[PEN-L:33662] Iraq Dossier Debated

["Devine, James" <jdevine@xxxxxxx>]

Title: Iraq Dossier Debated

UN inspectors 'cast doubt on UK evidence dossier'

John Hooper in Berlin
Wednesday January 8, 2003
The Guardian  [UK]

The head of the UN's weapons inspectors in Iraq, Hans Blix, will tell the security council tomorrow that several of the key claims in Tony Blair's dossier of evidence against Saddam Hussein are unfounded, according to a German newspaper report.

But, Die Tageszeitung says today, the UN will also be told that Baghdad had failed to answer questions concerning its alleged efforts to produce weapons of mass destruction.

The leak from the interim report appears to confirm comments by the head of the the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed El Baradei, who said on Monday that the inspectors had not so far found anything suspicious.

The claims in the British dossier that the paper says cannot be verified are:

* That production has been resumed at two key Iraqi plants suspected of producing biological toxins;

* That Iraq breached a UN resolution by extending the reach of its short-range missiles to 200km;

* That Baghdad had attempted covertly to acquire more than 60,000 of the specialised aluminium tubes used in uranium enrichment.

Jim Devine jdevine@xxxxxxx &  http://bellarmine.lmu.edu/~jdevine