War with Iraq

State Department Cites Gaps in Iraq Weapons Declaration
December 19 2002

Fact sheet calls missing information "material omissions"

The State Department released a fact sheet giving examples of alleged omissions from Iraq's declaration to the United Nations Security Council concerning its chemical, biological and nuclear weapons capabilities.

The fact sheet, released December 19, compared the findings of United Nations weapons inspectors and Iraqi disclosures since 1991 to Iraq's claims in the 12,000 page document it submitted to the Council December 7. It listed several weapons, components and programs that it said were not accounted for or mentioned in the document.

"None of these holes and gaps in Iraq's declaration are mere accidents, editing oversights or technical mistakes: they are material omissions," concluded the fact sheet.

Fact Sheet
U.S. Department of State
Office of the Spokesman
Washington, DC
December 19, 2002

Illustrative Examples of Omissions from the Iraqi Declaration to the United Nations Security Council

Anthrax and Other Undeclared Biological Agents

• The UN Special Commission concluded that Iraq did not verifiably account for, at a minimum, 2160kg of growth media.

  This is enough to produce 26,000 liters of anthrax

• 3 times the amount Iraq declared; 1200 liters of botulinum toxin; and, 5500 liters of clostridium perfrigens

• 16 times the amount Iraq declared.

Why does the Iraqi declaration ignore these dangerous agents in its tally?

Ballistic Missiles

• Iraq has disclosed manufacturing new energetic fuels suited only to a class of missile to which it does not admit.

• Iraq claims that flight-testing of a larger diameter missile falls within the 150km limit. This claim is not credible.

• Why is the Iraqi regime manufacturing fuels for missiles it says it does not have?

• The Declaration ignores efforts to procure uranium from Niger.

• Why is the Iraqi regime hiding their uranium procurement?

• In 1999, UN Special Commission and international experts concluded that Iraq needed to provide additional, credible information about VX production.

• The declaration provides no information to address these concerns.

• What is the Iraqi regime trying to hide by not providing this information?

• In January 1999, the UN Special Commission reported that Iraq failed to provide credible evidence that 550 mustard gas-filled artillery shells and 400 biological weapon-capable aerial bombs had been lost or destroyed.

• The Iraqi regime has never adequately accounted for hundreds, possibly thousands, of tons of chemical precursors.

• Again, what is the Iraqi regime trying to hide by not providing this information?

• There is no adequate accounting for nearly 30,000 empty munitions that could be filled with chemical agents.

• Where are these munitions?

• Iraq denies any connection between UAV programs and chemical or biological agent dispersal. Yet, Iraq admitted in 1995 that a MIG-21 remote-piloted vehicle tested in 1991 was to carry a biological weapon spray system.

• Iraq already knows how to put these biological agents into bombs and how to disperse biological agent using aircraft or unmanned aerial vehicles.

• Why do they deny what they have already admitted? Why has the Iraqi regime acquired the range and auto-flight capabilities to spray biological weapons?

• The Iraqi declaration provides no information about its mobile biological weapon agent facilities. Instead it insists that these are "refrigeration vehicles and food testing laboratories."

• What is the Iraqi regime trying to hide about their mobile biological weapon facilities?

None of these holes and gaps in Iraq's declaration are mere accidents, editing oversights or technical mistakes: they are material omissions.