| Former U.S. official Schultz sees Saddam's hand |
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http://www.reuters.co.il/news2000/N2SAYBC3.HTM
SEATTLE, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Former U.S. Secretary of State
George Schultz said on Wednesday he believed Iraqi President
Saddam Hussein probably helped hijackers crash four U.S.
jetliners on Sept. 11, killing more than 5,000 people.
"I would be surprised if Saddam Hussein's fingerprints were
not in some ways on this," Schultz told hundreds of investors
gathered for a conference hosted by Charles Schwab Corp.
.
Schultz, who served as President Ronald Reagan's Secretary
of State and also worked in the Eisenhower and Nixon
Administrations, said he had no access to current U.S.
intelligence reports, but added he strongly suspected the Iraqi
leader of supplying terrorists.
"An Iraq ruled by Saddam Hussein is basically a K-Mart for
terrorist weapons," Schultz said, citing reports that Saddam
has tried to develop weapons of mass destruction.
Schultz also voiced support for Israel as well as U.S.
efforts to broker peace deals between Israel and neighboring
states. "Israel is a democracy in a sea of authoritarian ...
rule," Schultz said, adding that the "holy places" in Israel
revered by Christians, Muslims and Jews should be "run by ...
holy people."
Schultz also deflected criticism of U.S. allies Egypt and
Saudi Arabia, which have voiced only cautious support for U.S.
efforts to hunt down the alleged masterminds of the Sept. 11
attacks, including exiled Saudi millionaire Osama bin Laden.
The Saudi and Egyptian governments have collaborated with
U.S. officials as much as can be expected, given the serious
dangers of radical insurgencies in their own countries, Schultz
said.
((--Seattle bureau, chris.stetkiewicz@reuters.com,
206-386-5339))
10 OCT 2001 20:03:42