FIND WEAPONS, PRISONERS and TERRORISTS THENEWS&

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 C M Y K ANDREA—x3625—FINAL EDITION THE NEWS & OBSERVER 12A FILE PHOTO BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS SUNDAY, AUGUST 3, 2003 ‘Major combat operations in Iraq have ended.’ AR IN RAQ GEORGE W. BUSH W I ABOARD THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN ON MAY 1 PROGRESS REPORT: THREE MONTHS LATER On April 9, the day Baghdad fell, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld outlined objectives to be met for the United States to declare victory in Iraq. Here’s a look at where those objectives stand: FIND WEAPONS, PRISONERS and TERRORISTS Find and secure facilities that produce weapons of mass destruction. So far, the United States has discovered no undisputed physical evidence that Iraq had stockpiles of chemical or biological weapons or had been reconstituting its nuclear weapons program. The closest that U.S. officials have come was two trucks that the CIA thinks were used as mobile weapons labs, but no actual prohibited weapons were found on them. The White House and the CIA say that evidence of banned weapons programs will be found. In the absence of a “smoking gun,” the White House has faced increasing criticism over the use of intelligence on Iraq’s weapons programs to build the case for war. One is- sue has been the assertion that Iraq attempted to buy ura- nium in the African country of Niger. In July, CIA chief George Tenet said the president should not have made that accusation, which was based on information from Britain, in his State of the Union speech. British Prime Minister Tony Blair, however, stands by the Niger intelligence, and Sec- retary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said in a TV interview that “it’s technically correct what the president said.” Determine how Iraq acquired capabilities for creating weapons of mass destruction and which countries helped. No information available. Locate Iraqi scientists with knowledge of weapons of mass destruction programs. The No. 1 Iraqi wanted for questioning about Iraq’s chemical weapons was Amer al-Saadi, a special adviser to Sad- dam. He surrendered to U.S. officials in mid-April; before A boy covers his faces as he passes garbage burning in central Baghdad. A lack of basic services and security is feeding disillusionment turning himself in, he insisted that Iraq had no weapons with the U.S. administration in Iraq. Conditions are improving, but Iraqis say the progress is too slow. of mass destruction. LOS ANGELES TIMES PHOTO BY CAROLYN COLE The United States has several other Iraqi scientists in custody. Among them: ■ Dr. Rihab Rashid Taha, known as “Dr. Germ,” who ran REBUILD THE COUNTRY FIND THE LEADERS the Iraqi biological weapons facility in the 1980s and 1990s where scientists worked with anthrax, botulinum toxin Work with Iraqis and those returning from ex- to approve a budget for 2004. Bremer has fi- and aflatoxin. ile to establish an interim authority and to nal say in decisions, however. ■ Jaffar al-Jaffer, who is thought to know key people help pave the way for an Iraqi government. and locations of facilities connected to Iraq’s nuclear U.S. administrator L. Paul Bremer is in charge Locate the wealth of the Iraqi government weapons program. of the effort to rebuild Iraq and to help the inside and outside the country and return David Kay, the CIA’s special adviser for the weapons country form a new government. He is a former it to the Iraqi people. search, told senators Thursday that Iraqi scientists were diplomat and an expert in counterterrorism. The war and the collapse of Saddam’s gov- “collaborating and cooperating” with the U.S. investiga- Under Bremer’s guidance, a 25-member Gov- ernment left many Iraqis jobless. The United tion. But lawmakers such as Edward Kennedy, a Massa- erning Council was created in July to help Iraq’s States has been paying civil servants’ salaries chusetts Democrat, responded with criticism. “There was transition to a new government. Plans call for its from seized funds of the former government no imminent danger, and we should never have gone to presidency to rotate among a nine-person lead- and is creating public works projects to provide war,” he said. ership committee. The council is meant to be the Iraqis with cash. forerunner of a constitutional assembly of 200 Evidence of Iraq’s hidden riches have popped Capture or kill terrorists still operating in Iraq, and ob- to 250 people, who will start drawing up a con- up this summer. In three separate incidents, struct their access to weapons of mass destruction. stitution in September. That process is expected for example, U.S. forces seized trucks laden Elements of Ansar Al-Islam, a group that the United to take nine months to a year, and elections to with gold with a total value estimated at $718 States says has ties to al-Qaeda, were forced from north- pick a new government would follow. million. The trucks were headed for Syria and ern Iraq during the war, possibly finding refuge in Iran. No The Governing Council, made up of Iraqis Iran, but U.S. officials were unsure who was be- new evidence of possible al-Qaeda connections to Saddam’s from all walks of political and religious life, has hind the shipments. the power to name government ministers and Maj. David ‘Bull’ Gerfein of New York City, with the government has come to light. 