1/27/2003

The Blix Report, issued on January 27, 2003, by chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix, mentioned the ‘Air Force document,’ which “was originally found by an UNSCOM [UN Special Commission on Iraq] inspector in a safe in Iraqi Air Force headquarters in 1998 and taken from her by Iraqi minders. It gives an account of the expenditure of bombs, including chemical bombs, by Iraq in the Iran-Iraq War. I am encouraged by the fact that Iraq has now provided this document to UNMOVIC. The document indicates that 13,000 chemical bombs were dropped by the Iraqi Air Force between 1983 and 1988, while Iraq has declared that 19,500 bombs were consumed during that period. Thus, there is a discrepancy of 6,500 bombs. The amount of chemical agent in these bombs would be in the order of about 1,000 tonnes. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, we must assume that these quantities are now unaccounted for.’ ”

 – Tony Blair, A Journey, Page 414