Salon | Newsreal: Worse than useless

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R E C E N T L Y
Arkansas state trooper denies key part of "Troopergate" story
By Murray Waas
But Los Angeles Times reporter stands by his story -- denies he "put words in (trooper's) mouth"
(03/24/98)
Portrait of a bag man
By Jonathan Broder and Murray Waas
Parker Dozhier was secretly funneling money to a key Whitewater witness and running an intelligence-gathering and dirty tricks operation -- out of a bait shop
(03/23/98)
Still getting away with murder
By Vivienne Walt
The killing fields of Rwanda are in full swing once more
(03/20/98)
Hillary was right
By Andrew Ross
There is a right-wing conspiracy to bring down the president
(03/19/98)
Slick Willey
By Bruce Shapiro
Before you cry too many tears for Kathleen Willey, consider the unfortunate brother and sister she fleeced
(03/18/98)
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Worse than useless
BY JEFF STEIN | Just when the international community was starting to feel the threat of Iraq's biological and chemical weapons of mass destruction could be curtailed by the inspections agreement between United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, two news reports Tuesday suggested that we all ought to feel very frightened again.
The London tabloid the Sun reported on an alleged plot to smuggle anthrax-based substances into Britain. In a separate report, the New York Times reported that the "father" of Iraq's germ weapons program had been arrested trying to flee the country. According to the Times, the arrest of Nassir Hindawi "deals a significant blow to the U.N. inspectors" because they "view free access to people like Hindawi as even more valuable than visits to presidential sites or review of Iraqi government files because, in their experience, the program's workings become clear only when described by participants."
That the new inspections deal now seems in serious trouble comes as no surprise to David Kay, who headed the first U.N. weapons inspection team in Baghdad. In an interview with Salon, Kay called the deal negotiated by Annan "worse than useless." He blasted the U.N. chief for ignoring Saddam's record of "cheat, retreat and deceit," and described the harsh conditions under which UNSCOM inspectors work in Baghdad.
The Sun reported that Iraq had planned to hide anthrax in duty-free goods like cosmetics, perfume and alcohol and smuggle it into Britain. Iraq denies it, the British government says they have no evidence of it, but still put ports and airports on alert. What do you make of the story?
Oh, I don't know. British tabloids are British tabloids. A plot like this is certainly unexpected from Saddam at a time when he's trying to break out of the international sanctions. But we know the Iraqis have the capability, and that's what is really frightening.
Have the Iraqis ever tried anything similar?
No. They had some BW [biological warfare] agents that could be primarily used for assassination -- ricin being one of them, the same stuff the Bulgarians used to kill a dissident years ago. The Iraqis have engaged in terrorism, but I don't know of any evidence of their using BW or chemical agents for it. But Saddam, as we've seen, runs just incredible risks. Unfortunately, these are the sorts of threats we are now going to have to start taking seriously, even when the info is sketchy.
How significant is the reported arrest last week of Nassir Hindawi, the so-called father of Iraq's chemical and biological weapons program?
He's a key player. You have to remember that U.N. inspectors have never found any of the BW installations by themselves. We found out about them because Saddam's two son-in-laws defected in 1995 -- and one of them told us about them. Some of us wished that Saddam had more daughters (laughs). But in a list of the five or six people in Iraq who know what they're doing, Hindawi would be right at the top.
Did you ever meet him?
Only in a room with other people. I never had to deal with him, thank God.

UNSCOM has apparently known of Hindawi's arrest since last week. Why didn't it come out before?
My guess is that it finally leaked because someone probably got fed up with the U.N. not taking any action. As a result of his agreement with Saddam, Kofi Annan is bending over backward not to embarrass the Iraqis. What they should have done is to demand full and complete access to him right now. In the old days, if something like this happened, the inspectors would have been a lot more assertive, but I'm afraid we're in this period where we're going to be nice to the Iraqis because we want them to be nice to us.
You think it's a bad deal.
I think it's a horrible deal. The only good thing about it is that it helped the U.S. avoid taking a military action. But it's not just humiliating. It gives Saddam the advantage of another round of negotiations in which he can prove that the coalition is even further splintered. It also entangles the inspections in politics. Before, the UNSCOM teams reported directly to the Security Council, not the secretary-general. A secretary-general will always have a different agenda.
Which you say is to make nice to Saddam.
His deal unites two things that should never be united: Annan's vouching for Saddam's character -- "creative, flexible and courageous, a man I can do business with," he called him -- with responsibility for running an honest, vigorous, forceful enforcement effort. These things are incompatible. If it turns out Saddam is lying, Annan's reputation is going to suffer, not Saddam's, because Saddam's reputation can't fall any further.
Has the deal affected the inspections?
It has already. The daily reports since Scott Ritter's team has been out there have not come from UNSCOM in Baghdad, or UNSCOM in New York, but have been delivered by Fred Eckart, who is Annan's personal spokesman. So already you're getting the spinmeisters in there. Eckart's job is to protect the secretary-general and make it look like Saddam is complying.
So the deal is useless?
I think it's worse than useless. This one is positively destructive of what UNSCOM has accomplished, which is why I feel so strongly about it. It should cause a lot of people to pause and think about how bright and skillful is a secretary-general who would purposely tie himself, his own fate and, ultimately, that of the United Nations, to Saddam.
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N E X T+P A G E+| So, how's the food?

