Colin Powell's Remarks at the Special United Nations Security Council Meeting - 2003-02-05

Colin Powell, the U.S. Secretary of State, announced at a special United Nations Security Council meeting using audio tapes and satellite images that Iraq had ignored the UN's request to eliminate its weapons of mass destruction. He told the fifteen members of the Security Council that Iraq had adopted what he called 'a policy of deception and trickery at the highest levels of the Iraqi regime.' He stated that Iraq was using its espionage capabilities to hide what he termed illicit activities. Powell claimed that the Iraqi regime supported Palestinian terrorists and senior members of the al-Qaeda terrorist network. He expressed concern that Iraqi officials had been informed of inspections before they took place. Accompanied by senior officials from the Central Intelligence Agency, including George Tenet, Powell said that Iraqi officials had concealed their military correspondence and warned that if the UN did not consider the serious consequences of Iraq's non-compliance, it would expose itself to the risk of ignoring the issues. He began his remarks by playing an audio tape in which two Iraqi military personnel were apparently discussing ways to deceive the weapons inspectors. The UN Security Council Resolution 1441, which was unanimously adopted, called for the elimination of all weapons of mass destruction of the Baghdad regime and stated that any violation of the resolution's provisions would result in serious consequences. The United States stated that if Iraq did not voluntarily disarm, it would use force to disarm the country. Today, Iraqi newspapers accused the United States of seeking a pretext to attack Iraq. The newspaper Al-Thawra wrote that Powell's presence at the Security Council was an attempt to find a justification for attacking Iraq. Meanwhile, Hans Blix, the head of UN inspections, stated that he and Mohamed ElBaradei, the chief nuclear inspector, would return to Baghdad on Saturday with three requests. Blix told the Arabic newspaper Al-Hayat that Iraq must legally prohibit its citizens from working on weapons of mass destruction. He said reconnaissance aircraft 'U-2' should be allowed to fly over sites suspected of producing weapons of mass destruction, and the Iraqi regime must allow its scientists to speak privately with the weapons inspectors.