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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, January 17, 2003

US Cautious to Respond to Iraq's Empty Warheads

The United States on Thursday was cautious to respond to the discovery of 11 empty chemical weapons warheads in southern Iraq by UN weapons inspectors.


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The United States on Thursday was cautious to respond to the discovery of 11 empty chemical weapons warheads in southern Iraq by UN weapons inspectors.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters that Washington will be deliberate in reacting to the discovery becauseit is still assessing related information coming out from Iraq.

Scott McClellan, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said in Scranton, Pennsylvania, that the Bush administration was aware of the reports about the discovery and is looking forward to receiving information from the UN inspectors who found the empty warheads.

McClellan, who was accompanying President George W. Bush on a trip to Scranton, refused to make further comments on the findings.

A US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said earlier Thursday that the empty chemical weapons warheads just discovered in southern Iraq could not amount to "a smoking gun" the United Stated is looking for to prove Iraq possesses weapons of mass destruction.

"A smoking gun would be if you found a big stockpile with chemicals," the official said.

He said that the site where the UN inspectors found empty warheads was not included in the information which the United States shared with the inspectors.

UN arms experts finds 11 empty chemical warheads
UN arms inspectors on Thursday found 11 empty chemical warheads at an ammunition storage in their daily hunting for banned weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, a UN spokesman reported.

The UN inspectors "discovered 11 empty 122 mm chemical warheads and one warhead that requires further evaluation" when they were visiting "the Ukhaider Ammunition Storage Area to inspect a large group of bunkers constructed in the late 1990's," Hiro Ueki said ina statement.

"The warheads were in excellent condition and were similar to ones imported by Iraq during the late 1980's," he said.

"The team used portable X-Ray equipment to conduct a preliminary analysis of one of the warheads and collected samples for chemical testing," the spokesman added.

The United States accuses Iraq of secretly developing weapons of mass destruction and is pouring tens of thousands of troops into the Gulf region to back up its threats to disarm Baghdad by force.

While denying US allegation that it has prohibited weapons, Iraq has accepted UN Security Council Resolution 1441 that provides for a tougher weapons inspection regime in the country.

The UN weapons experts resumed their hunting for prohibited weapons of mass destruction in Iraq on Nov. 27 after a four-year suspension and have so far searched about 400 suspected sites.


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