Iraq: U.N. Inspections for Weapons of Mass Destruction

Abstract

From late November 2002 to March 2003 U.N. inspectors combed Iraq looking for weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Under the threat of war from the United States and a unanimous Security Council resolution (1441), Iraq was granted a final opportunity to disarm. Many had low expectations for successful inspections. After 16 weeks, inspectors turned up some evidence of undeclared activities, but not enough to convince a majority of the Security Council members that military force was necessary. Nonetheless, on March 19, 2003, U.S. and British forces attacked Iraq to forcibly eliminate its WMD. This report, which will be updated as events warrant, analyzes the inspections, their outcome, and possible future tasks.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 07, 2003
Accession Number
ADA478426

Entities

People

  • Sharon A. Squassoni

Organizations

  • Library of Congress

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter WMD
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Aircrafts
  • Arms Control
  • Arms Control Treaties
  • Chemical Warfare Agents
  • Chemical Weapons
  • Cluster Bombs
  • Foreign Relations
  • International Organizations
  • International Relations
  • Law
  • National Security
  • Remotely Piloted Vehicles
  • Treaties
  • United States
  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
  • Weapons Of Mass Destruction

Readers

  • Nuclear Non-Proliferation and International Security
  • Strategic Security Studies