Now The UN Admits It

Okay, this whole issue is now closed. The UN has found that Saddam shipped WMD out of Iraq:

The United Nations has determined that Saddam Hussein shipped weapons of mass destruction components as well as medium-range ballistic missiles before, during and after the U.S.-led war against Iraq in 2003.

The UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission briefed the Security Council on new findings that could help trace the whereabouts of Saddam's missile and WMD program.

The briefing contained satellite photographs that demonstrated the speed with which Saddam dismantled his missile and WMD sites before and during the war. Council members were shown photographs of a ballistic missile site outside Baghdad in May 2003, and then saw a satellite image of the same location in February 2004, in which facilities had disappeared.

Those taking the 'Saddam had no WMD' line against the Iraq war are now officially without an argument. (Not that they ever had one, really). Those taking the 'We haven't found WMD so the war is wrong' approach are also relegated to the sidelines.

[T]he Iraqi facilities were dismantled and sent both to Europe and around the Middle East. at the rate of about 1,000 tons of metal a month. Destinations included Jordan, the Netherlands and Turkey.

The Baghdad missile site contained a range of WMD and dual-use components, UN officials said. They included missile components, reactor vessel and fermenters - the latter required for the production of chemical and biological warheads.

The WMD question is settled, folks - the UN says so.
-- posted by Austin @ 1:34 PM (PermaLink/Comment) ¶