U.N. votes to shut down unit that inspects Iraq weapons

Colum LynchWashington PostJun. 30, 2007 12:00 AM Azcentral

UNITED NATIONS - The U.N. Security Council voted 14-0 Friday to immediately shut down the U.N. weapons-inspection unit for Iraq, drawing to a close 16 years of international scrutiny of Iraq's nuclear-, chemical- and biological-weapons programs.The action ended more than four years of political deadlock between the United States and Russia over the fate of the inspection effort. Russia abstained, citing U.S. and British refusal to permit the inspectors to provide a final report confirming Iraq's disarmament.The resolution - sponsored by the United States and Britain - offers no formal judgment on the status of Iraq's weapons program. Instead, it refers to the findings of a CIA inspection team that concluded in 2004 that there are no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.