
There is limited outrage being expressed by some members of the UN Security Council over the use of UN weapons monitoring information to strike targets in Iraq. The latest US military action in Iraq, dubbed Desert Fox, utilized information acquired from UNSCOM weapons inspection teams to develop targeting priorities and improve strike precision. Specifically, positioning data from GPS receivers used by weapons inspectors at inspection sites in Iraq provided precise targeting coordinates for US cruise missiles. Information from UN inspectors was also used to prioritize targets into several categories, including: High threat defensive sites such as antiaircraft missile and radar facilities, medium threat command and communications sites, and low threat power and manufacturing plants. GPS data was essential for targeting high threat sites located near residential areas. Some suggestion has been made to sequester the GPS receivers, some of which may store a record of use in memory. A case is being made that, in the instance of Desert Fox, the use of UN property and UN operations aided and increased the likelihood and effectiveness of military force. Scott Ritter, former UN weapons inspector, was interviewed on NBC's Today show on Dec. 17. Mr. Ritter said, The U.S. has perverted the U.N. weapons inspection process by using it as a tool to justify military action, falsely so. And, for those who require it ;-)