Last updated on: 6/18/2009 7:02:00 AM PST
US - Iraq War Home Page > Source Biographies > >Hans Blix, PhD
Hans Blix, PhD Biography |
Title: |
Former Executive Chairman of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) |
Position: |
Not Clearly Pro or Con to the question "Should the US Have Attacked Iraq?" |
Reasoning: |
"...[T]hey [the United States and Britain] certainly advanced weapons of mass destruction as the decisive reason for going to war, and I think the evidence was rather weak at the time. We had heard in the autumn of 2002 that the alleged aluminum tubes, for instance, which were thought, alleged to be for making the centrifuges, were probably more likely to be for making a rocket. And in January 2003, we had performed quite a lot of inspections to sites which were given by intelligence and they had not shown any weapons of mass destruction, so we began to be doubtful.
And among the 700 inspections that we performed, none brought us any evidence of weapons of mass destruction. I warned the Security Council about that. Yet, there might have been other evidence and Colin Powell came before the Security Council and he brought some evidence, which we could not check. And I think that by now most of the evidence has fallen apart."
Interview with Jim Lehrer on NewsHour, Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), Mar. 17, 2004
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Theoretical Expertise Ranking: |
Experts Individuals with PhD's, JD's, or equivalent advanced degrees in fields relevant to the US - Iraq conflict. Also top-level government officials (such as foreign leaders, US presidents, Founding Fathers, Supreme Court Justices, members of legislative bodies, cabinet members, military leaders, etc.) with positions relevant to the US - Iraq conflict. |
Involvement and Affiliations: |
Executive Chairman, Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission, 2003-2009 Commander, Légion d'Honneur, 2004 Executive Chairman, United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC), 2000-2003 Recipient, Gold Medal, Uranium Institute (now World Nuclear Association), 1997 Director General, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), 1981-1997 Recipient, Henry DeWolf Smyth Nuclear Statesman Award, 1988 Chairman, Swedish Liberal Party's campaign during a referendum on nuclear power, 1980 Minister for Foreign Affairs, Sweden, 1978-1979 Member, Swedish Delegation, General Assembly, United Nations, 1961-1981 Member, Swedish Delegation, Disarmament Conference, Geneva, 1962-1978 State Secretary for International Development Co-operation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sweden, 1976-1978 Head of Department and Legal Adviser on International Law, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sweden, 1963-1976 Associate Professor in International Law, Stockholm University, 1960 Associate Professor, International Law, Stockholm University, 1960 Recipient, Doctor of Laws, Stockholm University, 1959 |
Education: |
PhD, Law, Cambridge University University of Uppsala Columbia University |
Other: |
Born in Uppsala, Sweden in 1928 |
Quoted in: |
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