Word: samouds
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...Iraq has not attempted to hide the capabilities of the al-Samoud 2 from the inspectors. Indeed, the information upon which Dr. Blix has based his demand that the missiles be destroyed was initially provided by the Iraqis themselves. While Saddam is unlikely to welcome the prospect of having to get rid of anything his forces could use against an invading army, Blix's demand does offer the Iraqi dictator an opportunity...
...With Blix due to report back again on or soon after March 1 - in the middle of the two weeks of debate on the new resolution envisaged by Britain and the U.S. - the al-Samoud 2 test therefore becomes a crucial indicator. If Blix tells the Council that Iraq is refusing to destroy a prohibited weapon, that may put the kibosh on calls to give the inspection process more time. But an Iraqi decision to destroy the missiles under UN supervision could have the reverse effect, providing more ammunition for France, Germany and Russia to argue that inspections be given...
Iraq's al-Samoud 2 missile may be more useful to Saddam Hussein as a sacrificial offering, right now, than as an artillery weapon. As Britain, Spain and the U.S. square off against France, Germany and Russia in a crucial Security Council debate over Iraqi disarmament, UN weapons inspectors have demanded that Iraq destroy its entire arsenal of the offending missile by March 1. Chief inspector Dr. Hans Blix has declined to negotiate with Baghdad over that demand - leaving no doubt that failure to comply would lead him to report to the Security Council that Iraq has failed a benchmark...
...that the al-Samoud 2 is, in any sense, a weapon of mass destruction - it is a medium-range missile designed to carry a conventional explosive warhead. But where the missile falls foul of the inspection regime is that its range exceeds the 93-mile limit set by the UN in 1991. (A number of technical specifications also exceed UN limits in ways that prompt Blix's team to suspect it may simply be version 2.0 of a planned long-range Iraqi missile.) The fact that the extent of the al-Samoud 2's infraction is reportedly no more than...
...else" ultimatum in this particular crisis, Saddam has capitulated so as to avoid giving the U.S. a pretext to launch an attack. Despite his defiant tone on CBS, reports out of Baghdad this week quoted Iraqi officials as hinting that Saddam may be planning to sacrifice the al-Samoud 2 to slow President Bush's march...