Caution Sometimes Has Its Price

By Janice Castro

U.N. investigators might have found it easier to piece together information on Iraq's nuclear capabilities if U.S. Customs agent Daniel Supnick had made a little trip to Baghdad two years ago. In 1989, posing undercover as a California electronics executive, Supnick met in London with Iraqi officials eager to buy 5,000-volt capacitors for use in triggering nuclear devices. When the Iraqis invited Supnick to tour their nuclear facilities back home, Supnick wanted to give it a try. But the State Department nixed the idea as too risky for the agent.

With reporting by DANIEL S. LEVY