United Nations Special Commission on Iraq (UNSCOM)

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UNITED NATIONS SPECIAL COMMISSION ON IRAQ (UNSCOM)

Agency of the United Nations, created by Security Council Resolution 687 of 3 April 1991, following the Gulf War of 1991, to oversee the elimination of Iraq's non-nuclear weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles with a range greater than 150 kilometers (57.92 miles), and to assist the International Atomic Energy Agency in eliminating nuclear weapons development programs. Its mandate was to carry out inspections, take possession of weapons or materials, and destroy them or render them harmless. With a great deal of resistance from Iraq, the passage of a number of additional Security Council resolutions, and U.S. interference in the process, UNSCOM carried out its mandate, a fact it was able to confirm only after the occupation of Iraq by the United States and Britain during the Iraq War of 2003.

SEE ALSO Gulf War (1991);Iraq War (2003).

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United Nations Special Commission on Iraq (UNSCOM)

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United Nations Special Commission on Iraq (UNSCOM)