Is Iraq actively developing nuclear weapons?
The Bush administration has alleged that seized shipments of aluminum tubes are evidence that Iraq is actively developing nuclear weapons. In his State of the Union address the president described these tubes as “suitable for nuclear weapons production.” The Powell presentation repeated the U.S. assertion that these tubes are for nuclear enrichment purposes, although Powell acknowledged “differences of opinion” on the issue. • According to the latest assessment of UN inspectors, these aluminum tubes were not intended for the enrichment of uranium but the reverse engineering of 81-millimeter rockets. IAEA director ElBaradei said on 27 January that the aluminum tubes are “not suitable for manufacturing [uranium] centrifuges.”23 President Bush said in Cincinnati on 7 October that aerial photos of the former Tuwaitha nuclear weapons complex “reveal that Iraq is rebuilding facilities at sites that have been part of its nuclear program in the past.” • UN inspectors have visited Tuwaitha nume
