U.S.-led troops have captured a warehouse complex in Baghdad filled with chemicals where Iraqi scientists are suspected of testing unconventional weapons on animals within the past year, the New York Times reported today (see GSN, April 23).

The warehouse complex was heavily looted before members of Mobile Exploitation Team Alpha (MET Alpha) and other coalition forces captured it, weapons experts and officers who have seen the site said.  The experts and officers described the warehouse complex as being filled with broken parts and equipment debris consistent with a full-scale laboratory. 

Iraqi citizens have told U.S. experts that scientists tested various agents on animals at the site, the experts said, noting that they have begun collecting samples from debris at the warehouse complex to test for biological and chemical weapons agents, the Times reported.  The samples are currently being analyzed at a U.S. laboratory.

The warehouse complex is typical for Iraq, and Baghdad is home to hundreds of such sites, according to the Times.  Because of this, it would have been almost impossible to find this particular site or determine whether it was connected with WMD efforts without the aid of Iraqis willing to discuss what had taken place there, a weapons expert said (Judith Miller, New York Times, April 24).

Sanctions

Meanwhile, the United States yesterday rejected a French proposal to temporarily suspend sanctions against Iraq until the country’s WMD disarmament could be certified.

“With the regime gone, the United States position is economic sanctions are no longer necessary,” White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said.  “They shouldn’t be merely suspended, they should be out-and-out lifted,” he said (Joseph Curl, Washington Times, April 24).

British Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon said today that any discovery of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq would need to be independently verified, but did not explicitly say if this task should be carried out by U.N. inspectors.

“I do not necessarily believe that it has to be the United Nations that provides that independent verification.  Clearly, the United Nations could be one of the organizations that does so,” Hoon said.  “We have not necessarily specified that that (verification) should be the United Nations.  There could be other countries who could identify ... particular chemicals, precursors for nerve agents or gas,” he added (Reuters/MSNBC.com, April 24).

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