U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell’s detailed presentation yesterday of Washington’s charges that Iraq is failing to disarm and is cooperating with al-Qaeda terrorists did little to change minds on the U.N. Security Council about whether to authorize the use of force against Iraq. Countries that favor continuing weapons inspections used Powell’s evidence as proof that strengthened inspections, not war, was the best course (see GSN, Feb. 5).
Powell’s 80-minute presentation charged that Iraq was concealing weapons of mass destruction such as developing biological weapon in mobile laboratories, obstructing inspections, intimidating scientists so that they would not allow themselves to be interviews by inspectors and allowing al-Qaeda to freely operate out of Baghdad and northern Iraq. He played intercepted conversions between Iraqi officials discussing hiding prohibited material and showed satellite photos he said showed Iraqi trucks removing banned weapons from buildings as inspectors arrived.
Iraqi Ambassador Mohammed al-Douri said Powell’s allegations “are utterly unrelated to the truth. No new information was provided.” He said the presentation contained “incorrect allegations, unnamed sources, unknown sources. There are assumptions and presumptions which all fall in line with the American policy.” Speaking at the end of the council session, al-Douri said weapons of mass destruction “cannot be concealed. Inspectors have crisscrossed all of Iraq and found none of that.”
Al-Douri said there is no proof the recordings are genuine or that mobile biological weapons laboratories exist. He said samples taken from sites “concluded the absence of any indication of proscribed chemical, biological or radiological agent.” Al-Douri quoted Hussein as saying, “We have no relationship with al-Qaeda.”
“The clear goal behind holding this meeting, behind the presentation of [Powell] of false allegations before this council today is to sell the idea of war and aggression against my country Iraq, without any legal, moral or political justification,” he added.
French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin, the veto-holding council member most vocally opposed to military action, said the presentation “brings a new justification to the path chosen by the United Nations,” meaning inspections. “For now the inspections regime, favored by Resolution 1441, must be strengthened since it has not been explored to the end,” he said, referring to the resolution adopted unanimously by the council in November, that paved the way for the return of the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission and the International Atomic Energy Agency to Iraq. “Why go to war if there still exists an unused space in Resolution 1441?” he asked.
Speaking to journalists after the council meeting, de Villepin said, “There is not absolute proof in these matters. There are indications, information, suspicion and we should all try to know more about it and that’s why we need the inspections.”
De Villepin proposed to the council that the next step should be a stronger inspection regime. “With the choice between military intervention and an inspections regime that is inadequate for lack of cooperation on Iraq’s part, we must choose to strengthen decisively the means of inspection,” he said. He proposed doubling or tripling the number of inspectors, opening up more regional offices, establishing a new body to keep under surveillance sites already inspected, and increasing aerial surveillance of Iraq.
“This is the demanding demarche that we must take together for a new stage. Its success presupposes, today as yesterday, that the international community remains united and mobilized,” de Villepin said.
Germany, an elected member of the council and this month’s president, endorsed the French position. German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said, “We need a tough regime of intensive inspections that can guarantee the full and lasting disarmament of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction.”
“Quite a few states suspect that Saddam Hussein’s regime is withholding relevant information and concealing military capabilities,” said Fischer. “This strong suspicion has to be dispelled beyond any doubt. This is exactly why Resolution 1441 provides for the instrument of inspections. ... The dangers of a military action and its consequences are plain to see. Precisely because of the effectiveness of the work of the inspectors, we must continue to seek a peaceful solution to the crisis.”
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said Powell’s evidence “convincingly indicates the fact that the activities of the international inspectors in Iraq must be continued. They alone can provide an answer to question of to what extent is Iraq complying with the demands of the Security Council.”
On the other hand, Foreign Minister Jack Straw of the United Kingdom called the Powell report “a most powerful and authoritative case against the Iraqi regime.” He said, “Iraq is in further material breach. … Security Council members will share my deep sense of frustration that Iraq is choosing to spurn this final opportunity to achieve a peaceful outcome.”
Resolution 1441 uses the term “material breach” as justification for the use of force if Iraq continues to hinder inspectors.
“By 1441, we strengthened inspections massively,” Straw said. “The only missing ingredient was full Iraqi compliance.” Saddam Hussein, Straw said, “holds 1441 in the same contempt as all previous resolutions in respect of Iraq. ... Let us reflect on what that means — that Saddam is defying every one of us, every nation here represented. He questions our resolve and is gambling that we will lose our nerve rather than enforce our will.”
