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Concern Over Missing Equipment In Iraq

The disappearance of high-precision equipment in Iraq has got officials concerned that they could be used for constructing nuclear weapons. Officials of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have informed the UN Security Council of the extensive and apparently methodical dismantlement of buildings in Iraq that once housed key dual-use items.

Given the fact that ever since March 2003, UN inspectors have strictly banned from Iraq, they must rely primarily on satellite imagery to track the missing equipment. Tracking the lost equipment is a daunting task indeed.

Among missing equipment are precision milling and turning machines and electron-beam welders that before the war were tagged with IAEA seals and monitored to ensure that they were not used for an illicit weapons program.