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Tracking Inspections in Iraq

RFE/L

12 FEBRUARY 2003

      The Iraqi Foreign Ministry announced in its 12 February briefing that the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) permitted two private interviews conducted on that day were recorded at the request of the interviewees. UNMOVIC did not acknowledge that it recorded the interviews in its daily briefing. Another two interviews were cancelled by UNMOVIC, according to the Foreign Ministry, because the interviewees requested that the interviews be recorded, and in these two instances, UNMOVIC declined to do so. UNMOVIC noted that it refused to interview an Iraqi senior biologist because he did not agree to the UNMOVIC format. It did not make any reference to a second cancelled interview.
      According to the Iraqi Foreign Ministry, the first recorded interview was with a retired Iraqi ambassador. The interview had been requested by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on 9 February, but the ambassador was in Jordan at the time. He returned and was interviewed by IAEA inspectors at the Foreign Ministry building in Baghdad. The interview concerned U.S. allegations that Iraq imported uranium from Niger after 1998, according to the Iraqi Foreign Ministry. UNMOVIC stated that it interviewed a "senior Iraqi diplomat."
      The second recorded interview was with an Iraqi scientist, the Foreign Ministry stated. UNMOVIC stated in its daily briefing that the IAEA interviewed an Iraqi scientist "connected to Iraq's former centrifuge program."
      A team of three IAEA inspectors went to the Saddam State Company, an affiliate of the Iraqi Military Industrialization Organization (MIO) located in Amiriyat Al-Falluja, some 80 kilometers northwest of Baghdad, according to the Iraqi Foreign Ministry. The team of inspectors installed an air sampler inside the company and inspected the Ibn Al-Haytham Factory and the Al-Shahid Factory, which belong to the Saddam State Company, the ministry added. UNMOVIC acknowledged this inspection but did not identify the site by name.
      The Iraqi Foreign Ministry stated that a second team of three inspectors conducted car-borne radiation surveys in the following areas: agricultural areas adjacent to the Tigris River in Al-Tarmiyah, north of Baghdad; the Al-Amal Factory belonging to the Ibn Sina State Company (the ministry added that an air sampler was installed in the factory) and an adjacent agricultural area; the Ibn Sina State Company complex, including its internal roads, destroyed and occupied buildings, and production facilities.
      A UNMOVIC team of seven chemical inspectors went to the Al-Qadisiyah Water Project belonging to the Baghdad Municipality, where they questioned the director about changes at the project since 1998, its production capacity, and about new equipment procured by the facility.
      The Iraqi Foreign Ministry reported that the same team of inspectors visited the Al-Mahmudiyah Water Project belonging to the Public Water and Sewage Department. Al-Mahmudiyah is south of Baghdad. Inspectors asked the project manager about the water treatment method used, as well as about chlorine consumption, and the rate of chlorine added to the water, the ministry added. Inspectors also inquired about personnel and plant suppliers, and searched the plant, the ministry added.
      UNMOVIC noted in its daily briefing that the visits to the two above-mentioned water-treatment facilities were to conduct baseline inspections.
      A second team of 20 chemical inspectors returned to Al-Muthanna to continue the process of destroying 155-millimeter artillery shells. According to the Iraqi Foreign Ministry, the day's activities were cancelled by UNMOVIC due to technical problems, "although Iraq offered all the facilities needed to complete this process." However, UNMOVIC stated that inspectors "began the process of destroying 10 155-millimeter artillery shells and four plastic containers filled with mustard gas," adding that the process will continue for several days.
      A team of five missile inspectors flew to the Jabir bin-Hayyan State Company (MIO owned) located in the Ninawa Governorate, the Foreign Ministry stated. Inspectors asked the director-general about the company's role in "producing parts used in the Al-Sumud missile." Inspectors toured workshops, warehouses, and buildings, the ministry added. UNMOVIC noted that the purpose of the inspection was to verify Iraq's declarations on the site and to establish a comprehensive monitoring mechanism. The site produces seals and gaskets for the Al-Sumud missile, UNMOVIC added.

Copyright (c) 2003. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org