The current administration of the United States seems bent on flexing its power over all organisations that do not adhere to its policies.
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is now the latest target and OPCW Director General Jose Bustani may soon lose his position, simply because he has been continuously prodding Iraq to sign the Chemical Weapons Convention and voluntarily agree to OPCW inspections.
This would eliminate the need for the U.N. inspections, so greatly distrusted by Iraq, due to their suspicions of American control of the U.N. inspection team. All OPCW inspections are conducted by the OPCW Inspectorate, which works in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
The U.S. move to have Bustani replaced, if successful, will virtually eliminate the possibility of Iraq adhering to the CWC, because Iraq will claim that the OPCW is simply a tool of U.S. Foreign Policy.
If the Bush Administration truly wants to eliminate the fear of any possible use of chemical weapons by Saddam Hussein, then the United States should allow Mr. Bustani to conduct OPCW negotiations, without interference.
Instead, the Bush Administration has called for a Special Session of the Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention, the highest legislative authority of the OPCW, for a vote of “No Confidence” in the Bustani Administration.
Also threatened with dismissal are Mr. Bustani’s closest advisors who also believe that the Chemical Weapons Convention will work best when all nations agree to ban chemical weapons.
Please read the accompanying article by George Monbiot and the speech given by U.S. Ambassador Donald A. Mahley.
Please also see what the OPCW is doing: http://www.opcw.org
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is now the latest target and OPCW Director General Jose Bustani may soon lose his position, simply because he has been continuously prodding Iraq to sign the Chemical Weapons Convention and voluntarily agree to OPCW inspections.
This would eliminate the need for the U.N. inspections, so greatly distrusted by Iraq, due to their suspicions of American control of the U.N. inspection team. All OPCW inspections are conducted by the OPCW Inspectorate, which works in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
The U.S. move to have Bustani replaced, if successful, will virtually eliminate the possibility of Iraq adhering to the CWC, because Iraq will claim that the OPCW is simply a tool of U.S. Foreign Policy.
If the Bush Administration truly wants to eliminate the fear of any possible use of chemical weapons by Saddam Hussein, then the United States should allow Mr. Bustani to conduct OPCW negotiations, without interference.
Instead, the Bush Administration has called for a Special Session of the Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention, the highest legislative authority of the OPCW, for a vote of “No Confidence” in the Bustani Administration.
Also threatened with dismissal are Mr. Bustani’s closest advisors who also believe that the Chemical Weapons Convention will work best when all nations agree to ban chemical weapons.
Please read the accompanying article by George Monbiot and the speech given by U.S. Ambassador Donald A. Mahley.
Please also see what the OPCW is doing: http://www.opcw.org