Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

Operations
Deployments
US Policy
United Nations
Reconstruction Issues
Foreign Reactions
News Reports

Current Operations

• Transcript: Background Briefing on IAEA Nuclear Safeguards and the Tuwaitha Facility 05 Jun 2003 -- Background briefing on the upcoming IAEA nuclear safeguards inspection and the Tuwaitha Nuclear Facility in Iraq

• SEVERAL IRAQIS WOUNDED IN ACCIDENTAL DISCHARGE CENTCOM 05 Jun 2003 -- A U.S. soldier injured four Iraqis when he unintentionally discharged several rounds (exact count unknown) from his M-240 medium machine gun while picking the weapon up in Baghdad Wednesday afternoon.
• TWO SOLDIERS WOUNDED WHILE GUARDING BAGHDAD BANK CENTCOM 05 Jun 2003 -- Two soldiers were wounded by two assailants with pistols while guarding a bank in Central Baghdad Thursday morning.
• Coalition to Aid U.N. Inspectors at Iraqi Nuke Storage Site AFPS 05 Jun 2003 -- Coalition forces will assist International Atomic Energy Agency officials as they inspect the Iraqi nuclear storage facility near Baghdad, DoD officials said today.
• PENTAGON / IRAQ / NUCLEAR VOA 05 Jun 2003 -- U-S troops in Iraq are preparing to escort a group of inspectors from the U-N nuclear agency to Iraq's main nuclear research center at Tuwaitha, outside Baghdad.
• One Soldier Killed, Five Wounded in Fallujah Attack AFPS 05 Jun 2003 -- One soldier was killed and five wounded in an attack in the Baath party stronghold of Fallujah early today local time, U.S. Central Command officials said.
• Bush Praises Coalition Troops During Qatar Visit AFPS 05 Jun 2003 -- President Bush thanked coalition service members for enlarging "the realm of liberty" during a stop in Qatar today.
• COALITION AND IRAQI POLICE WORK TO MAKE IRAQ SECURE ( June 5, 2003) CENTCOM 05 Jun 2003 -- Coalition Forces continue to aggressively patrol Iraq to eliminate crimes against people and property, rid populated areas of weapons, ammunition and explosives, and stopping the black market trade in fuel and other commodities.
• COALITION EFFORTS AID IRAQ'S RECOVERY (June 5, 2003) CENTCOM 05 Jun 2003 -- Coalition Forces continue to assist in developing a safer and more secure environment in Iraq through the following activities.
• US SOLDIER KILLED, FIVE WOUNDED IN AL FALLUJAH CENTCOM 05 Jun 2003 -- One soldier was killed and five were wounded early Thursday morning in Al Fallujah when an unknown assailant fired at them with a rocket-propelled grenade.
• Coalition and Iraqi Police Work to Make Iraq Secure ARCENT CJTF-7 05 Jun 2003
• Several Iraqis wounded in Accidental Discharge ARCENT CJTF-7 05 Jun 2003
• Coalition Efforts Aid Iraq's Recovery ARCENT CJTF-7 05 Jun 2003
• US Soldier Killed, Five Wounded in Al Fallujah ARCENT CJTF-7 05 Jun 2003
• Two Soldiers Wounded While Guarding Baghdad Bank ARCENT CJTF-7 05 Jun 2003

Deployments

US Policy

• Bush Says U.S. Will "Reveal the Truth" about WMD in Iraq Washington File 05 Jun 2003 -- President Bush said June 5 that the United States and its coalition partners have "made sure that Iraq is not going to serve as an arsenal" of weapons of mass destruction for terrorist groups.
• Bush Praises Qatar's Steadfast Friendship and Leadership Washington File 05 Jun 2003 -- Greeted upon his arrival in Qatar June 5 by Amir Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, President Bush thanked the amir for Qatar's steadfast friendship.
• PENTAGON / RUMSFELD VOA 05 Jun 2003 -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has met with members of Congress to answer questions about the Bush administration's pre-war claims about Iraq's chemical and biological weapons programs.
• BUSH-IRAQ VOA 05 Jun 2003 -- President Bush says the U-S led military mission in Iraq has been accomplished, even though the search continues for hidden Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. He spoke at a air base in Qatar, before a crowd of cheering U-S military personnel.

