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Mystery of the missing Iraqi weapons

Baghdad Jan. 11. Despite having promptly opened every door to United Nations weapons inspectors and handed over a report of their weapons programme weighing several kilograms, the Iraqis cannot seem to please the U.N. chief inspector, Hans Blix.

One of his most important points of criticism is that the whereabouts of thousands of warheads filled with poison gas, including mustard gas, and anthrax remain unaccounted for.

Until now, Baghdad has either denied the existence of these weapons or claimed that they have been destroyed.

Mr. Blix's second problem is the continual request by the United States for the questioning of Iraqi scientists who have worked on Iraq's weapons programmes. As to where Mr. Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction really are, foreign military experts posit three theories: the weapons were either secretly destroyed, hidden in Iraq or secreted abroad.

``We have obtained proof that Saddam Hussein destroyed at least part of his biological and chemical weapons after the September 11 terror attacks,'' one Western weapons expert said.

``The leadership in Baghdad thought at the time: We had nothing to do with this attack but the tiger (the U.S.) is wounded and will go flaying about wildly and Iraq will be hit.''

The problem is that the Iraqis did not correctly document this destruction of weapons, which in fact was the job of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission.

No one — least of all the Iraqis themselves — excludes the possibility that Mr. Hussein has hidden some of his chemical weapons somewhere in Iraq.

Many Iraqis believe he has stored them in the private houses of faithful party members or in underground shelters under the Tigris river.

It is considered improbable that the Iraqi leadership moved weapons not destroyed by inspectors to other countries or handed them over to terrorist organisations.

Concerning the questioning of scientists, the inspectors haven't found a solution that satisfies all sides.

Until now, such interviews have taken place in Iraq in the presence of an ``overseer'' from Iraqi officialdom.

In an interview under the eye of government officials, inspectors cannot hope for honest answers to difficult questions.

If scientists are taken abroad however, or questioned in sound-proof conditions in Iraq, the scientists can expect to be interrogated by Iraqi officials afterwards — not a pleasant prospect in a state that routinely practises torture.

The U.S. suggests removing the scientists along with their families (due to the possibility of reprisals) out of Iraq, in case the researchers ``spill their guts''.

``We cannot simply deport people against their will,'' U.N. officials said.

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