we are going to start seeing alot of proof that saddam had wmd. it is hard to imagine a guy who was as power hungry as saddam not be involved with wmd.
By Peter Spiegel in Washington
Published: May 7 2003 19:11 | Last Updated: May 7 2003 19:11
The US army general in charge of all ground forces in and around Baghdad said on Wednesday that US forces had found "plenty of documentary evidence" to prove Saddam Hussein had an active unconventional weapons programme in the months preceding the Iraqi invasion.
Lieutenant-General William Wallace, commander of the US army's V Corps and the man who oversaw the land advance, acknowledged that US inspectors had had little success finding any chemical or biological weapons, but said that the documents coupled with intelligence from scientists who had worked on the programme made a strong case that a programme had been under way.
"We've collected evidence, much of it documentary evidence, that suggests there was an active programme," Gen Wallace said from Baghdad. "It's taken a while to sort through that documentary evidence. A lot of the information that we're getting is coming from low-tier Iraqis who had some knowledge of the programme but not full knowledge."
Gen Wallace did not say what the documents showed, but the New York Times reported on Wednesday that US mobile exploration teams had uncovered a memo from an Iraqi intelligence official in Africa, dated May 20 2001, saying he had been approached by a "holy warrior" offering to sell uranium and other nuclear material.
The general declined to comment on the progress of the Pentagon's analysis of a truck found last month in Iraq that is believed to be a mobile laboratory to produce biological and chemical weapons. Although it had been cleaned with bleach, Bush administration officials are hoping their analysis will produce the first "smoking gun" of the existence of an unconventional weapons programme.
President George W. Bush and other US officials repeatedly alleged before the US-led invasion that Iraq had a substantial unconventional weapons programme.
Gen Wallace said he thought the inability of US forces to find more concrete evidence was probably because of an extensive campaign to hide the materials. He said the effort to conceal the weapons material from Unmovic, the UN inspection team, could be why none were used against advancing allied troops.
"Because they were so clever in disguising that and burying it so deep, they themselves had a problem getting to them," he said.
Iraq deployed long-range missile systems capable of carrying chemical warheads near Kuwait, Gen Wallace said, but no evidence had been found that Mr Hussein tried to employ chemical weapons against US troops.
"One theory is that we moved so fast that they couldn't get their hands on it to employ it," he said. "Secondly, I would like to believe our information operations campaign had an impact on those commanders that might have the opportunity to pull the trigger, and they thought it not such a good idea."
By Peter Spiegel in Washington
Published: May 7 2003 19:11 | Last Updated: May 7 2003 19:11
The US army general in charge of all ground forces in and around Baghdad said on Wednesday that US forces had found "plenty of documentary evidence" to prove Saddam Hussein had an active unconventional weapons programme in the months preceding the Iraqi invasion.
Lieutenant-General William Wallace, commander of the US army's V Corps and the man who oversaw the land advance, acknowledged that US inspectors had had little success finding any chemical or biological weapons, but said that the documents coupled with intelligence from scientists who had worked on the programme made a strong case that a programme had been under way.
"We've collected evidence, much of it documentary evidence, that suggests there was an active programme," Gen Wallace said from Baghdad. "It's taken a while to sort through that documentary evidence. A lot of the information that we're getting is coming from low-tier Iraqis who had some knowledge of the programme but not full knowledge."
Gen Wallace did not say what the documents showed, but the New York Times reported on Wednesday that US mobile exploration teams had uncovered a memo from an Iraqi intelligence official in Africa, dated May 20 2001, saying he had been approached by a "holy warrior" offering to sell uranium and other nuclear material.
The general declined to comment on the progress of the Pentagon's analysis of a truck found last month in Iraq that is believed to be a mobile laboratory to produce biological and chemical weapons. Although it had been cleaned with bleach, Bush administration officials are hoping their analysis will produce the first "smoking gun" of the existence of an unconventional weapons programme.
President George W. Bush and other US officials repeatedly alleged before the US-led invasion that Iraq had a substantial unconventional weapons programme.
Gen Wallace said he thought the inability of US forces to find more concrete evidence was probably because of an extensive campaign to hide the materials. He said the effort to conceal the weapons material from Unmovic, the UN inspection team, could be why none were used against advancing allied troops.
"Because they were so clever in disguising that and burying it so deep, they themselves had a problem getting to them," he said.
Iraq deployed long-range missile systems capable of carrying chemical warheads near Kuwait, Gen Wallace said, but no evidence had been found that Mr Hussein tried to employ chemical weapons against US troops.
"One theory is that we moved so fast that they couldn't get their hands on it to employ it," he said. "Secondly, I would like to believe our information operations campaign had an impact on those commanders that might have the opportunity to pull the trigger, and they thought it not such a good idea."
