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990401
Iraq has already been dis.;~@_/È��xÂ�îÑ�îÐ�xÂ@_@Ž@_>TEXTttxt�ÿÿÿÿ�Þ�L3'Л3'Ü�__á�Iraq has already been disarmed
DUBAI: Iraq has already been disarmed and no longer poses a threat to its neighbours, former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter said in an interview published on Tuesday.
"Today, Iraq no long possesses arms of mass destruction," Ritter told the London-based Arabic newspaper Al-Hayat.
"Where are the biological arms factories? They have been destroyed. Where are the chemical weapons factories? They have been destroyed," said Ritter, a former US Marine.
His latest comments, after a series of press interviews since resigning in August from UN arms inspection teams, contrasted with the reasons which Ritter gave for his resignation.
At the time, he accused Washington of blocking intrusive inspections of Iraqi sites.
Ritter went on to warn in September that Baghdad still possessed most of the elements needed to build three nuclear bombs, although it lacked the enriched uranium.
But in Al-Hayat, he said the nuclear programme had been "destroyed and dismantled," the same as Iraq's long-range missiles.
"What's left in Iraq? Nothing but seeds which can be planted and cultivated. They have scientists and the know-how which they could decide to reactivate if they are given the freedom," he said.
Ritter said it was time for the UN Security Council to lift the economic sanctions linked to disarmament that have been in force since Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait.
But a system of long-term monitoring of Iraqi weapons programmes, rather than inspections, should remain in place, he said.
Ritter renewed his charges that the United States tried to transform UN arms inspections into a "spying operation" aimed at toppling Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
"But it's an impossible dream," said Ritter, whom Baghdad often accused of spying for Washington.
A UN panel, in a new report to the Security Council, has called for a revamped and "more intrusive" system of long-term monitoring that would include inspections.
Outstanding issues remain, notably concerning Iraq's biological and chemical programmes, according to the panel.
Iraq vowed after US and British air strikes in December Ñ launched to punish Baghdad for its reported failure to cooperate fully with UN inspectors Ñ that the inspectors would never be allowed to return.ÑAFP����2zNúHNúÜNúôNú
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