Posted on 02/28/2003 5:59:05 PM PST by MadIvan
SADDAM Hussein’s top missile expert has been murdered to stop him blabbing to the UN.
General Muhammad Sa’id al Darraj died on Thursday after Saddam’s men poisoned his drink.
Relatives say he was ordered to hide details of Iraqi Scuds from the UN — but devious Saddam did not trust him.
The revelation came as President Bush warned war was imminent.
He said Saddam would be forced to give up his weapons — whatever the UN decided. He added: “If he had any intention of disarming, he would have disarmed. We will disarm him now.”
Bush called war the “last option” but said Americans fully understood an attack may be launched soon.
He added: “I’ve thought long and hard about the consequences and the price that could be paid.”
His comments came as UN chief weapons inspector Hans Blix said Iraq was expected to start destroying its outlawed Al Samoud 2 missiles on Saturday.
The rockets can carry chemical and biological warheads and travel more than 90 miles — the maximum range laid down by the UN.
General al-Darraj was murdered hours before Saddam agreed to the destruction. The engineer had been called to a meeting at one of Saddam’s palaces for talks about how to mislead UN scientists over Iraq’s Scud programme.
Moments before he died, he managed to tell his family Saddam’s officials had spiked his drink with poison.
British intelligence chiefs said the murder was another example of Saddam’s ruthlessness.
They said it underlined his total disregard for human rights.
Saddam had his own son-in-law assassinated when he exposed the tyrant’s weapons of mass destruction.
(Excerpt) Read more at thesun.co.uk ...
Don't tell me -- You believe the 'Columbia' was shot down by the CIA as well?
Simplest idea would be Saddam used the same words to him as he used to someone else he had seen poisoned - then he got to his bag ( I'm sure he would not be able to bring something close enough to hurt Saddam, but they must have their personal papers, arms and communications at their quarters in the palaces ) grabbed his private cellphone ( the one bought on the black market instead of the government issue ) and phoned home.
I coulda swore Fidel.. er, I mean, Saddam didn't have that much of a beer gut..
Ask President Ford. He is the one who gave the executive order.
Probably just trying to get rid of some of the botulinum.
Ivan, I have been believing this to be the case for quite some time now. But I have to tell you that I am getting quite quesy rumblings in my gut that the world's leftists may be successful in protracting this thing until it gets to the point that we can't afford to keep our forces on hold in the region.
I am getting quite convinced, in my gut, that we (the west) is going to have to take an Islamist hit that makes 911 look like a Sunday school picnic before we really do finally take on any of the nation states that sponsor these Islamofacists.
I hope I am wrong, but the deal is being drug out way to long and the UN is being given way too much latitude.
Remember during the middle of Dan Rather's interview with Saddam when Saddam insisted that Rather sip from the cup of coffee sitting on the table next to him? Rather politely declined. Now I know why.
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