It is hard to imagine that inside an innocuous cluster of buildings in the Austrian countryside scientists might find something worthy of igniting a war in Iraq.

But that is exactly the power the U.N. forensic laboratories located a half hour's drive from the Austrian capital will hold when samples collected by weapons inspectors begin arriving from Baghdad next week.
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The scientists at the lab are well aware that their work could be the trigger for a war against Iraq.

The Iraqis are to provide a full and truthful declaration of any nuclear, chemical, biological and ballistic weapons programs by December 8. If they fail to meet this demand, Washington is expected to lead a coalition to forcefully disarm and topple Saddam Hussein.

IAEA lab director Gabriele Voigt said she feels the weight of responsibility that their findings could spark a bloody war thousands of miles away from peaceful Seibersdorf. That is why the lab must provide proof that is incontrovertible.

"All we can do is provide good data," she told Reuters. "And if we find something we have to report it."

» Iraq's Fate Lies in Hands of U.N. Nuclear Lab