Hans Blix
Hans Blix (born June 28, 1928 in Uppsala, Sweden) was the head of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission from January 2000 to June 2003, when
he was succeeded by Demetrius Perricos.
In 2002, the commission began searching Iraq for weapons of mass destruction.
Blix had previously been the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (1981-1997) and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden (1978-1981). He chaired the Swedish Liberal Party's campaign during the 1980 Referendum on nuclear power.
While head of the IAEA in the 1980's, Blix made repeated inspection visits to Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor before its destruction by the Israeli Air Force. Despite the regular inspections of Iraq's research facilities, Blix and the IAEA never discovered a highly advanced nuclear weapons program in Iraq. In fact Iraq was repeatedly praised by the IAEA for its full cooperation with the IAEA. It was only after the first Gulf War that the full extent of Iraq's nuclear programs were known.
In an interview on BBC TV on February 8, 2004, Dr. Blix accused the U.S. and British governments of dramatising the threat of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, in order to strengthen the case for the 2003 war against the regime of Saddam Hussein.
Quotes
- Blix stated on BBC TV's Breakfast With Frost (February 8, 2004):
- Blix stated in the Guardian (June 11, 2003):
- "I have my detractors in Washington. There are bastards who spread things around, of course, who planted nasty things in the media."
- "There are people in [the Bush administration] who say they don't care if the UN sinks under the East River...and other crude things."
- "It's true that the Iraqis misbehaved and had no credibility, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they were in the wrong."
See also
External links
Referenced By
18 November | 18th November | 2002 | 2003 invasion of Iraq people | 21st Century | AIEA | As of 2002 | As of February 2004 | Current Events | Current event | Demetrius Perricos | Disarmament of Iraq | Famous Swedish people | February 2003 | February 2004 | IAEA | International Atomic Energy Agency | International Atomic Energy Authority | Iraq and weapons of mass destruction | Iraq crisis | Iraq crisis, 2003 | Iraq crisis of 2003 | Iraq disarmament crisis | Iraq disarmament crisis timeline 1997-2000 | Iraq disarmament crisis timeline 2001-2003 | Iraqi production and use of weapons of mass destruction | July 11, 2002 | List of Countries with Nuclear Weapons | List of Swedes | List of Swedish diplomats | List of famous Swedish people | List of people associated with the 2003 invasion of Iraq | List of people associated with the Iraq War | List of people by name: BL | List of people by name: Bl-Bm-Bn | List of people by name: Bm | List of people by name: Bn | March 2003 | Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden | Mohamed AlBaradei | Mohamed ElBaradei | November 18 | November 18th | Nuclear club | Ola Ullsten | Preparations for 2003 invasion of Iraq | Resolution 1441 | Seventh Millennium | Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs | Twenty-first Century | Twentyfirst century | UN Security Council Resolution 1441 | UN Security Council resolution on Iraq | United Nations Security Council resolution 1441 | United Nations actions regarding Iraq | United Nations opposition to U.S. plan to invade Iraq | WMD in Iraq | Year in Review 21st Century
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