Chemical Arms Monitor Rejects U.S. Criticism

The head of the global body that monitors chemical weapons stocks rejected a U.S. demand that he quit and accused Washington of threatening his group’s independence.

Jose Bustani, director of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which is based in The Hague, said the U.S. had never approached him with complaints but had circulated them to other nations in a bid to oust him.

Neither Bustani nor State Department spokesman Richard Boucher would discuss the underlying cause of the dispute, but it could center on the organization’s inability to monitor chemical weapons in Iraq, which is not a member of the group.