United Nations, February 5
The US Secretary of State Colin Powell told the United Nations Security Council today that Iraq continues to follow a policy of denial and deception and asserted that it is not cooperating with the United Nations weapons inspectors and is hiding prohibited weapons.
Right in the beginning of the presentation, Powell played two tapes of conservations between military commanders which, he said, clearly indicated that they were trying to hide prohibited weapons and to ensure that weapons inspectors did not find anything.
Powell also presented the Council with spy satellite photos that he said proved Iraq was maintaining banned weapons programmes in defiance of the UN disarmament demands.
He alleged that Iraqi officials hid correspondence on military industrialisation, ordered the removal of banned weapons from key sites and hid prohibited items in their homes.
The satellite picture showed what Powell said was an ammunition facility which housed chemical weapons.
He said the facility was cleaned up before the inspections and showed another picture which showed that Iraq was removing the prohibited materials.
An image of missile facility, he said, showed that Iraq had moved missiles days before the inspections. In another image, he showed trucks and cranes brought to remove the missile.
PTI
