ASSESSING IRAQ'S ARSENAL

THE U.S.-ALONE OR WITH ALlies-is on the brink of war with Iraq over that country's suspected cache of chemical and biological weapons and its program to build nuclear weapons. Yet solid, reliable information about Iraq's unconventional arsenal since United Nations inspectors were barred from Iraq in December 1998 is virtually nonexistent in open sources. Classified briefings to Congress-based on national intelligence estimates that are at least two years old-have not convinced some members that Iraq's chemical, biological, and nuclear armaments present a threat grave enough to put the U.S. on a war footing. "There's a giant intelligence gap, and the country is being asked to make a judgment for going to war without the intelligence information it needs," says Gary Milhollin, director of the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control, which monitors Iraq's programs. A British intelligence dossier, released to the public by Prime Minister Tony Blair on Sept. 24, attempts to fill that gap. ...