Event: "Disarming Iraq and the Future of the Arms Inspection," a presentation by Dr. Hans Blix, former head of United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission.
When: Wednesday, April 28, 6:30 p.m.
Where: LBJ Auditorium, 2315 Red River St.
Background: The former leader of the United Nations inspection team will give his firsthand account of the events leading up to the 2003 war in Iraq. As the world urged Saddam Hussein to disarm, Blix and his team--through on-site inspections--tried to determine if the Iraqi leader was complying.
His assessment of what happened is invaluable in trying to understand not only what created the present state of affairs in Iraq, but also what the possibilities are for preventing the spread and use of weapons of mass destruction in the future.
Blix was appointed by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan in 2000 to head the United Nations Monitoring , Verification and Inspection Commission. He retired from that post in June 2003. Blix is chairman of the International Commission on Weapons of Mass Destruction. His first book, Disarming Iraq, was released in March 2004.
Free and open to the public, tickets will be available April 21 beginning at 10 a.m. at the Texas Union Box Office, and at noon at the Performing Arts Center Ticket Office.
This event is sponsored by the Swedish Studies Excellence Endowment in the Department of Germanic Studies, LBJ School of Public Affairs, School of Law, College of Communication, and the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum.
For additional infomation, contact Robin Gerrow at 512/471-4141.