Jewish World Review Jan. 13, 2003 / 10 Shevat, 5763

Dan Abrams

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Why the administration should share intelligence with U.N. inspectors


http://www.NewsAndOpinion.com | Thursday, chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix came forward to say that so far they've found no smoking guns, no concrete evidence of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. The only way they will find that is with good and current intelligence. And yet, the U.S. has been reluctant to provide that very type of information.

"The Washington Post" reports that after weeks of delay, the U.S. is finally offering significant intelligence to the inspectors. And yet, Secretary Powell admits the administration is still holding back some of its more sensitive information.

Now, obviously, the administration has to be careful: A war with Iraq could be around the corner. But the only way to avoid a unilateral war- with little or no support from our allies- is to provide intelligence and prove that Saddam has the weapons. Yes, sure, officially Saddam has the burden to come forward, declare his weapons and destroy them. But as a practical matter, the burden is going to be on the attacker to prove why an invasion is warranted. And U.N. Resolution 1441 requests all members to provide "any information related to prohibited programs."

We should abide by that. The administration has wisely decided to go after Iraq through the U.N.

Let's make sure that refusing to provide information doesn't lead to a sort of P.R. boom for Saddam or even prevent the international community from forcing Saddam's hand.

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JWR contributor Dan Abrams anchors “The Abrams Report,” Monday through Friday from 6-7 p.m. ET on MSNBC TV. He also covers legal stories for “NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw,” “Today” and “Dateline NBC.” To visit his website, click here. Comment by clicking here.

Up

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