-Caveat Lector- > AP Exclusive: Top Iraqi Scientist Flees > By DAFNA LINZER, Associated Press Writer > > The Iraqi scientist who headed Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s > long-range missile program has fled to neighboring Iran, a country > identified as a state sponsor of terrorism with a successful missile > program and nuclear ambitions, U.S. officers involved in the weapons > hunt told The Associated Press. > > Dr. Modher Sadeq-Saba al-Tamimi's departure comes as top weapons > makers from Saddam's deposed regime find themselves eight months out > of work but with skills that could be lucrative to militaries or > terrorist organizations in neighboring countries. U.S. officials have > said some are already in Syria and Jordan. > > Experts long feared the collapse of Saddam's rule could lead to the > kind of scientific brain-drain the United States tried to prevent as > the former Soviet Union collapsed. But the Bush administration had no > plan for Iraqi scientists and instead officials suggested they could > be tried for war crimes. > > "There are a couple hundred Iraqis who are really good scientists, > particularly in the missile area," said Jonathan Tucker, a former > U.N. inspector now with the Center for Nonproliferation Studies at > the Monterey Institute in California. "In the chemical and biological > areas, their work wasn't state of the art but it was good enough to > be of interest to other countries." > > Only now is the State Department exploring the possibility of a > government-funded program to block a scientific exodus and prevent > Iraqis from doing future research in weapons of mass destruction. > Initial cost estimates for the program run about $16 million, > according to a Nov. 3 draft proposal obtained by AP. > > Two members of the Pentagon (news - web sites)'s Defense Intelligence > Agency involved in questioning scientists in custody told AP the > Iraqis continue to deny the existence of illicit weapons programs in > Iraq (news - web sites). Dozens of Iraqi scientists have been > questioned and less than 30 remain in custody. All of them, including > senior members of Saddam's regime, have been subjected to lie- > detector tests, which have come up clean on weapons questioning, the > DIA officers said. > > But U.S. scientists and weapons experts, who all spoke on condition > of anonymity, said they're having trouble finding some Iraqi experts > in Iraq and have no way of tracking ones they've met. > > "They could leave Baghdad tomorrow and we'd never know," said one > senior official involved in the hunt. "Very few are obligated to tell > us where they're going or what they're up to." > > U.N. inspectors spoke with Dr. Modher in Baghdad a week before the > U.S.-led war began on March 20. Two U.S. weapons investigators say > they believe he crossed the Iraq-Iran border on foot at least two > months after U.S. forces took Baghdad. > > His activities in Iran are unclear and may explain why his > disappearance hasn't been publicly disclosed. The CIA (news - web > sites) declined to discuss its efforts with Iraqi scientists or > identify individuals. > > Thought to be in his mid-50's, the Czech-educated scientist > specialized in missile engines. He met numerous times with U.N. > inspectors during the 1990s and earlier this year when he argued that > the Al-Samoud missile system under his command wasn't in violation of > a U.N. range limit. The inspectors determined otherwise when tests > showed it could fly more than 93 miles. They quickly began destroying > the Iraqi stock, much to his frustration. > > "Dr. Modher was declared by Iraq to have been one of the principal > figures in their missile programs," said Ewen Buchanan, spokesman for > the U.N. inspectors. > > In the late 1980s, Modher headed up the Iraqi military's Project > 1728, part of an effort to produce engines for longer-range missiles. > > He was the protege and favored colleague of Iraqi Lt. Gen. Hussein > Kamel, Saddam's right-hand man and son-in-law who briefly defected to > Jordan in 1995. There, Kamel told U.N. inspectors during > interrogations about his work and Dr. Modher's efforts to build a > missile powerful enough to strike most major European cities. > > According to the interrogation transcripts, Kamel said Modher and a > nuclear physicist named Mahdi Obeidi both took work and documents > from their offices. U.N. inspectors investigated the claim but found > nothing. > > In July of this year, Obeidi gave the CIA a stack of papers and a > piece of equipment that had been buried in his backyard for 12 years. > In return, he has become the only Iraqi scientist allowed to move to > the United States since the beginning of the U.S. occupation. > > Other than Obeidi, who is living along the East Coast with his > family, another scientist known to have left the country is Jaffar al- > Jaffer who founded Iraq's nuclear program in the 1980s. He's in the > United Arab Emirates, where U.S. troops are stationed, and has been > questioned by U.S. and British intelligence officials. > > But Jaffar, like a handful of senior scientists being held by U.S. > forces in Iraq, hasn't provided any information on the whereabouts of > suspected chemical, biological or nuclear weapons. While President > Bush (news - web sites) said he launched the war to disarm Iraq of > its deadly arsenal, such weapons remain elusive. > > David Kay, the chief weapons hunter, has said his teams so far have > found new information on Iraqi missile systems. But a conversation > with Modher could have cleared up unanswered questions about Iraq's > true capabilities for delivering weapons of mass destruction. > > Modher traveled to Germany in 1987 to buy high-tech equipment through > H & H Metalform, a company whose senior officers were later tried in > Germany and found guilty of violating the country's export control > laws, U.N. inspectors said. > > The equipment enabled Iraq to make components for Scud missiles > similar to the ones they later fired at Israel and Saudi Arabia > during the 1991 Gulf War (news - web sites). > > When that conflict ended, Iraq faced U.N. sanctions forbidding it > from purchasing any new weapons-making equipment. > > But four years later, Modher was caught by U.N. inspectors when he > inquired about Russian-made gyroscopes from a Palestinian middleman. > At the time, Tariq Aziz, then Iraq's deputy prime minister, told U.N. > inspectors Modher had acted on his own and would be punished for > breaking sanctions. He allegedly spent 2 1/2 years in jail. > > Kay told reporters in Washington last month that "senior Iraqi > officials, both military and scientific" had moved to Jordan and > Syria, "both pre-conflict and some during the conflict, and some > immediately after the conflict." > > He didn't mention Iran, although its long, shared border with Iraq > has been an easy crossing point for militants and Shiite pilgrims > headed to Iraqi shrines. > > Jordanian and Syrian officials dismissed claims that wanted Iraqis > are inside their countries and Kay has offered no names of those > believed to have fled. > > But signs of an exodus have led to a renewed push by nonproliferation > experts and government officials to keep the scientists from > wandering. > > The 11-page State Department plan aimed at preventing Iraqi > scientists from fleeing is entitled "The Science Technology and > Engineering Mentorship Initiative for Iraq." > > Such initiatives are critical but late, said Tucker of the Monterey > Institute. > > "This is something that should have been done immediately after the > war ended," he said. "The initial approach, which was to treat them > as criminals and threaten them with prosecution only makes scientists > want to leave or stay away." > > ___ > > On the Net: > > U.N. Inspectors: http://www.unmovic.org > > Kay Briefing: http://www.cia.org > > > > >
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