UNMOVIC still searching

In the department of baffle today's WaPo enlightens us that UN weapons inspection unit tasked with finding Iraq's WMDs is still in business and actively searching for things. Yep, "UNMOVIC" inspectors are weekly scouring satellite photos and calling old friends, hunting for the weapons they were certain once existed while serving up more cannon fodder for the liberals.

It's worth reading, if only for the bizarre comments that seem to be rotated 180 degrees from where they were in early 2003. For example, here's what the Director of UNMOVIC said about his program:

"Look, Iraq is not Denmark," he said. "They've made botulin, anthrax, VX, sarin; they've made the whole spectrum of horrifying items, and they've used them. We don't know how things are going to develop in the region, and we want to be sure there are some controls."

George W. Bush, is that you? The Chief also said the following:

..insists that the U.N. inspectors' work remains relevant and that some of Iraq's chemical and biological weapons could be reconstituted by insurgents, terrorists or even a future Iraqi government.

Wow. OK, it's possible the UN simply cannot believe Hussein was lying and bluffing all those years and is trying to validate all their past work and expense. After all, they were present when some of the stuff was destroyed and saw all the relevant paperwork and sites regarding the program so they must have been the most baffled group in the world right behind the neocons when nothing turned up.

Sure, this is probably the clever talk of a bureaucrat trying to justify his now cushy job. But maybe not. Keep in mind the US/UK have been pushing to have the program disbanded:

But Russia has resisted U.S. pressure. A senior Russian official who tracks the group's work said the U.N. inspectors -- not the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq -- must have the final say on whether Iraq has been disarmed. And the inspectors say they cannot confirm Iraq's disarmament without access to the classified reports of the Iraq Survey Group and a final visit to Iraq to verify U.S. assertions. The United States has refused U.N. requests for such information, Perricos said.

One has to wonder why Russia was singled out here and why would the US be against giving the UN essentially what they released on the internet (ISG Report). Bush has already admitted there were no weapons and has taken more body blows than a Leon Spinks comeback by doing so.

Maybe Russia thinks such a declaration would give them credibility and more bargaining power while further embarrassing Bush. Recall they are currently holding a man whom Britain is trying to extradite for using a WMD to kill an ex-KGB spy.

Or, maybe it's something more conspiratorial. One of the wild theories about the missing weapons is that they were spirited off to some other country prior to the invasion (thanks to that nifty months-long heads-up we provided) but Bush can't divulge that fact because doing so might force the public to demand he do something about it--not to mention making the operation look like even more of a mistake than the current perception.

Bush could certainly call such a bluff and invade anyway, say Syria, but the Russians know our current anti-war climate and lack of spare combat forces do not favor more warmongering. Besides, the weapons themselves would be a deterrent for anyone who possessed them, discouraging such attacks. That would leave Bush twisting in the breeze trying to explain why we were are no longer interested in finding WMDs.

If Russia took part in helping to move the weapons they might also want the UN to officially wrap up and make a declaration of disarmament, an event that could provide some plausible deniability in case anything turns up later. A longshot, no doubt.

But, since we're talking about the U-frickin-N the conventional wisdom has to remain in place, ie, that this is a phony-baloney justification to keep the office open long enough for the employees to find other cushy jobs.