The MIF, and our ability to rapidly augment it, will continue to
serve as a critical deterrent to the smuggling of prohibited items
and products into and out of Iraq. As our Iraq policy develops, we
will need to assess whether MIF force levels are adequate.
UNMOVIC/IAEA: Weapons of mass destruction
There have been no Council-mandated inspections in Iraq since
December 15, 1998. Iraq's defiance of the international consensus,
as expressed by UNSCR 1284, has meant that no- progress has
been made in addressing Iraq's outstanding disarmament obliga-
tions. Iraq remains in violation of its obligations to end its pro-
grams to develop weapons of mass destruction and long-range mis-
siles.
UNMOVIC has largely completed the hiring of its core staff in
New York and is continuing to hire people in an on-call or “roster”
category, including Americans. UNMOVIC has completed four
training courses and is planning to hold a fifth course in late 2001
or early 2002. The United States continues to provide UNMOVIC
with course instructors and facilities for hands-on training. We con-
sult with Dr. Blix and his staff regularly to provide the best sup-
port possible. On May 24, 2001, UNMOVIC updated UNSC on
measures it is taking to prepare for inspections in Iraq. IAEA simi-
larly updated the UNSC on April 6, 2001.
Dual-Use imports
Although the "oil-for-food” program revenues are designated for
humanitarian purposes only, we remain concerned that Iraq is
abusing this program in an attempt to acquire goods and materials
for its weapons programs. The United States, as a member of the
UN Iraq Sanctions Committee, reviews all contracts under the "oil-
for-food” program (unless the items are on a list pre-approved for
expedited humanitarian export) to ensure that items that are ex-
plicitly prohibited or are "dual-use,” which pose a significant risk
of diversion to prohibited uses, are not allowed to be imported. For
instance, under the rubric of importing goods for humanitarian
need, Iraq has been able to upgrade its communication infrastruc-
ture, which has benefited its military's command and control. We
are continuing work aimed at refining controls to prevent Iraq's ac-
quisition of prohibited items.
UNSCR 1051 established a joint UNSCOMIAEA unit to monitor
Iraq's authorized imports of WMD dual-use items (WMD dual-use
goods are also known as “1051-listed goods). Under UN Security
Council resolution 1284, UNMOVIC has assumed this responsi-
bility from UNSCOM, with the added requirement to identify if, in
their estimation, a contract contains a 1051-listed good.
Since weapons inspectors left Iraq in December 1998, the UN Of-
fice of the Iraq Programme is the only organization allowed to ob-
serve goods going into Iraq under the "oil-for-food” program. In the
absence of weapons inspectors and other experts on the ground in
Iraq, the United States has placed holds on a number of dual-use
contracts that otherwise likely would have been approved with
UNMOVIC/LAEA monitoring.
poedited humam (unless the reviews