It is measure of the contempt of the Bush administration for international law and world opinion that it demands all and sundry take as good coin information allegedly extracted from Iraqi scientists by their American captors. To suspect that such “proof” of Iraqi malfeasance could be tainted by the circumstances under which it was obtained—with unlimited scope for bribery, psychological intimidation, physical torture, or a combination of the three—would be condemned by the US as an outrageous affront. No doubt the offending party would find itself on Washington’s international enemies list, with all of the fateful consequences that such status implies.

As always, the U.S. government offers the most benevolent explanation for its criminal intentions, claiming it is motivated by a desire to protect Iraqi scientists from retribution by Saddam Hussein. Administration officials have already made clear that they are prepared to offer green cards, homes and money to those who oblige the Bush administration with “proof” of Iraqi weapons violations. Should the kidnapped experts refuse to cooperate, on the other hand, they could be imprisoned as terrorist suspects or “illegal combatants,” or handed back to the Iraqi dictatorship to be dealt with by Hussein’s secret police.