Masters of deception: U.S. call Iraq, Libya slippery on WMD

WASHINGTON — Iraq and Libya have managed to successfully conceal their weapons of mass destruction programs.

U.S. officials said the effort has kept both chemical and biological weapons programs concealed from international inspectors and call into question the effectiveness of the Chemical Weapons Treaty and the Biological Weapons Treaty.

Iraq and Libya, the officials said, are masters at deception and denial. The result is international pressure on Washington to conclude that both Arab countries do not engage in WMD programs, Middle East Newsline reports.

The conclusion is part of a review being undertaken by the Bush adminstration regarding its agenda for arms control policies. Some officials said the administration will be far more skeptical in endorsing international nonproliferation treaties that can't be verified.

U.S. officials said the CWC and BWC are the most difficult to verify because of they utilize dual-use component. The elements used for biological weapons are the same as those used by the pharmaceutical industry.

"The Libyans and Iraqis undertake methods of covering up their programs so that you can't find them or won't even know that they have them," Assistant Secretary of State for Verification and Compliance Owen Sheaks said. "A lot of the time people will say we don't have any information that Iraq is violating their chemical commitments. We respond, yes, because they're really good at covering it up. It doesn't mean they don't have it."

Sheaks said in an interview to the U.S. government Washington File that the administration will conclude a review on arms control agreements by the end of the year. He said his office would "establish rigorous processes that sort through information to answer the real questions about our arms control concerns."

"All programs that have to do with weapons of mass destruction are under review in this administration — not to say that they necessarily will be changed, but they are under review," Sheaks said.