The truth, at last. An Iraqi Colonel: "The West Should Thank God Iraq decided NOT to fight."

Telegraph ^

[Happy2BMe]

The truth, at last
(Filed: 07/12/2003)

"The West should thank God that the Iraqi army decided not to fight," Lt Col Dabbagh tells the Telegraph's intrepid Con Coughlin in today's newspaper. "If the army had used these weapons there would have been terrible consequences." The weapons Col Dabbagh was referring to are Saddam Hussein's stocks of chemical and biological warheads. A senior officer at the heart of Saddam's armed forces, the colonel was the conduit of the now-infamous claim in the intelligence dossier which Tony Blair presented to Parliament and to the country: the claim that Saddam had the capacity to unleash weapons of mass destruction, including chemical and biological weapons, within 45 minutes of ordering their use.

Col Dabbagh told Mr Coughlin that the 45-minute claim was "100 per cent correct". He added that Saddam had hidden huge stocks of arms, including his chemical and biological munitions, at secret sites across Iraq. The colonel's claims must be taken very seriously. He has no reason at all to make them up, or to lie to Mr Coughlin, by whom he was reluctant to be interviewed. Yet it is important to be clear about what Col Dabbagh's testimony does - and what it does not - establish. There can now be little doubt that Saddam possessed chemical and biological weapons. Col Dabbagh saw those weapons for himself when they were delivered to his unit, and indeed received instructions on how they were to be used.

The means of delivery for those weapons were, however, extremely primitive: they could only be used on the battlefield, where range was very restricted and their accuracy minimal. That seems to have been one reason why they were not used during the war. The American advance was so rapid that the Iraqis could only deploy chemical weapons around Baghdad: that would have killed the Iraqi civilian population - who did not have masks - but not the US soldiers, who did. Even Iraqi officers loyal to Saddam Hussein balked at that.

It is clear that Saddam Hussein did not have the ability to launch missiles which could carry chemical or biological weapons reliably to most sites in Iraq - never mind to places as far away as Cyprus or London. Yet when the Prime Minister presented the intelligence dossier setting out the case for war to Parliament, he described the threat to Britain from Saddam as "current and serious". He allowed the impression to be given that Saddam's ability to launch chemical and biological weapons "which could be activated in 45 minutes" meant that British troops in Cyprus, or even civilians in Britain itself, could be targeted. This was not true, and many of those in the intelligence services knew it was not true. When, however, the newspapers published stories wrongly claiming that British bases in Cyprus were at risk from Saddam's weapons of mass destruction, no one in the Government did anything whatever to correct them.

Mr Blair's determination to confront Saddam Hussein was admirable and right, but New Labour's addiction to spin, and an inability to tell the truth without embellishing it, meant that, in making the case for war, he misrepresented to the public the intelligence that he had been given. Dr David Kelly conveyed, albeit in a somewhat mangled and self-serving form, the concern of some members of the intelligence world about that misrepresentation to the BBC reporter Andrew Gilligan. The Prime Minister then insisted to Parliament that the BBC had been completely wrong to suggest that there was any unhappiness within the intelligence community about the Government's interpretation of the information given to them about Iraq's WMD capability: but as was revealed during the Hutton Inquiry, there was in fact considerable unhappiness on precisely that point.

Mr Blair's exaggerations and misrepresentations were unnecessary, because there is no doubt that, in the context of the global war on terror, and of al-Qaeda's determination to obtain weapons of mass destruction with which to terrorise the West, Saddam posed a clear threat. Contrary to the claims of those who said it was "inconceivable" that religious fanatics from al-Qaeda could ever make common cause with Saddam and his supporters, precisely that has happened since the Americans liberated Iraq from his grip. There were good reasons for going to war with Iraq. But protecting British bases or cities from missiles launched by Saddam Hussein was not one of them.

"For the preparation of the dossier we had a real concern not to exaggerate the intelligence that we had received," the Prime Minister told Parliament on September 24. Yet he did exaggerate that intelligence. If Lord Hutton cuts to the heart of the matter, Mr Blair will pay a heavy political price for it.

