>From: Rick Rozoff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: [STOPNATO.ORG.UK] Scott Ritter: Reports of Iraqi Missile Threat >Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > >Reports of Iraqi Missile Threat Are Greatly >Exaggerated >Scott Ritter >Wednesday, September 14, 2000 >San Francisco Chronicle > >URL: >http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2000/09/14/ED >88802.DTL > > > >THE PENTAGON'S DECISION to place a Patriot missile >battery on a heightened state of alert for deployment >to Israel underscores the effort by the United States >and others to create the perception of an imminent >threat from an Iraqi ballistic missile. It doesn't >seem to matter to the Pentagon that the Israeli Prime >Minister himself downplays the Iraqi missile threat as >nonexistent. > >In the nearly 20 months since U.N. weapons inspectors >were last on the job in Iraq, there has been no >shortage of speculation on what has transpired inside >Iraq's weapons factories. Richard Butler, the former >executive chairman of the now-defunct United Nations >Special Commission (UNSCOM), has been at the forefront >of those charging that Iraq is actively rearming. > >One of Ambassador Butler's favorite themes has been >that ``Saddam Hussein is back in the business of >making long-range missiles.'' The Pentagon's >announcement appears perfectly constructed to play >along with this theme. > >This is not the first time the United States has hyped >an ``imminent'' threat from Iraqi missiles. This past >summer, the CIA reported that its satellites picked up >evidence that Iraq had resumed flight testing of the >Al-Samoud missile. Even though the Al-Samoud has a >range of less than 150 kilometers and is permitted >under U.N. resolutions, the CIA highlighted these >tests as proof that Iraq had more nefarious plans for >long-range missiles. > >The United States has not been alone in ``exposing'' >the threat from Baghdad. In a rare public statement >earlier this month, the German Bundesnachrichtendienst >(BND) Intelligence Service confirmed a report that its >agents had located a ``secret Iraqi missile factory >near Baghdad,'' the Al Mamoun factory, which produces >solid- fuel missiles known as the Ababil-100. > >Although the Ababil-100, like the Al-Samoud, possesses >a range less than 150 kilometers, the BND cited this >latest discovery as clear evidence that Saddam Hussein >has continued to build up his arsenal. > >Given that inspectors have not been on the job for >some time now, such information, on the surface, would >seem compelling. But the reality is much different. > >Contrary to the BND report, the Al-Mamoun factory was >well known to UNSCOM missile inspectors. Like the rest >of the Iraqi weapons production infrastruc ture, the >Al Mamoun factory had been under continuous monitoring >by > >UNSCOM since 1993. The ``secret'' Ababil-100 missile >project had in fact been declared to UNSCOM by Iraq in >the spring of 1998. UNSCOM inspectors never felt that >the Ababil-100 missile represented anything close to a >viable project, let alone the potential threat to >German cities that the BND report made it out to be. > >Why would the Germans publish such a report at this >time? The answer lies in the current effort by >UNSCOM's successor organization, the United Nations >Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission >(UNMOVIC) to send inspectors back into Iraq. Iraq has >made it clear that it rejects such inspections, and >the Security Council is bracing itself for yet another >confrontation. A report such as the one put out by the >BND will play a prominent role in any discussion >concerning Iraq's refusal to accept the UNMOVIC >inspectors, and it closely parallels the CIA reports >of the past summer and complements the recent Pentagon >announcement on the Patriot missiles. > >Given the lack of substance behind the reports from >the CIA, BND and the Pentagon, one couldn't help but >conclude that these reports are part of an overall cam >paign of disinformation designed to continue >demonizing and isolating Iraq. Such disinformation >campaigns have long been associated with the effort to >contain Iraq through the continued economic sanctions. >In this regard, the key issue isn't the truth about >Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, but rather the >perception, however incorrect, of the threat such >weapons pose in the hands of Iraq. > >The continuation of economic sanctions, which have >resulted in the deaths of some 1.5 million innocent >Iraqi civilians, hinges on the issue of Iraq's weapons >of mass destruction. It is high time that this issue >be debated on the basis of fact, not fiction. > >By spreading such misleading and inaccurate reports, >the United States and Germany have thrown away the >credibility that comes by embracing the truth, and >instead have surrounded themselves with a bodyguard of >lies. Given the enormity of the tragedy unfolding in >Iraq today, the citizens of these two great >democracies deserve, and should demand, better. > >Scott Ritter, the author of ``Endgame'' (Simon & >Schuster, 1999), was a U.N. weapons inspector in Iraq. > > > > >__________________________________________________ >Do You Yahoo!? >Yahoo! Mail - Free email you can access from anywhere! >http://mail.yahoo.com/ > > >______________________________________________________________________ >To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >Start Your Own FREE Email List at http://www.listbot.com/links/joinlb _______________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki - Finland +358-40-7177941, fax +358-9-7591081 e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.kominf.pp.fi _______________________________________________________ Kominform list for general information. Subscribe/unsubscribe messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Anti-Imperialism list for anti-imperialist news. 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