Embattled U.N. Weapons Chief to Step Down
1 hour, 1 minute ago
By EDITH M. LEDERER and DAFNA LINZER, Associated Press
Writers
UNITED NATIONS - His inspectors are becoming valuable commodities
for the United States but Hans Blix isn't. The chief U.N.
inspector, blamed by Washington for hurting its drive for
international support in the run-up to the war, will be stepping
down at the end of June.
U.S. officials say his departure could make it easier for the Bush
administration to include some of the world's top arms experts in
their hunt for Iraqi weapons.
At least three members of Blix's staff two experts in biological
weapons and one who specializes in Iraq (news - web sites)'s
missile programs have been approached by special U.S. military
units who will oversee Iraq's disarmament.
It's a sign of recognition that the inspectors are well-trained and
their expertise is essential. But the Americans have not made any
overtures to their boss.
"We don't believe he was fair in his reports, not to us and not on
Iraq's cooperation," said one senior U.S. official.
In an interview with The Associated Press on Friday, Blix said he
resented the administration's portrayal of his work.
"At some points, I think they went too far," he said.
And he is disappointed that after three years of preparation, his
teams only got 3 1/2 months in Iraq.
"A few more months would have been useful," he said.
Blix was not Washington's pick for the job of top inspector in Iraq
in 1999.
But the United States went along with his recommendation as a
compromise candidate whose credentials as an international lawyer
and member of the international arms control community satisfied
Secretary-General Kofi Annan (news - web sites) and the Security
Council.
U.N. inspectors returned to Iraq for the first time in four years
in late November, soon after the Security Council strengthened
inspections and gave Baghdad a final opportunity to disarm
peacefully or face serious consequences.
Blix said he is certain President Bush (news - web sites) "hoped
that this path to disarmament would be successful" although many in
his administration were skeptical of the inspections.
The chief inspector's first report in early December was a tough
assessment of Iraq's cooperation and a condemnation of a weapons
declaration the Iraqis submitted to inspectors. The United States
welcomed it.
But in January, Blix reported that Iraq had decided to cooperate on
the "process" of inspections, providing good access, though it
still needed to provide substantive evidence about its weapons
programs. By February, he reported that Iraq was trying to
cooperate more on substance, but still wasn't providing much that
was new.
France, Russia and Germany believed that Iraq could be disarmed
peacefully, and argued that these reports showed the inspections
were working and should continue.
Sometime in late January or early February, Blix said the U.S.
government "gave up on inspections" and stepped up military
preparations.
US officials began to criticize inconsistencies in Blix's reports
and quietly questioned his motives.
"There were complaints saying in January you were very harsh, and
in February you were mild. Well, I looked out the window here and
one day it's raining and the next day it's sunshine. How can you
describe it in the same terms?" Blix asked. "Certainly not."
Blix's last major report was devastating for U.S. efforts to
convince the council that Iraq was a serious threat that needed to
be disarmed by force.
The upbeat account not only dealt with Iraq's last-ditch efforts to
cooperate with inspectors and destroy missiles they weren't
supposed to be producing, but also cast serious doubt on U.S.
intelligence that claimed otherwise.
France, Russia and others used the findings to counter Washington's
claims and block U.N. support for the war.
The Americans were outraged.
"We gave him 70 sites to visit and he only went to seven," said one
angry U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Blix said he couldn't remember how many sites he was given, but
noted that intelligence from all countries including the United
States resulted in "a relatively meager" amount of new
information.
The chief inspector was hurt by criticism that he was in the
anti-war camp.
"I was in nobody's pocket," he said. "Maybe somebody wished I be in
a pocket, but I was not."
Blix said the United States and Britain, trying to win support for
a U.N. resolution backing a war, went "too far" in trying to claim
there was "evidence that we allegedly had suppressed."
"I think it was unfair, and I do resent that to some extent," he
said.
Blix, a former Swedish foreign minister who led the International
Atomic Energy Agency from 1981-1997, had said he would like to
retire before his 75th birthday in June. But he had also hinted he
could stay, saying he wouldn't abandon his responsibilities or turn
down a request by the council that now seems unlikely.
"As things look now, certainly I will be very happy to go home in
June," he said.
Inspections were suspended last week because of the war. Annan has
said he expects their mission to resume once the hostilities cease,
but there is no guarantee that will happen.
There is disagreement in Washington about what role, if any,
inspectors should play in disarming Iraq.
Members of the U.N. teams are considered the only weapons experts
in the world specifically trained in disarmament, and they have
intimate knowledge of Iraq. But many are skeptical of U.S. claims
that Saddam has stockpiles of chemical and biological
weapons.
U.S. disarmament specialists are in Kuwait preparing to be equipped
with ground-penetrating radar, sensors and sample-taking apparatus
similar to that used by U.N. inspectors. Working with several
former inspectors, they will probably go to many of the same
locations the inspectors visited.
Intelligence experts will question Iraqis involved in weapons
programs while experts comb sites and analyze samples in the field
using mobile labs.
Meanwhile, Blix will prepare his next report to the council, which
is due June 1. His staffers are pouring over documents and analysis
collected from the Iraqis since November.
But he said he's looking forward to spending more time in Sweden
with his wife of 41 years and doing research and writing.
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