"I can imagine that the Iraqis undertake the destruction out of fear. If they had denied it, if they had said no, that certainly would have played into the hands of those that would like to take armed action immediately. I have no illusions in that regard"
About this Quote
Blix is doing what technocrats do best: lowering the temperature in a room full of people trying to strike a match. The line turns on a deliberately unglamorous verb - "imagine" - which signals restraint, not certainty. In early-2003 Iraq, certainty was the currency hawks demanded. Blix refuses to mint it. Instead he offers a psychological motive ("fear") that makes Iraqi compliance legible without making it noble, and without turning inspectors into prosecutors.
The subtext is sharper than the polite Scandinavian cadence suggests. By noting that a denial "certainly would have played into the hands" of those pushing immediate war, Blix sketches a trap: any Iraqi move can be interpreted as guilt. Admit you have prohibited weapons and you're culpable; deny it and you're "hiding something". His point isn't to exonerate Baghdad but to indict the argumentative structure forming around it - a narrative machine that converts ambiguity into casus belli.
"I have no illusions" is a quiet rebuke to both sides. To Iraq: don't mistake inspections for naivete; coercion is in the air. To Washington and London: don't pretend this is purely about verification; it's also about momentum, optics, and how denial can be weaponized as evidence. The intent is procedural but political: protect the inspection process from being collapsed into a countdown timer, and remind the public that in a prewar climate, truth isn't just contested - it's strategically managed.
The subtext is sharper than the polite Scandinavian cadence suggests. By noting that a denial "certainly would have played into the hands" of those pushing immediate war, Blix sketches a trap: any Iraqi move can be interpreted as guilt. Admit you have prohibited weapons and you're culpable; deny it and you're "hiding something". His point isn't to exonerate Baghdad but to indict the argumentative structure forming around it - a narrative machine that converts ambiguity into casus belli.
"I have no illusions" is a quiet rebuke to both sides. To Iraq: don't mistake inspections for naivete; coercion is in the air. To Washington and London: don't pretend this is purely about verification; it's also about momentum, optics, and how denial can be weaponized as evidence. The intent is procedural but political: protect the inspection process from being collapsed into a countdown timer, and remind the public that in a prewar climate, truth isn't just contested - it's strategically managed.
Quote Details
| Topic | War |
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