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, tears down a portrait of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in the Find and return Americans and others held as prisoners southern city of Safwan. of war from this conflict and the 1991 Persian Gulf War. AP PHOTO BY LAURENT REBOURS All U.S. forces from this war are accounted for. Navy pi- CONTROL OF THE COUNTRY lot Michael Scott Speicher, who was shot down over Iraq Complete the battle for control of Baghdad and other contested cities. Capture, account for and otherwise deal with Saddam Hussein, on the first day of the 1991 Persian Gulf War, is listed as “miss- his sons and senior leadership. ing-captured,” and a U.S. intelligence team in Iraq is search- Iraq is under coalition control, but attacks continue in some areas, particularly in the cities of Bagh- ing for clues to his fate. dad, Fallujah, Tikrit and Ramadi. The Washington Post reported in June that groups of armed fighters from The whereabouts of Saddam Hussein are unknown. The last re- the Baath Party and security agencies of ousted President Saddam Hussein ported sighting was April 9 in the Azamiyah neighborhood of north- have organized a loose network called “the Return” to harass U.S. occupa- eastern Baghdad as the capital fell to coalition forces. Saddam tion forces, with the goal of driving them out of the country. was targeted by at least two major U.S. airstrikes during the war, Since May 1, 52 U.S. troops have died in such attacks. The United States is but there has been no proof that either was successful. On the offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to the arrest of anyone who strength of information from captured colleagues, U.S. officials in- kills a coalition soldier or Iraqi police officer. creasingly think Saddam is alive, and they have been searching for him in and around his hometown of Tikrit. On July 3, the United States put a bounty of $25 million on Sad- Secure the northern oil fields. dam. A day later, Arab television broadcast the first of several All of Iraq’s oil fields are under coalition control. Iraq is producing 1.3 mil- audiotapes said to be of Saddam. “The coming days will, God will- lion barrels a day, roughly half its prewar level, largely because of looting and ing, be days of hardship and trouble for the infidel invaders,” the sabotage of power cables and pipelines. Iraqi and U.S. officials said last week speaker on the tape said. that they had agreed on a $1.6 billion plan to repair pipelines and pumping sta- Saddam’s sons and top advisers, Odai and Qusai, were killed July 22 tions over the next eight months. The United States will pay $1 billion for the in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. The Pentagon released photographs fixes, with Iraq paying the rest. of the slain men to convince skeptical Iraqis that they were dead. The highest-ranking official in the U.S. “deck of cards” of most- Secure Iraq’s borders to prevent the escape of senior officials and the wanted Iraqi leaders in custody is Abid Hamid Mahmud al-Tikriti. Mah- transfer of weapons. mud, listed as the ace of diamonds, was a top aide to Saddam. Eigh- Tensions were high along Iraq’s border with Syria after the fall of Bagh- teen of the 55 people in the deck are still at large. dad. The United States accused Syria of harboring Iraqi officials and send- ing weapons into Iraq. Syria denied the charges but acknowledged that the Locate Baath party members, records and weapons caches. desert border was difficult to monitor. U.S.-Syrian relations improved after a visit by Secretary of State Colin Powell in May. Overall progress is unclear. The United States has collected records and stockpiles of weapons from throughout the country, although U.S. troops pursuing a convoy in western Iraq on June 18 exchanged fire with some were lost to looting. Syrian border guards, wounding five of them. The Syrian guards, who were treated An Iraqi walks past a burning oil pipeline in by American forces, were returned to their country by the end of the month.

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