U.N. Chemical Weapons Control Chief Is Ousted

The head of a global chemical weapons control body was ousted by a U.S.-sponsored vote provoked by a rift over his diplomatic overtures to secure Iraq’s compliance on arms inspection.

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which has 145 member states, voted to remove Brazilian Director General Jose Bustani at a meeting in The Hague after the U.S. forced a vote.

Bustani had urged Iraq to join the OPCW. But Washington has signaled it wants to get rid of President Saddam Hussein’s government, and it could find it difficult to win backing for military action if Iraq agreed to join the OPCW and admit arms inspectors, analysts say.