Analysts now suspect that a fleet of Iraqi unmanned aerial vehicles weren't designed to dispense biological or chemical weapons but were actually unarmed reconnaissance drones.
"High on the Bush administration's list of justifications for war against Iraq are President Saddam Hussein's use of chemical weapons, nuclear and biological programs, and his contacts with international terrorists. What U.S. officials rarely acknowledge is that these offenses date back to a period when Hussein was seen in Washington as a valued ally."
U.S. intelligence agencies believe any smallpox samples Iraq possesses came from the last domestic outbreak of the deadly disease in the 1970s, rather than from rogue Russian scientists or other external sources, U.S. officials said.
The U.S. has received a credible report that Islamic extremists affiliated with al Qaeda took possession of a chemical weapon, possibly the nerve agent VX, in Iraq last month or late in October.
Iraq has ordered large quantities of the drug Atropine that can be used to counter the effects of nerve gas. Officials are concerned that Iraq may be preparing to use nerve gases in conflict and are taking steps to protect their own soldiers.
An excellent overview of the challenges U.N. investigators face in trying to verify if Iraq (or any nation) has a program to develop Weapons of Mass Destruction.
A U.S. intelligence review has concluded that four nations -- including Iraq and North Korea -- possess covert stocks of the smallpox pathogen.
The authors warn that Saddam Hussein is capable of unleashing 'biological Armageddon' if trapped into a corner. They argue that the U.S. can defend against biological blackmail by boosting resources for disease detection networks and by training and placing more intelligence agents knowledgeable in this type of warfare throughout the world.
A new CIA assessment warns that Saddam Hussein, while now stopping short of initiating a terrorist or conventional attack, could become "much less constrained" if faced with an American-led force.
U.S. military planners are preparing to face chemical and biological weapons attacks should President Bush order an invasion of Iraq.