The hunt goes on

With the Anglo-American forces in control of Iraq, and more than four weeks after the war against Iraq was launched on the assumption that i...

With the Anglo-American forces in control of Iraq, and more than four weeks after the war against Iraq was launched on the assumption that it is in 8216;8216;material breach8217;8217; of UN resolutions, there has appeared little evidence so far to even find the peg on which to hang the smoking gun. Not that reports of finds have not emerged during these past four weeks. In fact, intensive efforts have been going on concurrently with the fighting during the war, and the US forces are accompanied by nearly five dozen expert inspectors to help locate evidence of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.

There have been several false alarms and declarations of near discovery of evidence, soon to be corrected after preliminary investigation as in the case of pesticides being mistaken for chemical weapons near Karbala.

But like Saddam Hussein, his fabled weapons of mass destruction are also not to be found anywhere. The US is now assembling a team of a thousand experts to search for the weapons and the process could go on for a long time. This would naturally take time, and the jury must remain out. But with the number of inspectors originally deployed by the UN and the enhancement sought by the head of UN inspection agency, the task could easily be done in a couple of months. Meanwhile, the Pentagon appears to be coming round to the view that weapons may not be found in Iraq at all. Failure to find reasonable evidence of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons would only reinforce the perception that France, Germany, Russia and, in fact, the majority of the UN Security Council, was right in seeking a peaceful solution to the issue of Iraqi disarmament.

But the US, in the words of its Central Command headquarters, 8216;8216;remain convinced that there are weapons of mass destruction8217;8217; inside Iraq. US Secretary of State Colin Powell said last Sunday that 8216;8216;there8217;s strong evidence and no question about the fact there are weapons of mass destruction8217;8217; in Iraq.

EU observers, however, are highly critical that despite the control of the main Iraqi centres, nothing was found. The world, however, would need to withhold judgement for some more time. Meanwhile, international diplomacy is moving on. The US has increased pressure on Syria and almost accused it of possessing weapons of mass destruction. Syria, in turn, has sought international support to move a resolution at the UN Security Council to declare Middle East as a zone free of weapons of mass destruction. This demand of the Arab states is an old one, but its resurrection at this time could raise a piquant situation.