UNSCOM
Appointed Head of UNSCOM
Historical biography archive · Updated 2026-11-03
Richard William Butler Biography and Timeline
Follow Richard William Butler through 10 dated historical records for Australia.
Richard William Butler, historical timeline
A chronological timeline drawn from matching World History Database records.
10Distinct records
1 of 1Page
1997–1999Years on this page
1997
UNSCOM
Appointed Head of UNSCOM
1998
UNSCOM
Inspectors withdraw from Iraq in 1998, and disbanded the following year amid allegations that the United States had used the commission's resources to spy on the Iraqi military
UNSCOM
The UNSCOM report, authored by Richard Butler, deplored the restrictions, lack of disclosure, and concealment.
UNSCOM
While conceding that "in statistical terms, the majority of the inspections of facilities and sites under the ongoing monitoring system were carried out with Iraq's cooperation," his letter listed a number of instances where.
UNSCOM
unspecificed "undeclared dual-capable items" had been discovered, and where inspections had been held up so that buildings could be cleared of sensitive material.
1999
UNSCOM
Evidence that UNSCOM had been used by US intelligence to penetrate Iraqi security and track President Saddam Hussein's movements emerged in January 1999. An investigation by the Washington Post claimed that CIA engineers, working as UN technicians, installed equipment to spy on Iraqi sites without Butler's knowledge, and that this explained the unidentified "burst transmissions" that had been noted by the inspectors
UN Resolution 1284
The UN Security Council passed Resolution 1284, replacing UNSCOM with the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission, also known as UNMOVIC. Four countries – among them Russia, France and China – abstained from voting on Res. 1284, which led the Iraqi regime to reject the resolution because they saw the resolution as a way for the UN to claim Iraq as a "protectorate"
UNSCOM
The UN Security Council passed Resolution 1284, replacing UNSCOM with the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission, also known as UNMOVIC. Four countries – among them Russia, France and China – abstained from voting on Res. 1284, which led the Iraqi regime to reject the resolution because they saw the resolution as a way for the UN to claim Iraq as a "protectorate"
UNSCOM
Resigns from UNSCOM
Records, sources and methodology
These dates and descriptions come from the historical_events database. Exact duplicate records have been collapsed. Names are grouped by the country, Name 2 and Name 1 fields; records with missing Name 2 cannot be reliably assigned to an individual biography. Check the underlying sources before formal citation.