“Time is now very short. If noncooperation continues, this council must meet its responsibilities,” Straw said. “This is a moment of choice for Saddam. But it is also a moment of choice for … the United Nations.”
Spanish Foreign Minister Ana Palacio supported Washington and London, saying Powell presented “compelling data ... that confirms that Iraq is deceiving the international community and is not cooperating” with inspectors and “is in violation of the obligations” under Resolution 1441. “More time doesn’t mean time for inspections, it means time for Saddam Hussein to disarm voluntarily,” she added.
Most council members said they hoped the inspectors would find the new evidence presented by Powell useful and asked the United States to share it with the inspectors. “This information has to be immediately handed over for processing by UNMOVIC and the IAEA, including through direct onsite verification during the inspections in Iraq,” Ivanov said. “It is now decisive that the U.N. inspectors are also provided with the extensive material, in so far as this has not yet happened,” said Fischer.
The suggestion that Washington has not provided the United Nations with everything it knows provoked an angry response from the United States. “Every actionable item had already been shared with them before today,” one U.S. official said.
Secretary General Kofi Annan, who attended the meeting along with UNMOVIC head Hans Blix and IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei, said after the session, “I still believe that war is not inevitable but a lot depends on President Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi leadership. I think the message today has been clear -- everyone wants Iraq to be proactive in cooperating with the inspectors and fulfill the demands of the international community. I think if they do that, we can avoid a war.”
Annan also said that contrary to suggestions by some governments, he would not go to Baghdad to negotiate with the Iraqis. “The message that has been given to Iraq is very clear” that the Security Council and the Arab League have both said Iraq must cooperate fully with the inspectors, Annan said. “If I were to go I would not carry a different message. I would be carrying the same message and they should listen to Drs. Blix and ElBaradei, and I hope they do so” (Jim Wurst, Global Security Newswire, Feb. 6).
Inspections Continuing
Meanwhile, U.N. weapons inspectors in Iraq visited at least seven suspect sites today. Inspectors visited a military engineering academy, a brewery, an Iraqi army storage depot and the Iraqi water and sewage authorities, according to the Associated Press. Inspectors also visited the laboratories of a health care complex in Baghdad and a storage facility at the Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Center (Hamza Hendawi, Associated Press/Yahoo.com, Feb. 6).
Yesterday, inspectors visited at least 15 sites within Iraq, according to an International Atomic Energy Agency press release. Inspectors visited the Heti Readymade Concrete facility near Baghdad and the Sinjar Cement Factory near the northern city of Mosul. Experts from the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission inspected the al-Riyadh stores. UNMOVIC missile inspectors visited al-Fatah to verify Iraq’s declaration of the site and to establish a comprehensive monitoring system.
An IAEA inspection team visited the Ashakyli Stores south of Baghdad, the agency release said. A second IAEA team held meetings at the Iraqi National Monitoring Directorate (IAEA release, Feb. 5).
For further information, see:
UNMOVIC
IAEA Iraq Action Team
U.N. Resolution 1441
Experts from the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission and the International Atomic Energy Agency have conducted hundreds of inspections in Iraq since resuming the post-Gulf War inspection regime Nov. 27. More than 100 inspectors are now based in the country at two facilities in Baghdad and Mosul. The following chart summarizes some of the inspectors’ reported activities.
