Team Uncovered Iraq Biological Weapon Plan, U.N. Says

LONDON —  U.N. inspectors recently discovered a much more extensive Iraqi program to develop biological weapons than Iraq had admitted, the chief inspector said Thursday.

“It’s hard evidence that they’re not telling us everything,” said Col. Terence Taylor, assistant director of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, who spent two weeks in Iraq this month leading a 21-member inspection team.

The inspectors found the Iraqis had an extensive program involving toxin weapons that Taylor said have a rapid-acting effect like poison and can be used on the battlefield.

“The Iraqis had briefly mentioned the program to us, but what was new was the extent of the work which had been done on it,” Taylor said, calling it “far more extensive than they declared.”

He refused to provide details about the toxin weapon because the inspection report is still being studied in New York.

The statement followed signs that some Security Council members are wavering on the question of whether Iraq is making an effort to comply with orders to make full disclosure of its weapons programs in order to get crippling sanctions lifted.

The surprise inspections at nine sites were timed to coincide with a presentation to the U.N. Security Council on April 18.