The Hindu : Destroy missiles, says Blix

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 23, 2003

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Destroy missiles, says Blix

UNITED NATIONS FEB. 22. The United Nations Chief Weapons Inspector, Hans Blix, ordered Iraq on Friday to destroy dozens of its missiles with ranges that violate U.N. limits, and gave Baghdad a March 1 deadline to begin the demolition.

His demand that Iraq eliminate the Al Samoud-2 missile system will test Baghdad's willingness to disarm as negotiations enter a crucial stage. Washington has strongly pushed for the destruction of the missiles and all their components.

The United States and Britain are trying to focus the world's attention on illegal Iraqi weapons activities while they prepare a new U.N. resolution that could pave the way for military action. The U.S. Secretary of State, Colin Powell, sought support for the resolution from Foreign Ministers of four Security Council nations on Friday.

Iraq's decision could be a factor on whether the Council approves such a resolution, expected to be introduced early next week. Washington's goal is to achieve a minimum nine votes on the Council, while avoiding a veto by France, Russia or China. All three of those permanent members are opposed to war and want to extend the weapons searches.

The order to destroy the Al Samoud-2 missiles confronts the Iraqi Government with a serious dilemma: whether to give up a valuable weapons system its military would almost certainly use against a U.S.-led coalition, or refuse to comply and face accusations that it is not cooperating with U.N. inspectors. In a four-page letter, Mr. Blix told Iraq to hand over to inspectors "for verifiable destruction" all Al Samoud-2 missiles and warheads, SA-2 missile engines configured for use in those missiles, machinery to produce missile motors, and other components. "The appropriate arrangements should be made so that the destruction process can commence by March 1, 2003," he said in the letter to Amer al-Saadi, an adviser to the Iraqi President, Saddam Hussein. By no coincidence, March 1 is also the date of Mr. Blix's next report on Iraqi compliance due to the Council.

Mr. Blix also ordered that fuel, launchers, testing equipment and all software and documentation about the Al Samoud program be destroyed — but not the factories where the missiles were built as the United States wanted. He handed the letter to the Iraqi Ambassador, Mohammed Al-Douri, at the U.N. headquarters on Friday. There was no immediate response from Iraq to the letter.—

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