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Tracking Inspections in Iraq

RFE/L

9 MARCH 2003

      A team of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors went to the State Company for Systems, which is an affiliate of the Iraqi Ministry of Industry, according to the Foreign Ministry. The inspectors questioned the company manager about the activities of the company as well as the company's structure and number of personnel before touring the site, the Foreign Ministry reported. The UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) stated that the company produces electronic control equipment, but did not elaborate.
      A second IAEA inspection team performed a hand-held and a car-borne radiation survey of several areas in the Jarf Al-Naddaf complex, the Foreign Ministry stated. UNMOVIC added that inspectors surveyed the inside of buildings with radiation detectors, including: "warehouses engaged in seed and grain sorting and handling; a small plastic water pipe factory with an adjacent family residence; a builder's yard; empty warehouses; and a large modern plastic bag manufacturing building."
      A UNMOVIC missile inspection team returned to the Al-Taji Technical Battalion to observe the destruction of six additional Al-Sumud 2 missiles and 11 warheads, according to both UNMOVIC and the Foreign Ministry. UNMOVIC also noted in its briefing that, to date, a total of 46 Al-Sumud 2 missiles, 16 warheads, one launcher, and five engines have been destroyed.
      A second missile inspection team went to the Al-Fatah Factory belonging to the Al-Karamah State Company, where inspectors inventoried Al-Sumud 2 missile components before their transport to Al-Taji for destruction, the Foreign Ministry stated. UNMOVIC noted that inspectors destroyed "some mechanical parts of the guidance and control assemblies" for Al-Sumud 2 missiles.
      A third team of missile inspectors went to the Al-Qa'qa State Company where they asked company officials about Iraqi declarations regarding a dual-fuel factory at the site and other issues. The inspectors also put adhesive tape on the Al-Sumud 2 warhead tags "to protect them against heat," according to the Foreign Ministry. UNMOVIC stated that inspectors first went to the Al-Qa'qa storage site and then proceeded to the Al-Qa'qa solid-propellant production plant.
      A chemical inspection team went to the Tadmur Tanning Company, which the Foreign Ministry states is a private-sector firm. The ministry added that inspectors discovered that the company has not operated for 1 1/2 years, but added that the inspectors questioned workers at the site about chemical materials stored there and toured the site. UNMOVIC reported that the company is located approximately 50 kilometers southeast of Baghdad and "had been declared as using declarable chemicals." UNMOVIC confirmed that the company was no longer in operation.
      A biological inspection team returned to Al-Aziziyah Airfield and Firing Range to number artillery shells and fragments excavated on that day, according to the Foreign Ministry. UNMOVIC reported, however that the inspectors supervised the transfer of excavated R-400 bombs and their fragments to "a more secure area of the site."
      A Baghdad-based joint inspection team went to the Air Force Weapons Test Range, which the Foreign Ministry states is an affiliate of the Saddam Airbase. The inspectors asked officials at the site about the number of personnel working there and the date of the last experiment at the site, the ministry added. UNMOVIC made no mention of this inspection in its briefing.
      A Mosul-based joint inspection team went to the Arab Gulf Company for Envelopes, Ltd., which the Foreign Ministry identified as a private-sector company. The inspectors asked unidentified people at the company about the company's activities, its production capacity, and the quantity of paper used before visiting the production line. "It is worth noting that the Company is specialized in producing letter envelopes," the Foreign Ministry stated. UNMOVIC did not mention this inspection but stated that inspectors in Mosul visited several storage areas northwest of Kirkuk.
      UNMOVIC stated that the IAEA held a completely private interview with an Iraqi scientist on 9 March. Unlike UNMOVIC, which refuses to do so, the IAEA had been allowing its interviewees to record their interviews.

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