Powell Says Saddam Secretly Rearming

March 6, 2002

In remarks at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell presented new intelligence concerning Saddam Hussein’s tactics to foil U.N. inspectors, detailing how the dictator has ordered the continued secret production of the very outlawed missiles that the U.N. has ordered destroyed.

“Nobody should be quick to declare a victory for compliance in the missile department,” Powell told his audience. “And from recent intelligence, we know that the Iraqi regime intends to declare and destroy only a portion of its banned al-Samoud inventory, and that it has, in fact, ordered the continued production of the missiles that you see being destroyed. Iraq has brought its machinery that produces such missiles out into the daylight for all to see. But we have intelligence that says, at the very same time, it has also begun to hide machinery it can use to convert other kinds of engines to power al-Samouds II.”

Powell added, “Once again, he plays the double game. Even as he orders some to be destroyed, he is continuing with activities that will allow more to be produced. We can see no real improvement on substance. Iraq is far from disarming.”

Shortly after the end of the Gulf War, Security Council Resolution 687 banned missiles with ranges of more than 150 kilometers from Iraq. Furthermore, in its declaration of December 8th, Iraq stated that it had no such missiles.

Weapons of Mass Destruction

“Since my presentation to the Security Council on February 5th, we have received further intelligence from multiple sources showing that Iraq is continuing in its efforts to deceive the inspectors,” Powell said. “Much of this intelligence from a variety of sensitive sources, many of these sources I cannot share with anyone in any greater detail than I am here today, but it's reliable and shows that the Iraqi regime is still moving weapons of mass destruction materials around the country to avoid detection.”

Powell also detailed how in late January, the Iraqi Intelligence Service transported chemical and biological agents to areas far away from Baghdad, near the Syrian and Turkish borders, in order to conceal them

“In early February, fearing that UNMOVIC had precise intelligence about storage locations, the Iraqis were moving prohibited materials every 12 to 24 hours. And in mid-February, concerned about the surveillance capabilities of the U-2 over-flights that they finally were going to permit, Iraq was transferring banned materials in old vehicles and placing them in poor, working class neighborhoods outside the capital,” Powell added.

“We also know that senior Iraqi officials continue to admit in private what they continue to deny in public, that Iraq does, indeed, possess weapons of mass destruction,” Powell charged. “A senior official stated in late January that Baghdad could not answer UNMOVIC's questions honestly without causing major problems for Iraq... [W]e also know that Saddam Hussein has issued new guidance to key officials saying everything possible must be done to avoid discovery of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.”

Powell further charged that Saddam's security officials have been working aggressively to discourage or to control interviews between Iraqi scientists and inspectors. “We should not be deceived because a few, a few have made themselves available without minders.”

“Last month, a senior Iraqi official told an Iraqi scientist not to cooperate with the U.N. inspectors,” Powell said. “He threatened the scientist with grave misfortune if the scientist did not obey. Iraqi security officials have required scientists who have been invited to interviews with the inspectors to wear concealed recording devices. Hotels where the interviews are being conducted have been bugged.”

Powell remarked that Saddam’s game plan was to give the “appearance of disarmament, the semblance of cooperation.”

On Thursday Powell will meet with other diplomats preparatory to attending Friday's session of the Security Council, where Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei are slated to give their latest reports on Iraq.

The U.S. needs at least nine out of 15 council votes necessary to pass a new resolution that would clear the way for war with Iraq.

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2003/3/5/215138.shtml