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President Bush is expected to issue an ultimatum to Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in the next several months: Allow United Nations weapons inspectors into the country or face a cutoff of U.N.-sanctioned oil sales.
The ultimatum is planned for June, according to sources close to the United Nations, when the next phase of the oil-for-food program will be launched.
Undersecretary of State John Bolton said last week in Geneva that Iraq is continuing to build weapons of mass destruction since expelling U.N. inspectors in 1998.
“I think it’s very clear in the three years since Iraq has completely excluded the U.N. weapons inspectors that they’ve been making efforts with respect to a number of weapons of mass destruction, including attempting to acquire a capability in nuclear weapons,” Bolton told reporters in Geneva, where he attended a conference on disarmament.
Bolton said Iraq, as well as North Korea, must stop violating the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and allow international inspectors.
“I caution those who think that they can pursue nuclear weapons without detection; the United States and its allies will prove you wrong,” he said. “And let me reiterate U.S. policy on nuclear weapons proliferation: the United States regards the proliferation of nuclear weapons technology as a direct threat to international security and will treat it accordingly. The same holds true for nations that traffic in deadly chemical and biological weapons technology and missile systems.”
Since 1996, when sanctions were eased on Iraq’s foreign oil sales in order to purchase humanitarian goods, Baghdad has made some $38.6 billion in revenue from sales of 2.86 billion barrels of oil.
President Bush recently warned that Iraq may be targeted by the United States at some point in the future as part of the war against international terrorism. In an interview with NBC News, Bush was asked if Iraq is “on the screen” for future operations. “Well, Iraq is on the screen. I mean, after all, they’re not letting our inspectors in,” he said.
Senior Iraqi officials recently were in Moscow and Beijing seeking support for lifting sanctions.
Iraq’s government said recently it would permit United Nations weapons inspectors back into the country if Israel agrees to give up its nuclear weapons, an unlikely prospect.
A U.S. intelligence community report on missile threats made public earlier this month warned that Iraq has maintained its missile production infrastructure and is seeking long-range nuclear missiles.
“Iraq could resume Scud-variant production – with foreign assistance – quickly after U.N. prohibitions ended,” the report said, noting that with greater outside help, “Baghdad could flight-test a domestic MRBM (Medium-Range Ballistic Missile) by mid-decade.”
“An MRBM flight test is likely by 2010. An imported MRBM could be flight-tested within months of acquisition,” the report said.
Intelligence agencies believe that for several years after U.N. restrictions are lifted or modified, “Iraq probably will strive to reestablish its SRBM (Short-Range Ballistic Missile) inventory to pre-Gulf war numbers, continue developing and deploying solid-propellant systems, and pursue MRBMs to keep pace with its neighbors. Once its regional security concerns are being addressed, Iraq may pursue a first-generation ICBM (Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile) Space Launch Vehicle.”
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