| Date | Site | Activity | | Feb. 6 | Military engineering academy | See GSN, Feb. 6. | | Brewery | | Army storage depot | | Water authority | | Sewage authority | | Laboratories of a healthcare complex in Baghdad | | Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Center storage facility | | Feb. 5 | Heti Readymade Concrete production facility in Baghdad | See GSN, Feb. 6. | | Sinjar Cement Factory near the northern city of Mosul | | Al-Riyadh stores | | Ashakyli Stores south of Baghdad | | Iraqi National Monitoring Directorate | IAEA inspectors held meetings with officials (see GSN, Feb. 6). | | Al-Fatah | UNMOVIC missile inspectors worked to verify Iraq’s declaration of the site and to establish a comprehensive monitoring system (see GSN, Feb. 6). | | Al-Nu’man, a state-operated irrigation company south of Baghdad | See GSN, Feb. 5. | | Food research center in Baghdad | | Laser research center at Baghdad University | | Dairy factory in Abu Ghraib north of Baghdad | | Al-Mutasim missile plant, about 55 miles west of Baghdad | | Missile factory belonging to the al-Karamah facility | | Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Center warehouses | | Former site of the Osirak nuclear reactor | | Undisclosed site north of Baghdad | | Feb. 4 | State Establishment for Heavy Engineering Enterprises plant in Doura | See GSN, Feb. 5. | | Farm north of Baghdad | | Helicopter support facility north of Baghdad | | Al-Taji Ammunition Department, north of Baghdad | Inspectors discovered an empty Sakr-18 chemical warhead at the site, similar to empty chemical warheads discovered last month. The Sakr-18 warhead was tagged and secured (see GSN, Feb.5). | | Mosul Sugar and Yeast Factories | Inspectors worked to determine the site’s present activities (see GSN, Feb. 5). | | Al-Mamoun plant of the al-Qa Qaa State Establishment, south of Baghdad | See GSN, Feb. 5. | | Al-Rafah liquid engine test facility, about 80 miles southwest of Baghdad | See GSN, Feb. 4. | | Al-Harith missile maintenance workshop in Taji, north of Baghdad | | Al-Mamoun factory of the al-Rasheed State Company, about 40 miles south of Baghdad | | Water purification station in Doura, just outside of Baghdad | | Agricultural supply company in Waziriya in Baghdad | | Nassr State Establishment, about 25 miles northwest of Baghdad | | Military compound near Baghdad | | Al-Salam compound at Salman Pak, south of Baghdad | | Feb. 3 | Applied Science Department of the University of Technology in Baghdad | IAEA release, Feb. 3. | | Tropical Diseases Unit of the Al Kindi Medical School in Baghdad | | Military training facility in Salman Pak area | | Al-Salam | | Al-Qudis | | Al-Saad Company | | Al-Qa Qaa | | Arab Company for Detergent Chemicals | | Ibn Al Hytham industrial manufacturing plant in Taji north of Baghdad | | Areas south of Baghdad | IAEA inspectors conducted a motorized radiation survey (IAEA release, Feb. 3). | | Al-Nidaa State Company | UNMOVIC missile inspectors discovered a ceramic missile mold and a damaged warhead for the Luna short-range missile. Iraq has said the missile’s range is within U.N. limits (see GSN, Feb. 4). | | Feb. 2 | Chemistry laboratory in the College of Science at Salahaddin University in Erbil, the capital of Kurdish-controlled Iraq | See GSN, Feb. 3. | | Biology laboratory in the College of Science at Salahaddin University in Erbil, the capital of Kurdish-controlled Iraq | | Feb. 1 | Waziriyah Industrial Complex | UNMOVIC missile inspectors visited the site obtain clarifications on the present status of al-Samoud ballistic missile guidance and control activities and on the January semi-annual declaration for the site (see GSN, Feb. 3). | | Al-Mamoun Factory | UNMOVIC missile inspectors visited the site to obtain clarification on the latest declaration for the site (see GSN, Feb. 3). | | Headquarters of the al-Raya General Company | UNMOVIC missile inspectors visited the site to obtain clarification on the latest declaration for the site (see GSN, Feb. 3). | | Biotechnology Department of the College of Science at Saddam University in Baghdad | See GSN, Feb. 3. | | Biology Department of the College of Education at Saddam University in Baghdad | | Eastern Distillery Company in Baghdad | | Al-Shaheed State Company | | Tuz Airfield | Inspectors traveled to the site via helicopter to interview the senior officer present and to inspect the site’s ammunition storage areas and aircraft shelters (see GSN, Feb. 3). | | Tho al-Fiker industrial machining and manufacturing facility north of Baghdad | See GSN, Feb. 3. | | College of Science at Saddam University in Baghdad | | College of Engineering at Saddam University in Baghdad | | Area southeast of Baghdad | IAEA inspectors conducted a motorized radiation survey (see GSN, Feb. 3). | | Jan. 31 | Abu Ghraib Ammunition Factory | Inspectors visited the site’s production area, quality control, computer system and several warehouses (see GSN, Feb. 3). | | Fallujah 2 | UNMOVIC biological inspectors conducted an aerial inspection of the site (see GSN, Feb. 3). | | Fallujah 3 | UNMOVIC biological inspectors conducted an aerial inspection of the site (see GSN, Feb. 3). | | Agricultural and Biological Research Center | UNMOVIC biological inspectors conducted an aerial inspection of the site (see GSN, Feb. 3). | | Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Center | UNMOVIC biological inspectors conducted an aerial inspection of the site (see GSN, Feb. 3). | | Former biological research facilities at Salman Pak | UNMOVIC biological inspectors conducted an aerial inspection of the site (see GSN, Feb. 3). | | Al-Yarmouk State Company | See GSN, Jan. 31. | | 7 Nissan Company in Nahrawan, about 20 miles east of Baghdad | | Agricultural equipment company in Waziriya in Baghdad | | Jan. 24- Jan. 30 | See GSN, Jan. 31. | |
