• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

20 December 1998

UNSCOM'S BUTLER SAYS IRAQ IS A NON-PROLIFERATION CHEAT

(Denies alleged collusion with the United States) (370)
By Susan Ellis
USIA Staff Writer
Washington -- Chief United Nations weapons inspector Richard Butler
flatly denied during a December 20 CNN interview charges that he
colluded with the United States when he reported to UN Secretary
General Annan on Iraq's failure to comply with arms inspections.
The report triggered the four nights of air attacks on military
installations in Iraq December 16-19.
Butler said that it was also "plainly untrue" that Iraq "has always
given UNSCOM (the United Nations Special Commission in Iraq) its full
cooperation."
Butler said that "My report last week was given to the Secretary
General under the charge that I must say quite specifically whether or
not Iraq offered full cooperation in the months since they were almost
bombed in November. Every chief inspector on my team made clear that
the answer was 'no,'" Butler said.
"Iraq has been the worst nightmare of those who want to see the
world's non-proliferation regime succeed in the nuclear, chemical and
biological weapon's field because it has presented the key case of the
state which has joined up to some of these treaties but has then
sought to cheat on them," Butler said.
"My concern is that we do find a way to bring Iraq's weapons to
account but more importantly to bring it back into the community of
nations, obeying these treaties so we'll have safe non-proliferation
regimes for the future."
He said the UN Security Council must now consider "what the next step
will be. All members agree that Iraq must keep its disarmament
obligations. What instrument will be used in the future to monitor to
see that they don't make these weapons again is something that the
Council must judge. The present instrument is UNSCOM. We're here,
we're the world's experts in that field, but the Council will decide
how to move forward."
Butler added that Iraq is really a "test case" and should be seen in
its wider context. He said UNSCOM "is there ready to help in that job
if that's what the Security Council wants us to do."