T A B L E+T A L K Boris cleans house. What's going on with Yeltsin's cabinet? Join the discussion in the International Issues area of Table Talk D A I L Y+Q U O T E Washington lawyers to Ginsburg: Huh? R E C E N T L Y Arkansas state trooper denies key part of "Troopergate" story By Murray Waas But Los Angeles Times reporter stands by his story -- denies he "put words in (trooper's) mouth" (03/24/98) Portrait of a bag man By Jonathan Broder and Murray Waas Parker Dozhier was secretly funneling money to a key Whitewater witness and running an intelligence-gathering and dirty tricks operation -- out of a bait shop (03/23/98) Still getting away with murder By Vivienne Walt The killing fields of Rwanda are in full swing once more (03/20/98) Hillary was right By Andrew Ross There is a right-wing conspiracy to bring down the president (03/19/98) Slick Willey By Bruce Shapiro Before you cry too many tears for Kathleen Willey, consider the unfortunate brother and sister she fleeced (03/18/98) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Browse the Newsreal Archives - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
		BY JEFF STEIN \| Just when the international community was starting to feel the threat of Iraq's biological and chemical weapons of mass destruction could be curtailed by the inspections agreement between United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, two news reports Tuesday suggested that we all ought to feel very frightened again. The London tabloid the Sun reported on an alleged plot to smuggle anthrax-based substances into Britain. In a separate report, the New York Times reported that the "father" of Iraq's germ weapons program had been arrested trying to flee the country. According to the Times, the arrest of Nassir Hindawi "deals a significant blow to the U.N. inspectors" because they "view free access to people like Hindawi as even more valuable than visits to presidential sites or review of Iraqi government files because, in their experience, the program's workings become clear only when described by participants." That the new inspections deal now seems in serious trouble comes as no surprise to David Kay, who headed the first U.N. weapons inspection team in Baghdad. In an interview with Salon, Kay called the deal negotiated by Annan "worse than useless." He blasted the U.N. chief for ignoring Saddam's record of "cheat, retreat and deceit," and described the harsh conditions under which UNSCOM inspectors work in Baghdad. The Sun reported that Iraq had planned to hide anthrax in duty-free goods like cosmetics, perfume and alcohol and smuggle it into Britain. Iraq denies it, the British government says they have no evidence of it, but still put ports and airports on alert. What do you make of the story? Oh, I don't know. British tabloids are British tabloids. A plot like this is certainly unexpected from Saddam at a time when he's trying to break out of the international sanctions. But we know the Iraqis have the capability, and that's what is really frightening. Have the Iraqis ever tried anything similar? No. They had some BW [biological warfare] agents that could be primarily used for assassination -- ricin being one of them, the same stuff the Bulgarians used to kill a dissident years ago. The Iraqis have engaged in terrorism, but I don't know of any evidence of their using BW or chemical agents for it. But Saddam, as we've seen, runs just incredible risks. Unfortunately, these are the sorts of threats we are now going to have to start taking seriously, even when the info is sketchy. How significant is the reported arrest last week of Nassir Hindawi, the so-called father of Iraq's chemical and biological weapons program? He's a key player. You have to remember that U.N. inspectors have never found any of the BW installations by themselves. We found out about them because Saddam's two son-in-laws defected in 1995 -- and one of them told us about them. Some of us wished that Saddam had more daughters (laughs). But in a list of the five or six people in Iraq who know what they're doing, Hindawi would be right at the top. Did you ever meet him? Only in a room with other people. I never had to deal with him, thank God. UNSCOM has apparently known of Hindawi's arrest since last week. Why didn't it come out before? My guess is that it finally leaked because someone probably got fed up with the U.N. not taking any action. As a result of his agreement with Saddam, Kofi Annan is bending over backward not to embarrass the Iraqis. What they should have done is to demand full and complete access to him right now. In the old days, if something like this happened, the inspectors would have been a lot more assertive, but I'm afraid we're in this period where we're going to be nice to the Iraqis because we want them to be nice to us. You think it's a bad deal. I think it's a horrible deal. The only good thing about it is that it helped the U.S. avoid taking a military action. But it's not just humiliating. It gives Saddam the advantage of another round of negotiations in which he can prove that the coalition is even further splintered. It also entangles the inspections in politics. Before, the UNSCOM teams reported directly to the Security Council, not the secretary-general. A secretary-general will always have a different agenda. Which you say is to make nice to Saddam. His deal unites two things that should never be united: Annan's vouching for Saddam's character -- "creative, flexible and courageous, a man I can do business with," he called him -- with responsibility for running an honest, vigorous, forceful enforcement effort. These things are incompatible. If it turns out Saddam is lying, Annan's reputation is going to suffer, not Saddam's, because Saddam's reputation can't fall any further. Has the deal affected the inspections? It has already. The daily reports since Scott Ritter's team has been out there have not come from UNSCOM in Baghdad, or UNSCOM in New York, but have been delivered by Fred Eckart, who is Annan's personal spokesman. So already you're getting the spinmeisters in there. Eckart's job is to protect the secretary-general and make it look like Saddam is complying. So the deal is useless? I think it's worse than useless. This one is positively destructive of what UNSCOM has accomplished, which is why I feel so strongly about it. It should cause a lot of people to pause and think about how bright and skillful is a secretary-general who would purposely tie himself, his own fate and, ultimately, that of the United Nations, to Saddam. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - N E X T+P A G E+\| So, how's the food?