[Tymesup]

Thursday or Friday on Bob Grant's show, Richard Minoter (?) said he talked to David Kay. They have apparently found "Silkworm" missiles capable of flying 1000 km (600 miles), that could be tipped with sarin. They also have milling techniques for anthrax that are superior to ours.

[billhilly]

Yes, I have heard of Ollie North. I should have made a disclaimer for the Marine Corp. Even their enlisted men are allowed to think for themselves.

[U S Army EOD]

But the disbelievers wouldn't understand it.

[U S Army EOD]

With what brain?

[txhurl]

Well, just two days ago the UN came out and said 'yep, they sure were spending quality time on WMD, as it turns out'.

What you told us will (publicly) validate the WMD/WOT and will kill the Democrats. Best possible ace in the hole I could ever hope for.

[Arpege92]

"Isn't this enough evidence to prove Saddam had WMD?"

Not for Democrats....it would have taken an attack on our soldiers using WMD's to force them to realize they were and are wrong.

[Amelia]

Isn't this enough evidence to prove Saddam had WMD?

So has the guy told them where the WMD that were supposedly issued to his unit are now? Some people aren't going to believe it til they SEE them....and some will think we planted them even then.

[JusPasenThru]

No, no, no.

There were/are no weapons of mass destruction.

There was no relationship whatsoever between Al Qaeda and Iraq.

America is an aggressor nation that brought 9/11 on itself.

W. knew all about 9/11 before hand from the Saudis, and chose to do nothing in order to prop up his failing presidency.

I know these things to be true. I read them in the National Democratic Committee newsletter. Or was it al Jezeera? Or was it in Saddam Hussein's Christmas card and family newsletter?

[FPOAC]

No, it's not. In hopes of getting the best "deal" possible, he is going to say whatever he thinks his U.S. interrogators want him to say. The only proof of WMD will be if and when are in fact actually found.

The west should not thank God that Iraq decided not to fight. The west should thank God that Iraq was unable to fight.

[KSCITYBOY]

bump

[Shermy]

#41

"Thursday or Friday on Bob Grant's show, Richard Minoter (?) said he talked to David Kay. They have apparently found "Silkworm" missiles capable of flying 1000 km (600 miles), that could be tipped with sarin. They also have milling techniques for anthrax that are superior to ours."


Interesting info Tymesup. Did he elaborate on "milling" or say anything else about anthrax?

[Gothmog]

Except for the chemical suits found with some Iraqi frontline units.

[John Beresford Tipton]

"The weapons every mental deficient in the U.S. claims never existed?"

No, the very same ones that one mental deficient in the U.S. said he'd find in spades.

[U S Army EOD]

And the Iraqis should thank God they didn't fight because they would have found out what fighting is all about. The major problem then would not have been trying to find WMD, it would have been trying to find Iraq.

[txhurl]

LOL

'Finding Iraq'. ROFL

[onyx]

Thank you for the ping. This is an excellent article and your cartoon is cute too.

[Allan]

I also heard the interview on the Bob Grant show.
(His name is Richard Miniter )

Yes
he said he had spoken recently to David Kay.
David Kay said that the methods of weaponizing dried anthrax were superior
to those of the US and the former Soviet Union.
He (Miniter) did not go into further detail.

[Shermy]

Which raises the question...does Kay know about Matsumoto's allegations about silica and polymerized glass...

It's possible he found info of such process in Iraq...but has not been informed about the Senate anthrax having the same.

[okie01]

Are we on the verge of a revelation, do you suppose?

All the info is trending in that direction...

[FairOpinion]

THIS FACT is also being ignored:

Mustard, cyanide said found in Euphrates: TV report

US Marines found cyanide and mustard agents in high concentrations in the Euphrates River near Nasiriyah in Iraq, television network MSNBC reported on Friday, citing a briefing from Marine officials.

The agents were found during routine tests conducted to ensure the water being used is safe, MSNBC said.

No other networks could immediately confirm the report.

Mustard gas produces painful, long-lasting blisters and often leads to blindness, while cyanide kills by preventing blood from transporting oxygen.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s825238.htm


This is one place where the WMD ended up. The rest in Syria, buried in Iraq, who knows where else.