United Nations

• International Inspection of Iraqi Nuclear Facility Set To Begin Washington File 05 Jun 2003 -- A senior U.S. defense official says that the core of the Iraqi nuclear facility at Tuwaitha has been secure since April 7, and U.S. military forces will now support an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team that will begin inspections there on June 7.
• U.S. Does Not Rule Out Future Role for U.N. Weapons Inspectors in Iraq Washington File 05 Jun 2003 -- U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Negroponte says although coalition forces presently are carrying out searches for Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, the United States does not rule out the possibility that U.N. weapons inspectors and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) could play a future role in the searches.
• Notes for the briefing of the Security Council on the thirteenth quarterly report of UNMOVIC By Hans Blix, Executive Chairman of UNMOVIC UN News Centre 05 Jun 2003 -- The thirteenth quarterly report of UNMOVIC (document S/2003/580) is before the Council. It covers the period 1 March - 31 May. The Commission carried out inspections in Iraq up to and including Monday 17 March. The day thereafter, Tuesday 18 March, all international staff was withdrawn and the armed action commenced on 19 March.
• Thirteenth quarterly report of the Executive Chairman of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission in accordance with paragraph 12 of Security Council resolution 1284 (1999) United Nations Security Council S/2003/580 30 May 2003 -- The Secretary-General has the honour to transmit to the Security Council the thirteenth quarterly report of the Executive Chairman of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission, which is submitted in accordance with paragraph 12 of Security Council resolution 1284 (1999) of 17 December 1999 (see annex). [PDF 281 Kb]

• Still no conclusions about existence of Iraq's weapons, Blix tells Security Council UN News Centre 05 Jun 2003 -- The top United Nations weapons inspector for Iraq warned today against jumping to the conclusion that weapons of mass destruction existed just because they were unaccounted for, but cautioned also against concluding that such programmes had ended in cases where the previous regime had not accounted for them.
• U-N / IRAQ / WEAPONS VOA 05 Jun 2003 -- Chief U-N weapons inspector Hans Blix told the Security Council (Thursday) that it should be possible to learn the truth about Iraq's weapons, now that Saddam Hussein has been ousted. Mr. Blix delivered his final report to the U-N Security Council, just weeks before he is scheduled to retire.
• Blix Urges UNMOVIC Role To Help Resolve Iraqi WMD Questions RFE/L 05 Jun 2003 -- Chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix (pictured, right) has urged
• IRAN-IRAN: Return programme for Iraqi refugees to take time IRIN 05 Jun 2003 -- The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) remains cautious over repatriating Iraqi refugees from neighbouring Iran following an Iranian government announcement last week on the start of a voluntary repatriation effort.
the UN Security Council to make use of his monitors to help answer lingering questions about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.

Reconstruction Issues

• Humanitarian and Reconstruction Activities Progressing in Iraq Washington File 05 Jun 2003 -- Following is the text of a June 2 update on the current humanitarian situation in Iraq, published by the U.S. Agency for International Development.
• Helping Iraq Rebuild, One Project at a Time AFPS 05 Jun 2003 -- Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has stated that every day conditions in Iraq are getting a bit better.
• Iraq: Few Residents Willing To Bid Farewell To Arms RFE/L 05 Jun 2003 -- Less than a week has passed since U.S. authorities in Iraq began a two-week gun amnesty aimed at restoring safety in the country. But so far the scheme appears to be having little impact. Some 300 weapons have been turned in -- a tiny fraction in a country teeming with guns. Few Iraqis are willing to give up their weapons as long as looting and other crimes continue.
• Iraq: SCIRI Says It Will Seek To Introduce Islamic Order RFE/L 05 Jun 2003 -- Periodic marches in Baghdad by Iraqi Shi'ites demanding an Islamic state underline one of the main tensions in Iraqi politics -- the disagreement between secular and Islamist parties over what kind of society Iraq should be.
• IRAQ: Farmers bemoan insecurity, loss of subsidies IRIN 05 Jun 2003 -- The thick wads of dried chicken droppings crackling underfoot and chicken feathers flying about on the oven-hot breeze are the only signs that this single-storeyed building just south of Basra used to be a poultry farm. Redundant workers squat against a shaded wall, smoking cigarettes, waiting for someone to come, something to do.

Foreign Reactions

• US-RUSSIAN RELATIONS AFTER IRAQ VOA 05 Jun 2003 -- Relations between the United States and Russia were badly shaken by Moscow's opposition to the war in Iraq and by allegations of Russian military and intelligence cooperation with the regime of Saddam Hussein. Do such differences represent a return to cold war animosity, or a temporary setback on the road to a US-Russian strategic partnership?

News Reports