It countered Ritter's claims by stating authoritatively that after its creation in 1991 within the DIS, " Rockingham was responsible for briefing some of the personnel who formed part of UNSCOM and International Atomic Energy Agency inspection teams.

UNSCOM ’ s intention of identifying and eliminating Iraqi weapons programs resulted in numerous successes, illustrating the “ value of a system approach to biological arms verification ,” as former UNSCOM Historian Stephen Black has written.

* UNMOVIC Chairman Hans Blix tells UNSC members that the Iraqi weapons declaration filed on December 7 " is essentially a reorganized version " of information Iraq provided UNSCOM in 1997, and that it " is not enough to create confidence " that Iraq has abandoned its WMD efforts.

The claim that UNSCOM weapons inspectors were expelled by Iraq has been repeated frequently.

São Paulo has been home to several of the tallest buildings in Brazil, including the building Mirante do Vale, Italia, Altino Arantes, North Tower of the UNSCOM ( United Nations Centre Enterprise ) and many others.

As of August 2002, former UNSCOM weapons inspector Scott Ritter, who believes U. N. inspections effectively verified the destruction of over 90 % of Iraq's weapon capabilities, is actively campaigning against an invasion, and challenging the Bush administration to make public any evidence that Iraq has rebuilt the capabilities which were destroyed under the auspices of UNSCOM.

And I might say UNSCOM inspectors believe that Iraq has actually greatly understated its production ....

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 ....

In 1998 Iraq accused Butler and other UNSCOM officials of acting as spies for the United States, but the UNSCOM weapons inspectors were not expelled from the country by Iraq as has often been reported ( and as George W. Bush alleged in his infamous " axis of evil " speech ).

It has been alleged that UNSCOM had been infiltrated by British and American spies for purposes other than determining if Iraq possessed WMDs.

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

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.

UNSCOM learns of this event, but is never able to get this information to the UN Security Council.

* According to UNSCOM, Iraq ends cooperation with UNSCOM inspectors, alternately intimidating and withholding information from them.

The article claimed, based on Ritter's allegations, that the Rockingham cell was at the center of various British and US intelligence organisations collecting information on Iraq's WMD, and that the unit dealt with intelligence obtained from a variety of sources, including Iraqi defectors and the UN arms inspections organisation in Iraq UNSCOM, which Rockingham had penetrated.

In 1995, he defected from Iraq with his brother and their wives and his brother gave information to UNSCOM, the CIA and MI6 about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.

* 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.

* An Iraqi military officer attacks a UNSCOM weapons inspector on board a UNSCOM helicopter while the inspector was attempting to take photographs of unauthorized movement of Iraqi vehicles inside a site designated for inspection.

* 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.

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

* UNSCOM destroys large quantities of illegal chemical weapons and related equipment.

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.

* UNSCOM inspectors uncover buried illegal missile parts.

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.

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.

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 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.

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

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.

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.

* 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.

* 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

* 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.