The U.S. Defense Department yesterday said it has certified the Michigan, Tennessee and West Virginia WMD civil support teams, bringing the number of certified teams to 30 (see GSN, May 1, 2002). The teams, part of states’ National Guard units, are ready to respond in the event of a domestic incident involving weapons of mass destruction, the Pentagon said (see GSN, Feb. 8, 2002). The department has so far certified three out of the five civil support teams authorized in the fiscal 2001 National Defense Appropriations Act (U.S. Defense Department release, Feb. 5).
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By Bryan Bender
Global Security Newswire
WASHINGTON — The Bush administration’s fiscal 2004 budget request reflects the White House push for a strengthened nuclear deterrent and has already prompted criticism from lawmakers who worry that a heightened reliance on nuclear weapons will prove both unnecessary and destabilizing.
U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld yesterday was questioned by members of the House Armed Services Committee about the administration’s plans during testimony over the budget submission, sent to Congress on Monday (see GSN, Feb. 3). Lawmakers signaled a coming debate on Capitol Hill over the wisdom of the administration’s nuclear ambitions.
The proposed budget calls for significant increases in nuclear weapons-related activities. For example, the Energy Department is seeking $6.4 billion next year for nuclear weapons programs, a 9.1 percent increase from the previous year, according to budget documents.
The money will be used to certify, along with the Defense Department, the safety, security and reliability of the nuclear weapons stockpile, including efforts to extend the operational life of currently deployed nuclear warheads, including the W-87, B-61, W-76 and W-80 warheads, according to the documents.
The budget proposal also includes $320 million to manufacture plutonium pits, the triggers in a nuclear weapon that experts say could deteriorate over time, risking long-term effectiveness (see GSN, Sept. 20, 2002).
“As the Nuclear Posture Review issued by President Bush acknowledges, a nuclear capability is going to be a key element of our national defense in the foreseeable future,” said Bryan Wilkes, National Nuclear Security Administration spokesman. His agency, part of the Energy Department, develops and maintains U.S. nuclear weapons.
One of the thrusts of the nuclear review, released in January 2002, is the potential need to develop a new or modified nuclear warhead capable of burrowing through concrete and other hardened structures where weapons of mass destruction might be hidden (see GSN, Oct. 10, 2002).
With $15 million, Los Alamos National Laboratory is conducting a study of the so-called Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator, which could be a modified version of the B-61.
The seriousness of this effort was underscored last week when the Pentagon’s Defense Threat Reduction Agency announced it is seeking proposals for a computer modeling system to help predict how effective nuclear weapons might be in destroying underground targets and the likely effects of radioactive fallout. The $1.26 billion program is scheduled to be complete in 2006, according to the DTRA request for proposals (see GSN, Feb. 3).
The possibility that the United States would develop what critics charge would be a more usable nuclear weapon yesterday prompted one member of the House committee to ask Rumsfeld to defend the administration’s position.
“At a time when this committee has not yet received a report required in the [2003] defense authorization bill on the potential uses of the robust earth penetrator, or whether or not we can still use conventional weapons to defeat hardened targets, I am deeply concerned that the administration is pushing the envelope on trying to design a new generation of smaller, more usable nuclear weapons, creating a more unstable and dangerous world,” Representative Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.) said during a question and answer period.
Rumsfeld, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Richard Myers and Pentagon budget chief Dov Zakheim appeared before the committee as part of the Congress’ annual review of the president’s budget request.
