DoD News Briefing
Thursday, February 10, 2000 - 1:30 p.m.
Presenter: Rear Admiral Craig Quigley, DASD PA
ADM. QUIGLEY:
..........
QCraig, western planes launched a third straight day of raids on the northern no-fly zone, and they attacked the South yesterday. Ken said late last year that the Iraqis in fact had appeared to stop challenging planes over these zones. Has this suddenly increased, and do you have a reason for it?
ADM. QUIGLEY: Well, guesses, really, is the only thing that we could contribute. There is no particular uniform level of effort over time. It waxes and wanes.
Most recently, if you go back a month or so ago, we were in Ramadan. And our guess would be that that would be one of the motivations for the sharply decreased level of activity. But it is just a guess. And to a great extent, we've seen previous levels of activity resume.
QSo they do -- but the challenges do appear to be increasing recently?
ADM. QUIGLEY: In the last few weeks, yes.
QDo you see any connection to their complete rejection of the U.N. inspections regime?
ADM. QUIGLEY: No, I don't think so, John. And I say that based on their resumption of challenges to the coalition aircraft predating their statements.
QAnd your actual taking them up on their challenges also is not intended to be a signal in this period?
ADM. QUIGLEY: No. We have said for a long time that we respond to the provocations and attacks on coalition aircraft. We'll do so at a place and a time of our choosing. But if you would stop attacking the coalition aircraft patrolling the northern and southern no-fly zones, there would be no need for coalition aircraft to retaliate.
QNow that the Iraqis have rejected this resolution, where does that leave the world in terms of trying to be able to tell whether Iraq is again building biological and other types of weapons of mass destruction?
ADM. QUIGLEY: Yeah, I see what you mean.
QWhat are your options?
ADM. QUIGLEY: Well, as we've said before, I mean, we share -- the Department of Defense, as well as other elements of the U.S. federal government, is very concerned about our inability to know with precision of what's going on the ground. The resumption of some sort of an inspection regime would certainly go a long way towards alleviating those concerns. I don't think we'll ever be quite perfect in the easing of concerns, but it would be an improvement.
But I can say, at this point, based on Iraq's most recent statements of today, it is a process that is and must be conducted through the U.N., the offices of the U.N. But I'm sure the United States and certainly the Department of Defense would certainly prefer to see and have better knowledge of what's going on than we have today.
QYou still reserve the option, if you have reason to believe that they are again building weapons of mass destruction -- to -- and there are no inspections. What are your options?
ADM. QUIGLEY: Well, we have never made a definitive statement as to what we will or won't do; we'll keep those options open.
QA couple of weeks ago, Ken Bacon said that we didn't know what was going on inside some of those facilities that have been rebuilt. Is there any additional information about what the Iraqis may be up to and if in fact they have reconstituted their ability to produce weapons of mass destruction?
ADM. QUIGLEY: We know that the buildings -- some of the buildings have been rebuilt. But it's a heck of a lot easier to rebuild a building than it is the complex facilities that might go inside those buildings to construct, to assemble, to test any sort of weapons of mass destruction.
So it gets back to the same point, Nick, that we don't know what we don't know, and that makes us uneasy. What you can see is no direct threat. But what's in those facilities is what matters, and that is where our knowledge is lacking.
You have a variety of sources of information. But sometimes it's good information, and sometimes it's wild rumor and speculation. You try to do an analysis, you try to sew the parts together, to allow you to come to as complete an understanding as you can. But there is nothing like direct eyes on the facility itself, from a disinterested third party, to give you that correct and timely information that you seek.
Bob?
QCan I ask you a question about China?
QCan we stay on Iraq?
QSure. Go ahead.
ADM. QUIGLEY: David?
QThis professor at the University of Maryland has written and talked about this, the evidence that suggests there may be a secret underground facility near Baghdad, used to produce viruses that would become parts of -- become biological weapons. Does the Pentagon have any intelligence to suggest that's true?
ADM. QUIGLEY: Well, I can't comment for you on whether or not we have direct intelligence information in that regard. But it does go back to the answer that I was discussing before on just, there is no substitute for being there and seeing things with your own eyes. And it just adds to that sense of doubt and uncertainty and unease, based on Saddam Hussein's demonstrated behavior and stated intentions in the past.
QSo one would think that you might be leaning a little more forward at this point with your level of concern -- not that the U.S. is about to go bomb the Iraqis -- but that your level of concern, I would think, would be going up right now?
ADM. QUIGLEY: Well, we've been concerned for some time, John. But again, I must say that we have no evidence to support that the Iraqis are specifically reconstituting a WMD capability.
Its past actions, its reconstituting or reconstruction and repair of buildings, all circumstantial and historical, if you will, none of which makes us feel very comfortable. But I would be remiss if I said that we could point to specific evidence of a reconstruction of that capability.
QSo you are talking about intelligence, then. While the professor says they're building a large underground facility that may be doing offensive viruses, growing offensive viruses, you seem to be indicating that you don't have that because you have no evidence to support that they're reconstituting weapons of mass destruction.
ADM. QUIGLEY: Correct.
.....................QThank you.
THIS TRANSCRIPT WAS PREPARED BY THE FEDERAL NEWS SERVICE, INC., WASHINGTON DC. FEDERAL NEWS SERVICE IS A PRIVATE COMPANY. FOR OTHER DEFENSE RELATED TRANSCRIPTS NOT AVAILABLE THROUGH THIS SITE, CONTACT FEDERAL NEWS SERVICE AT (202) 347-1400.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
