The application of the UNSCOM experience to international biological arms control

The activities of the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM), which has investigated Iraq's biological weapons program, is presented as a model for international arms control. A detailed first-hand description and evaluation of UNSCOM's activities shows that its success depended on the quality of the inspectors and their human intelligence capacity. Discrepancies in Iraq's extensive and well-concealed biological weapons program was the key to revelation of the extent of the Iraqi biological weapons program. Each step in UNSCOM's painstaking investigation of the Iraqi program is discussed.