Rumsfeld tried to assure the committee that the department is still only researching the possibility of developing such a weapon and that no new nuclear designs are on the drawing board.
“I’m 99 and nine-tenths positive there is no new weapon development of the nature that you’re describing,” Rumsfeld responded.
The variety of nuclear weapons-related efforts called for in the budget request are nevertheless cause for great concern, according to critics.
“You put all these pieces together and the administration is moving in the direction of creating a new type of nuclear weapons that would probably require nuclear testing,” said Daryl Kimball, director of the Arms Control Association. “This is a slow-motion slide backward to the Dr. Strangelove days,” he said.
North Korea yesterday said it has either restarted or will soon restart a nuclear reactor that could produce plutonium for nuclear weapons and hinted that it could attack first if threatened by the United States, according to reports (see GSN, Feb. 5).
“The D.P.R.K. (North Korea) is now putting the operation of its nuclear facilities for the production of electricity on a normal footing after their restart,” a statement from the North Korean KCNA news agency said, according to Reuters.
The statement was unclear in Korean as well, according to a South Korean official. It could be interpreted to mean “poised to restart,” the official said (Nesirky/Allen, Reuters, Feb. 6).
“We have confirmed that the North has moved fresh fuel rods to the nuclear reactor and it will not take long for it to be reactivated,” said a South Korean official (Seo Hyun-jin, Korea Herald, Feb. 6).
Daniel Pinkston of the Monterey Institute of International Studies said the reactor was probably not yet running.
“What they are saying is that they are in the process of normalizing, of restarting operations. It could be very soon now,” he said.
Japanese officials said they were concerned by the statement and were investigating to see if it was true.
“We are very much concerned that they have been engaged in an escalation of tension and … brinkmanship and we urge the North Koreans to stop doing this kind of thing,” said Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hatsuhisa Takashima (Nesirky/Allen, Reuters).
The International Atomic Energy Agency expressed dismay with North Korea’s announcement.
“Without the presence of our inspectors we could not certify this alleged nuclear activity,” IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said. “However if it is true, the IAEA deplores the operation of nuclear facilities without safeguard inspection,” she added (Agence France-Presse, Feb. 6).
“We are now on a slippery slope away from negotiations and toward potential confrontation,” said C. Kenneth Quinones, a former U.S. State Department specialist who was involved in the 1994 closing of the plant.
North Korea claims it is forced to reopen the plant at Yongbyon to generate electricity for the nation. Experts said the plant would not produce a significant amount of electricity and the plant will more likely be used to produce plutonium for nuclear weapons, the Washington Post reported.
“I don’t see anything being put in place to slow that process,” Quinones said yesterday. “Pyongyang is certainly not slowing it. And the Bush administration right now is in a very hard-nosed stance,” he added (Doug Struck, Washington Post, Feb. 6).
Pre-Emptive Prerogative
Pyongyang expressed anxiety about recent plans for a U.S. military buildup in the region and one official said that North Korea maintains its right to launch a pre-emptive attack.
“The United States says that after Iraq, we are next,” said Ri Pyong Gap, deputy director of North Korea’s Foreign Ministry. “But we have our own countermeasures. Pre-emptive attacks are not the exclusive right of the U.S.,” Ri added.
The situation now is more serious than the confrontation a decade ago, according to Ri.
“The present situation can be called graver than it was in 1993. It will be touch and go,” Ri said (Jonathan Watts, London Guardian, Feb. 6).
By Mike Nartker
Global Security Newswire
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell provided new information to the U.N. Security Council yesterday outlining Iraqi efforts to develop and conceal its alleged nuclear weapons program (see GSN, Feb. 5).
Iraqi President Saddam Hussein “is determined to get his hands on a nuclear bomb,” Powell said.
The United States has obtained intelligence information from a number of sources outlining Iraq’s attempts to acquire magnets and high-speed balancing machines — both of which can be used in a centrifuge uranium enrichment program, Powell said. For example, in 1999 and 2000 Iraq negotiated with several companies throughout the world to purchase a magnet production plant capable of producing magnets weighing between 20 to 30 grams — the same size of magnet Iraq used in its uranium enrichment program before the 1991 Gulf War, he said.
