Based on its inspections and examinations during this time, UNMOVIC inspectors determined that UNSCOM had successfully dismantled Iraq ’ s unconventional weapons program during the 1990s.

United Nations Special Commission ( UNSCOM ) was an inspection regime created with the adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution 687 in April 1991 to oversee Iraq's compliance with the destruction of Iraqi chemical, biological, and missile weapons facilities and to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency ’ s efforts to eliminate nuclear weapon facilities all in the aftermath of the Gulf War.

The UNSCOM inspection regime was packaged with several other UN Security Council requirements, namely, that Iraq ’ s ruling regime formally recognize Kuwait as an independent state and pay out war reparations for the destruction inflicted in the Gulf War, including the firing of Kuwaiti oil supplies and destruction of public infrastructure.

The powers given to UNSCOM inspectors in Iraq were: “ unrestricted freedom of movement without advance notice in Iraq ”; the “ right to unimpeded access to any site or facility for the purpose of the on-site inspection ... whether such site or facility be above or below ground ”; “ the right to request, receive, examine, and copy any record data, or information ... relevant to ” UNSCOM ’ s activities ; and the “ right to take and analyze samples of any kind as well as to remove and export samples for off-site analysis.

Acceptance of the intrusion of the UNSCOM ’ s inspectors on the part of the Iraqi regime was slow coming.

But with the threat of punitive military action looming from the international community, and particularly the U. S., Saddam Husain begrudgingly allowed UNSCOM ’ s inspectors into the country to begin their work.

United Nations Security Council Resolution 699 was also passed in 1991, declaring that Iraq was responsible for all funding of UNSCOM ’ s inspections in Iraq.

After the Gulf War, the United Nations Special Commission ( UNSCOM ) was created to ensure Iraq ’ s compliance with policies regarding the production of WMDs.

** Iraq disarmament crisis: Iraq refuses to allow UNSCOM inspectors to use its own aircraft to fly into Iraq, and begins military operations in the demilitarized zone between Iraq and Kuwait, and the northern Iraqi no-fly zones.

** Iraq disarmament crisis: Iraqi military escorts on board an UNSCOM helicopter try to physically prevent the UNSCOM pilot from flying the helicopter in the direction of its planned destination, threatening the safety of the aircraft and their crews.

* September 13 – Iraq disarmament crisis: An Iraqi military officer attacks an UNSCOM weapons inspector on board an UNSCOM helicopter, while the inspector attempts to take photographs of unauthorized movement of Iraqi vehicles inside a site designated for inspection.

* September 17 – Iraq disarmament crisis: While waiting for access to a site, UNSCOM inspectors witness and videotape Iraqi guards moving files, burning documents, and dumping waste cans into a nearby river.

* September 25 – Iraq disarmament crisis: UNSCOM inspector Dr. Diane Seaman catches several Iraqi men sneaking out the back door of an inspection site, with log books for the creation of prohibited bacteria and chemicals.

* March 1 – Iraq disarmament crisis: Iraqi forces refuse UNSCOM inspection teams access to 5 sites designated for inspection.

In response to diminishing Iraqi cooperation with UNSCOM, the United States called for withdrawal of all UN and IAEA inspectors in 1998, resulting in Operation Desert Fox.

United Nations Special Commission ( UNSCOM ) was an inspection regime created by the United Nations to ensure Iraq's compliance with policies concerning Iraqi production and use of weapons of mass destruction after the Gulf War.

During several visits to Iraq by the United Nations Special Committee ( UNSCOM ), set up after the 1990 invasion of Kuwait to inspect Iraqi weapons facilities, weapons inspectors were told by Rihab Rashid Taha that the al-Hakam germ warfare center was a chicken-feed plant.

In 1995, UNSCOM's principal weapons inspector Dr. Rod Barton showed Taha documents obtained by UNSCOM from Israel that showed the Iraqi government had just purchased 10 tons of growth media from a British company called Oxoid.

The al-Hakam germ warfare center, headed by the British-educated Iraqi biologist Dr. Rihab Rashid Taha, was blown up by UNSCOM in 1996.

