Posted on 02/24/2003 12:35:44 PM PST by kattracks
WASHINGTON, Feb 24 (Reuters) - The CIA on Monday denied a Newsweek magazine report that Saddam Hussein's son-in-law told the U.S. intelligence agency in 1995 that Iraq after the Gulf War destroyed all its chemical and biological weapons and missiles to deliver them.
"It is incorrect, bogus, wrong, untrue," CIA spokesman Bill Harlow said of the Newsweek report's allegations that Hussein Kamel told the CIA that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had destroyed all of his weapons of mass destruction.
Newsweek said Kamel, who headed Iraq's nuclear, chemical, biological and missile programs for 10 years, told CIA and British intelligence officers and U.N. inspectors in the summer of 1995 that Iraq had destroyed all its chemical and biological weapons stockpiles after the 1991 Gulf War.
"We've checked back and he didn't say this," a British government source told Reuters. "He said just the opposite, that the WMD program was alive and kicking."
Harlow of the CIA said: "Newsweek failed to ask us this question."
Newsweek said Kamel had hoped his revelations would trigger Saddam's overthrow, but when he realized the United States would not support his dream of becoming Iraq's ruler, he chose to return to Iraq where he was promptly killed.
The issue of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction is extremely sensitive at the moment because the United States is building troops in the Gulf poised to invade Iraq on the premise that Saddam has not been forthcoming about his alleged biological, chemical and nuclear weapons programs. ((Reporting by Tabassum Zakaria;
Now if the war ends and we find recently made weapons with parts from Gremany and France, that'll be interesting.
"We've checked back and he didn't say this," a British government source told Reuters. "He said just the opposite, that the WMD program was alive and kicking."
Just like the liberal press to fabricate so called evidence to support their socialist, pacifist, pro-totalitarian agenda.
When the atrocities are exposed (and they will be), the WMD issue will be valid, but not front page either way.
If you don’t cite a source you can pretty much say what ever you want and the public thinks it’s an inside who fears retribution for linking an unpleasant truth that makes the administration look bad or doesn’t support the President’s agenda.
In this case there may not be an insider and the reporter is making up the so called facts or the insider has an agenda of his own and is making up the facts to support his own desires.
It could be as simple as a CIA employee who wants a lunch at the expense of Newsweek.
War began with an Iraqi invasion in late August 1980. The Iranian airforce using American planes soon blunted the attack. In March 1982 Iran launched a counterattack, and by June 1982 Saddam signaled he wanted a negotiated settlement. Iran refused. Fighting continued with both sides suffering enormous losses, but by 1983 the Soviet Union had resupplied Iraq with weapons including millions of mines, T-55 tanks, rocket launchers and Mi-24 helicopters. The slaughter contined. By close of 1994 the two sides were stalemated. In April 84 Saddam offered to meet with Khomeini, but K refused. After that, Iraq introduced new weaponry including Mirage F-1s armed with Exocet missiles. Iraq then attacked Iranian shipping. By 1995 more than a half million people had died. Then, in 1995 Iraq used its airforce to attack Iran's urban centers.
It was at this point that the USA began direct and indirect negotiations with Iraq. Iraq receive small arms shipments but began to benefit through the provision of US-supplied intelligence. In March 1996 UN Secy Gen Perez de Cuellar accused, and a UN mission concluded, that Iraq had used Chemical Weapons against Iran. Then, thanks to Soviet engineering Iraq built a "wall" along its southern flank which effectively blunted the last Iranian attack, which occurred in January 1997. By then Iran was limited to ground attacks because it had no spare parts for American jets. In 1988 Iraq began to fire Scud missiles, and after extensive use of Iraqi chemical weapons Iran finally accepted a cease-fire on 20 August 1988.
Re chemical weapons: The US provided no support for the Iraq program which was based on Soviet assistance and its own internal efforts. Reference biological warfare. There were no verifiable claims that biological weapons were used in the war. In 1985 Iraq began to import biological agents from the USA through the Center for Disease Control and the world-renowned American Type Culture Collection of Manassas, Va. All exports were approved by the department of Commerce and were sent to legitimate Iraq government entities, usually received by people familiar to the trade. Large scale production of biological warfare agents did not begin until 1989 at four Iraqi locations. At that point US shipments stopped.
The State Department has disputed Senator John McCains allegation that the US exported tuleremia strains to Iraq, but McCain has never rescinded the allegation.
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