Blix: Why is he in NYC and not Baghdad?

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WHY ARE YOU IN NYC AND NOT BAGHDAD, MR. BLIX? By NILES LATHEM and ADAM MILLER

The only inspecting Hans Blix did yesterday would have been a menu on the East Side. - NYP: Don Halasy

November 27, 2002 -- Weapons inspectors today will begin scouring Saddam Hussein's Iraq for weapons of mass destruction - but the head of the operation, Hans Blix, will not be there getting his shoes sandy.

A spokesman for the chief weapons inspector said he will be staying in New York at the United Nation's East Side offices for the time being, where he will coordinate what is said to be a tough new inspection regime.

"He's not an inspector, and our headquarters are here in New York," said Ewen Buchanan, a spokesman for Blix, in response to a question about why Blix isn't in Baghdad.

"He's already been there and talked to the political leaders, and laid the groundwork," said Hang Tan, another spokesman. "Otherwise, he will stay here to direct the matter."

While Blix - who critics have charged was ineffective in his previous weapons-hunting work - held closed-door meetings just a short cab ride from bellinis at Cipriani's, the inspectors in the field in Iraq were scheduled today to begin a plan that would use exotic technology to keep Saddam from concealing his deadly arsenal.

Previous U.N. inspectors charged the Iraqis smuggled evidence out the back door of plants being investigated by U.N. teams.

"When we arrive at the site, the first thing we do is request the freezing of movement. We don't want cars and people to go out of the site carrying things," said Demetrius Perricos, of the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission.

The 17-member U.N. team will start the high-stakes inspections with mostly symbolic visits to previously inspected "neutralized" sites to check on cameras and other monitoring equipment.

"We are fully aware of our responsibility," said Jacques Baute of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Under the terms of the recently passed U.N. inspections resolution, Iraq has until Dec. 8 to provide a list of its weapons of mass destruction.

Inspectors say they have plans to search Saddam's presidential palaces and stop and search suspect trucks to determine whether Iraq has built mobile weapons labs.

And inspectors say they will have new equipment, including underground radar and state-of-the-art hand-held devices that can instantly spot deadly bacteria or chemical agents.

U.N. teams will also demand access to any building "anywhere, anytime."

"If we have access immediately to a site, the credibility of our conclusion if we find nothing there is far higher than if there is any notice, even one or two hours," Baute said.

Pentagon officials, meanwhile, disclosed new military deployment orders that will place a massive armada - that includes four U.S. aircraft carrier battle groups - in the Persian Gulf region by mid-December.

-- Anonymous, November 27, 2002


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