Hussein has also devoted more attention to Iraqi nuclear scientists, or as Hussein calls them, his “nuclear mujahedeen,” Powell said. “He regularly exhorts them and praises their progress. Progress toward what end?” Powell asked.
In his presentation, Powell described to the council Iraq’s attempts to purchase high-strength aluminum tubes, which can also be used in a gas centrifuge uranium enrichment program. Iraq has said the tubes were used to build conventional rockets; a charge that Powell criticized, noting that the specifications for the tubes had become more refined with each effort to acquire the tubes. For example, the latest shipment included tubes with an anodized coating on extremely smooth inner and outer surfaces.
“I am no expert on centrifuge tubes, but just as an old Army trooper, I can tell you a couple of things: First, it strikes me as quite odd that these tubes are manufactured to a tolerance that far exceeds U.S. requirements for comparable rockets,” Powell said. “Maybe Iraqis just manufacture their conventional weapons to a higher standard than we do, but I don’t think so,” he added (White House release, Feb. 5).
Other experts, however, have challenged the U.S. claims that the aluminum tubes were meant for an Iraqi nuclear program, according to the Washington Post. The International Atomic Energy Agency, which oversees nuclear inspections in Iraq, reported last month that the tubes were not suitable for use in an enrichment program without significant modification (see GSN, Jan. 10). Other sources have said the tubes matched the dimensions of rockets already in Iraq’s arsenal and that Iraq ordered the same tubes during the 1980s to restock its rocket supply, the Post reported.
While the tubes may not have been perfectly designed for use in a uranium enrichment program, Iraq might have ordered them anyway in an attempt to hide its intentions, said Khidhir Hamza, a former Iraqi physicist who defected in 1994.
“Of course Iraq would not order cylinders with exact specifications for centrifuges, because such tubes would never have been shipped,” Hamza said. “This is a standard Iraqi ploy,” he added (Joby Warrick, Washington Post, Feb. 6).
For further information, see:
Powell’s presentation slides (U.S. State Department)
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By David McGlinchey
Global Security Newswire
WASHINGTON — Less than two months after U.S. President George W. Bush announced his national smallpox immunization initiative, widespread concerns have forced planners to reshape the program and adopt more modest goals, according to officials (see GSN, Jan. 31).
By Tuesday, 432 people in 11 states and Los Angeles County had received the inoculation, according to Joe Henderson, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention associate director for terrorism preparedness, who spoke yesterday at a bioterrorism conference hosted by the National Governors Association.
The first phase of the plan began Jan. 24 and was to be finished by the end of this month but that schedule has now been extended, Henderson said.
“We know it’s more than 30 days and we hope it’s less than six months,” he said.
In a sharp departure from earlier Bush administration statements that emphasized the importance of immunized first responders, Henderson said that CDC officials are not concerned about the number of medical personnel vaccinated in the first phase as long as the vaccine is widely offered and the public is well informed.
“It would be a success if no one receives the vaccine, but we offered this opportunity to all the right people,” he said.
In December, Bush called for 500,000 medical emergency workers to be inoculated in the first phase of the plan, but concerns about patient compensation, screening, vaccine costs and public education have hindered the effort, state and federal health officials said.
Only one-third of U.S. states are slated to begin their immunizations by mid- to late February — when the first phase of the program was scheduled to be complete — and several health departments will delay much further.
New York City might wait several months before beginning immunizations, according to a U.S. official.
The “issues remaining as of this morning are considerable,” said William Raub, the deputy director of the Health and Human Services Department’s Office of Public Health Preparedness.
Henderson said he expects another 400 people to receive immunizations by the end of the week.
These numbers “don’t look like a raving success,” Henderson said. The effort should not be measured in numbers, however, but rather in readiness and in terms of “standing up a program that is safe,” he added.
Henderson said the CDC smallpox education program had reached 800,000 U.S. medical care workers.
Some U.S. hospitals and medical workers’ unions have refused to support the immunization campaign until compensation issues and other sticking points are resolved. Medical officials are concerned that people who are sickened by the vaccine will not be compensated because they took the vaccine voluntarily.
While administration officials continue to investigate the concerns, there are no firm solutions on the table right now, according to Raub.
Henderson said the problem is being addressed but Congress must deliver the solution to the compensation dilemma.
“I think in the coming weeks we will see some remedy,” he said.
Many state and local officials have urged the administration to slow the immunization campaign until those remedies are delivered.
