Congressional leaders are questioning the Bush
administration over the actual destination of a North Korean shipment of
extended-range Scud C and D missiles.
The sources said some of the committee chiefs
have privately expressed doubt whether Yemen was the destination of the
Scuds as claimed by Sanaa and Washington.
The North Korean vessel is expected to
arrive in Yemen on Saturday, Middle East Newsline reported.
Congressional sources said leading House and Senate military and
security committee chiefs have been dissatisfied with the administration's
explanations about first the capture and then release the North Korean missile
shipment off the Yemeni coast.
"It's become a major embarrassment and we're not getting any answers," a
senior congressional source said.
On Tuesday, the United States announced the capture of a North Korea
ship that was said to be heading to Yemen with Scud missiles. The following
day the Bush administration released the ship after Yemen protested and
hinted at a crisis in relations.
But congressional committee chiefs have relayed doubts over whether
Yemen was the final destination of the Scuds. Congressional sources who
briefed the chiefs said the Yemeni ship contained 12 Scud C and three Scud D
missiles. The Scud C has a range of 500 kilometers and the D model a range
of up to 700 kilometers.
Moreover, the Scud D, with a separating warhead, requires a modified
launch vehicle that Yemen is not believed to possess, the sources said.
Yemen does have Scud B missiles and launch vehicles, which can also
accommodate the extended-range Scud C.
"There is no indication that Yemen ever ordered these missiles," the
source said. "North Korea works on cash-and-carry and Yemen does not have
the resources for such a purchase."
Some congressional analysts said they suspect Yemen was serving as an
intermediary for nearby Arab countries that did not want to be seen as
purchasing missiles from North Korea. They said they suspect that the final
destination for the Scud C and Ds were either Egypt or Libya.
U.S. defense officials have also expressed doubts over the Yemeni
episode despite a pledge by Sanaa not to transfer the Scuds to a third
party. They said Yemen has been used as a transit point for the shipment of
sensitive military equipment to the Middle East.
"Sometimes they end up heading in one direction and it becomes a
transshipment point and it goes to an
entirely different direction," Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said. "And
until we get more information
all I can say is we're very interested in what the ultimate destination was
intended to be, but we've not yet found out."
