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Iraq, 2002
GlobalSecurity.org posted this image showing new construction (in
enlarged boxes) at the Tuwaitha nuclear research center southeast of
Baghdad, Iraq. The Iraqi Foreign ministry immediately responded by
showing a picture of the image at a press conference and denying
that the facility was being used for military purposes. The Iraqis
then led Western journalists on a carefully controlled guided tour
of portions of the facility to demonstrate that it did not have WMD
function. The release of the Tuwaitha image marks the first time
that an NGO has successfully used commercial imagery to influence
the behavior of a country believed to be illegally pursuing a WMD
capability.
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Tim Brown is a senior associate at GlobalSecurity.org, a nonprofit
think tank that supports the use of space technology to enhance
international peace and security.