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WMD: Blair was right
The Online Sun (United Kingdom) ^ | Thursday, October 2, 2003 | TREVOR KAVANAGH

WMD: Blair was right

WMD threat ... Iraq negotiated with North Korea

By TREVOR KAVANAGH Political Editor

A TERRIFYING new probe yesterday revealed Saddam Hussein WAS secretly preparing for chemical, biological and even nuclear war.

The 13-page document, compiled from the reports of 1,200 arms experts who have been scouring Iraq for two months, says Saddam was determined to resume building nukes.

And he was already negotiating with rogue state North Korea to buy long-range rockets that could have launched nuclear AND chemical warheads at UK bases in the Med.

The experts also unearthed secret bio-weapons labs, new strains of lethal diseases, a deadly bug hidden in a scientist’s home — and evidence of possible chemical weapon tests on human victims.

The report, from America’s Iraq Survey Group, totally vindicates Tony Blair’s decision to go to war over WMDs.

ISG chief Dr David Kay says in the report: “We have discovered dozens of WMD-related programme activities and significant amounts of equipment that Iraq concealed from the UN.”

Dr Kay’s full report — revealed to US congressmen yesterday — is still top secret.

Vindicated ... Tony Blair But last night Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said: “It has produced conclusive and incontrovertible evidence that Iraq was in material breach of UN Resolution 1441.”

In his report, Dr Kay admits no actual weapons of mass destruction have yet been found.

But he points out that his experts from America, Britain and Australia have faced a campaign of sabotage, looting, and obstruction — and have been subjected to bombings, firefights and threats.

Nevertheless, they have proved Saddam was planning to acquire long-range missiles, possibly nuclear-tipped.

These missiles could have hit UK bases in Cyprus, Turkey and Cairo — as The Sun revealed in September.

Dr Kay says: “There were plans and advanced design work for new long range missiles with ranges up to at least 1,000km — well beyond the 150km limit set by the UN.”

The experts found evidence of “clandestine attempts” between late 1999 and 2002 to get from North Korea technology related to its 1300km No Dong missiles.

Saddam ... making secret plans Chillingly, they also unearthed documents and equipment concealed in scientists’ homes for “resuming uranium enrichment” — a key stage in the making of nukes.

And Iraqi scientists interviewed by the ISG team confirmed Saddam was determined to develop them.

Dr Kay, a former UN weapons inspector credited with dismantling Saddam’s nuclear programme in the 1990s, says: “They have told us Saddam remained firmly committed to acquiring nuclear weapons.

“At least one senior Iraqi official believed, by 2000, Saddam had run out of patience with waiting for sanctions to end and wanted to restart the nuclear programme.”

ISG experts found a vial of “live” botulism hidden in an Iraqi scientist’s home — and fear others are still at large.

Dr Kay’s report says: “The scientist who concealed the vial has identified a large cache of agents that he was asked, but refused, to conceal. The group is searching for the second cache. One ex-biological weapons scientist confirmed a production line could be switched to produce anthrax in a week.”

The report also highlights a “network of labs and safehouses” containing equipment suitable for chemical and biological weapons research.

And it found evidence of a “prison laboratory complex, possibly used in human testing of biological weapon agents” — again explicitly concealed from the UN.

The experts also uncovered “new research” on deadly viruses Brucella, Congo Crimean Haemorrhagic Fever, ricin and aflatoxin.

Warning ... Sun, Sept 2002 The report says other members of the team discovered a “covert capability” to make fuel propellant useful ONLY for banned Scud missiles. Dr Kay says the hunt was hampered by Iraqi obstruction, secrecy and sabotage.

He adds: “Looting destroyed important evidence of Iraq’s WMD programme. This was deliberate. Some personnel crossed borders before and during the conflict and may have taken evidence and weapons-related material.

“Even the bulkiest materials we are searching for can be concealed in spaces not much larger than a two-car garage.”

Dr Kay said that the ISG team also had the monumental task of examining Iraq’s huge conventional weapons caches. So far only ten of 130 have been rigorously searched.

He said the nuclear programme appeared to be in its early stages, adding: “The evidence we found will suggest a very tentative restart at the very most rudimentary level.”

Downing Street last night hailed Dr Kay’s interim report as dramatic evidence of Saddam’s lies.

And a top security source said last night: “This is just the tip of the iceberg.”

Last night the Ministry of Defence said the vial of botulism found in the Iraqi scientist’s home could have been “weaponised” within 48 hours.

Dithering UN did not want to know Commentary by TREVOR KAVANAGH

WHAT is most surprising about the damning new evidence against Saddam Hussein is that it should come as a surprise at all.

There was ample proof long before America and Britain went to war that Saddam was spoiling for a fight. The dithering UN just didn’t want to know.

What must shock even those like French President Jacques Chirac, who led the crusade to stop us invading, is his terrifying pursuit of nukes.

Dr David Kay’s report, certain to be howled down by the conspiracy-obsessed anti-war brigade, does more than justify ousting Saddam.

It proves beyond doubt that it was a virtuous act for which the world should be truly grateful.

WMD proof ... David Kay We now know this tyrant had “run out of patience” and was determined to make Iraq the Arab world’s nuclear power. Uranium enrichment was planned and a supply of ballistic missiles capable of delivering warheads as far away as Cairo, Turkey — and Israel — was being teed-up with North Korea.

Iraq and North Korea are countries controversially but correctly identified by President George Bush as the “Axis of Evil”.

That axis includes Iran which is now trying to build nuclear power stations and has warned it might one day use nukes against Israel.

Saudi Arabia is slyly trying to obtain nukes from Pakistan. Egypt wants a nuclear powered desalination plant. The risk of anti-Western regimes going nuclear is too horrifying to contemplate.

That risk has been substantially reduced by the salutary demonstration of America’s — and Britain’s — display of resolution and military might.

Left to the tender care of the limp-wristed UN, Saddam would have continued to develop WMDs.

And one day, without a shadow of a doubt, he would have used them — to devastating effect on world peace.