of documents detailing Iraqi imports.
Saddam Hussein's palaces
Inspectors suspect the sprawling compounds could provide weapons storage as well as protection for the nomadic president.
Geography
Most broad plains; marshland in the southeast; mountains along northern border with Turkey and eastern border with Iran. Area: 168,751 square miles
What inspectors will do
Who goes where depends on what sort of site is being looked at. Teams could be as small as two people, while other sites could require several dozen inspectors.
First things first
* A helicopter surveys the facility to watch for any attempt to remove records or equipment before or during the inspection.
* Inspectors take air, soil, and water samples looking for traces of weapons production.
* They speak with site managers and employees on site or move them to a secure location for interviews
* Inspectors spotcheck computers for evidence of prohibited activities, conduct interviews and look at records.
'Dual-use' facility
Inspectors will look at commercial plants that can produce civilian goods but could also produce biological or chemical weapons. For example: The Fallujah III Castor Oil Production Plant produces industrial oil from castor beans. But a byproduct of that process can be used to produce ricin, a lethal bioweapon.
Tell-tale signs of trouble
* Iraqis try to block inspectors from traveling to or entering a site.
* Attempts to hide or remove anythig at the site on that day.
* Evidence that equipment, supplies or records were removed before inspection.
* Tests that reveal that floors, drains, disposal areas and production areas have been sanitized, which could be a sign that officials don't want inspectors to know what was being produced there.
* Sampling that reveals traces in air, soil, or water of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons, or their precursors.
* Discovery of banned weapons or obvious weapons production equipment.
New sites
In the case of new sites, inspectors may seek to install monitoring equipment, such as cameras or sensors, which could be used to ensure Iraq is not concealing prohibited activitites.
Key locations
There are as many as 700 sites to examine. At any one time, about 100 inspectors -- mostly from the United States, France, Russia, China, Australia -- will be working in Iraq. Some key locations (for details, please see microfiche):
Al-Dawrah Foot-and-Mouth Disease Vaccine Facility
Al-Furat
Al-Mamoun Solid Rocket Motor Production Plant
Al-Muhammadiyat
Al-Mutasim Solid Rocket Motor and Test Facility
Al-Muthanna State Establishment
Al-Qa Qaa
Al-Rafah Liquid Propellant Engine Research, Development, Testing and Evaluation Institute
Al-Tuwaitha
Amiriyah Serum and Vaccine Institute
Fallujah II Castor Oil Production Plant
Taji
Equipment
Inspectors will be sending images, data, documents and other information from Iraq to U.N. officials in Vienna and New York. Among the equipment on hand or on the way:
* 35 four-wheel-drive vehicles
* A U.N. C-130 turboprop aircraft to shuttle inspectors between Iraq and Cyprus
* Eight helicopters
Hand-held tech devices
ALEX: The bright-yellow machine is about the size of a small chainsaw. It analyzes the composition of metals to root out traces of substances that can be used in nuclear weapons.
HANAA: Similar to ALEX, it takes minutes to detect traces of anthrax and other lethal germs.
Ranger: The portable radiation detector is not much bigger than a large flashlight. The device is lighter and faster than the bulky machines used in the old days.
About the inspectors
The United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission oversees the inpsections teams. Personnel from the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency will assist in the hunt for an Iraqi nuclear program.
* Weapons inspectors in the commission: 301
* Inspectors in Iraq at any given time: 80-100
* Age range: 25 to 65
* Percentage with previous experience in Iraq: 25%
* Countries represented: 49
Countries with the most inspectors
USA: 31
France: 25
Russia: 22
10 or more: Australia, China, Finland, Germany, Romania and the United Kingdom
Invisible weaponry
Before the 1991 Gulf War, Iraq had large stocks of missiles and chemical and biological weapons. Postwar inspections uncovered and destroyed much of what Iraq had; inspectors will be hunting for what remains or what might have been restored after inspections ended in 1998.
Chemical: VX gas, Mustard gas, Sarin gas
Biological: Anthrax, Botulinum toxin, Ricin
Nuclear
Missile
GRAPHIC: GRAPHIC, B/W, Frank Pompa and Karl Gelles, USA TODAY, Sources: CIA, International Institute for Strategic Studies, Federation of American Scientists, Globalsecurity.org. Arms Control Association, USA TODAY research (ILLUSTRATION, MAP, BAR GRAPH); PHOTO, B/W, Richard Langlois; PHOTO, B/W, Biocentric Solutions Inc.