Evidence that UNSCOM had been used by US intelligence to penetrate Iraqi security and track President Saddam Hussein's movements emerged in January 1999.

* According to UNSCOM, Iraqi nuclear scientists are ordered to hide nuclear weapons from UN inspectors, collect and hide computer data, and formulate a " legal " justification for the existence of Iraqi nuclear labs.

* UNSCOM / IAEA teams attempt to intercept Iraqi vehicles carrying nuclear related equipment called calutrons.

* Iraqi scuba divers, under the direction of UNSCOM, dredge the Tigris River near Baghdad.

* Iraqi forces refuse UNSCOM inspection teams access to five sites designated for inspection.

UNSCOM chief weapons inspector Richard Butler withdrew his team from Iraq in November 1998 because of Iraq's lack of cooperation.

* June 18 – Iraq disarmament crisis: Iraq refuses to allow UNSCOM weapons inspectors to install remote-controlled monitoring cameras at 2 missile engine test stands.

UNSCOM withdraws all weapons inspectors from Iraq.

UNSCOM claims that it has reliable information that the site contains archives related to illegal weapons activities.

UNMOVIC was to replace the former United Nations Special Commission ( UNSCOM ) and continue with the latter's mandate to disarm Iraq of its weapons of mass destruction, and to operate a system of ongoing monitoring and verification to check Iraq's compliance with its obligations not to reacquire the same weapons prohibited to it by the Security Council.

The destruction of proscribed weapons and the associated facilities was carried out mainly by Iraq, under constant supervision by UNSCOM.

Former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter later accused some UNSCOM personnel of spying, and also alleged that the purpose of the spying was to target Saddam in the bombing.

Iraq was required to turn over all biological and chemical weapons to UNSCOM for destruction, and ordered to respect the 1968 Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty.

* Combined UNSCOM / IAEA team co-led by Robert Gallucci and David Kay discover files exposing Iraq's hidden nuclear weapons program.

* UNSCOM begins to destroy large quantities of Iraq's chemical weapons and production facilities

UNSCOM claimed that it had reliable information that the site contained archives related to illegal weapons activities.

* Iraq refuses to allow UNSCOM weapons inspectors to install remote-controlled monitoring cameras at two missile engine test stands.

The resolution also called for countries exporting so called " dual-use items " which could potentially be used in weapons systems to notify UNSCOM.

Such plans and programs appear to have been dormant, the existence of these though were concealed from UNSCOM during the inspections that began in 2002.

As early as 1997, Wanniski posted columns on his website alleging that after November 1991, UNSCOM inspectors had never found WMD in Iraq, and in fact had found and destroyed all of Iraq's WMD programs with the help of Saddam's regime in the months following the first Gulf War.

In November 2001 Charles Duelfer, then an UNSCOM weapons inspector, also said that Iraqi officials also claimed that the facility was for counterterrorism, but after witnessing the drills performed there he “ automatically took out the word ' counter '" dismissing the claim as a fraud.

* May – Iraq disarmament crisis: UNSCOM supervises the destruction of Al-Hakam, Iraq's main production facility of biological warfare agents.

UNSCOM learned that, in August 1990, after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, Taha's team was ordered to set up a program to weaponize the biological agents.

This resolution created a special commission, UNSCOM, to inspect Iraq's chemical, biological and nuclear facilities.

* UNSCOM supervises the destruction of Al-Hakam, Iraq's main production facility of biological warfare agents

* UNSCOM reports to the UN Security Council that Iraq's declaration on its biological weapons program is incomplete and inadequate.

The UNSCOM inspectors believe that Iraq still has stockpiles of chemical and biological munitions, a small force of Scud-type missiles, and the capacity to restart quickly its production program and build many, many more weapons ....

By 1991, the United Nations had established its Special Commission ( UNSCOM ) and charged it with the task of destroying, removing, or rendering harmless " all chemical and biological weapons and all stocks of agents and all related subsystems and components and all research, development, support and manufacturing facilities.