Iraq and computers

[Michael Wilson <0005514706@MCIMAIL.COM>]

As you see from the news bit attached, I wonder if we'll need to worry
about 'disk escrow,' or perhaps a requirement that disks be of an
unusually large size (thus making them easier to detect), or a requirement
for diskless machines...
MW
http://www.7pillars.com/

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             Iraq reportedly hiding arms data on U.S.-made computers
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      Copyright ) 1997 Nando.net
      Copyright ) 1997 Reuters
      
   WASHINGTON (November 23, 1997 02:35 a.m. EST http://www.nando.net) - To
   conceal its deadliest arms from U.N. weapons inspectors, Iraq has
   increasingly turned to U.S.-made computers sold in Baghdad since the end
   of the 1991 Gulf War in violation of international sanctions, the Los
   Angeles Times reported in its Sunday editions.
   
   Quoting U.S. officials and U.N. diplomats, the newspaper said that Iraqi
   scientists and defense officials are using Western-made computers to
   transfer data from bulky papers to small disks that can be easily
   dispersed, making the information difficult for inspectors to track.
   
   In addition, they are using computers for research and development in
   the four categories specifically forbidden under the U.N. resolution
   ending the war -- nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and
   long-range missiles.
   
   U.N. sources did not disclose the brands or quantity of U.S.-made
   computers, except to say they make up a significant percentage of what
   was in use in Iraq, the paper said.
   
   "There are not garden-variety computers that you can go down to Radio
   Shack and buy," the paper said, quoting a former U.S. diplomat. "This
   requires specialized equipment and programs only available in certain
   places.
   
   Most of the U.S. equipment was probably purchased through third parties
   to circumvent U.S. companies' more rigorous monitoring of such illegal
   sales, U.N. and U.S. sources said, according to the newspaper.
   
   The use of high-tech equipment underscored how Baghdad continued to keep
   data beyond the reach of the United Nations, the paper said, adding that
   President Saddam Hussein's regime was widely suspected of using the
   three-week gap while U.N. inspectors were out of the country to further
   disperse data on disks.
   
   The use of computers also reflected the way Iraq used its limited
   sources to modernize its military capability rather than address
   humanitarian issues, U.S. and U.N. officials said, according to the
   report.