“Slow down, get it right. Understand what it is we are doing,” National Association of County and City Health Officials Executive Director Patrick Libbey said.
The original plan called for the first phase of immunizations to be complete by the end of this month and a second phase to inoculate up to 10 million emergency workers. After the second phase is complete, officials had said they would look to offer the vaccine to the general public.
The lines between those phases are blurring and the process is more of a continuum, Henderson told the conference. He maintained, however, that by mid- to late summer the United States would have a safe program in place to offer the vaccine to members of the public who insist upon immunization.
Several state health officials told Henderson that many medical workers, health departments and hospitals were concerned about the plan. Officials said that unless the United States addresses a number of issues, turnout might remain low.
“What if the federal government threw a vaccination party and nobody came?” asked David Engelthaler, bioterrorism coordinator for the Arizona Department of Health Services.
By Mike Nartker
Global Security Newswire
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell yesterday presented the U.N. Security Council with new U.S. intelligence alleging Iraqi efforts to develop and conceal biological weapons programs in violation of U.N. disarmament resolutions (see GSN, Feb. 5).
During the last year’s council debate on U.N. Resolution 1441, which established the current inspections regime, an Iraqi missile unit deployed outside Baghdad was ordered to hide its missiles and biological warheads at various sites in western Iraq, Powell said. Many of the unit’s launchers and warheads have been hidden in groves of palm trees and have been ordered to move every one to four weeks to avoid detection, he said. Powell also presented the council with satellite photographs taken in November 2002 that showed Iraqi crews moving items out of a biological-related facility shortly before inspections were set to resume.
In his presentation, Powell detailed Iraq’s efforts to develop road- and rail-mobile biological weapons laboratories.
“The trucks and train cars are easily moved and are designed to evade detection by inspectors,” Powell said. “In a matter of months, they can produce a quantity of biological poison equal to the entire amount that Iraq claimed to have produced in the years prior to the Gulf War,” he said.
The United States has evidence showing that Iraq has at least seven mobile biological laboratories, Powell said. The road-mobile laboratories use up to three trucks each, meaning Iraq might be able to base them in as few as 18 trucks, he said.
“Just imagine trying to find 18 trucks among the thousands and thousands of trucks that travel the roads of Iraq every single day,” Powell said.
The United States has learned about the existence and technical specifications of these mobile laboratories through several Iraqi defectors, including a former Iraqi major, Powell said. One such defector was a former Iraqi chemical engineer who supervised one of the mobile laboratories, and was even present during a 1998 accident that killed 12 technicians, he said. According to the defector, during previous rounds of inspections, Iraq ordered biological agent production to begin on Thursday at midnight because officials believed that inspectors would not operate on the Muslim holy day of Friday.
The mobile biological laboratories are sophisticated enough to produce a number of biological agents, including anthrax and botulinium toxin, Powell said. In addition to researching numerous other diseases, including gas gangrene, plague and typhus, Iraq also worked to develop sophisticated spraying devices, he added. Powell presented to the council video obtained several years ago that showed an Iraqi F-I Mirage jet aircraft outfitted with a device to spray biological agents.
“Iraq admitted to producing four spray tanks,” Powell said. “But to this day, it has provided no credible evidence that they were destroyed, evidence that was required by the international community,” he added (White House release, Feb. 5).
For further information, see:
Powell’s presentation slides (U.S. State Department)
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Iraq has a chemical weapons stockpile and is hiding it from U.N. inspectors, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said in his presentation to the U.N. Security Council yesterday.
Powell showed a photograph of what he said were four chemical bunkers at Taji.
The bunkers had specialty security facilities and decontamination trucks, he said (White House release, Feb. 5).
Jonathan Tucker, a former weapons inspector and a chemical and biological expert, supported Powell’s assertions.
“I have no doubt that those trucks are decontamination trucks,” Tucker said. The photographs also appear to be intentionally blurred to obscure the ability of U.S. satellites, he said (Joby Warrick, Washington Post, Feb. 6).
Powell then showed a later picture of the alleged chemical bunkers.
“The signature vehicles are gone, the tents are gone, it’s been cleaned up, and it was done on the 22nd of December, as the U.N. inspection team is arriving,” he said. Powell said that U.S. officials suspected Iraq was alerted to plans for the Taji v | |
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