stevisecret
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Top Iraqi Prisoners Deny Saddam Had WMDs
Tue Apr 29, 9:36 PM ET
By JOHN J. LUMPKIN, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - High-ranking Iraqi prisoners are uniformly denying Saddam
Hussein (news - web sites)'s government had any weapons of mass
destruction before the war, U.S. officials familiar with their interrogations said Tuesday.
The officials said they believe many of the prisoners are lying to protect themselves. Still, the denials are hampering U.S. forces'search for evidence of alleged chemical, biological and nuclear weapons programs in Iraq (news - web sites), as the prisoners are not
providing locations or other details interrogators are seeking.
By denying Iraq had weapons, the prisoners may be trying to distance themselves from Saddam's rule, one official said.
American officials stand by their belief that Iraq possessed prohibited weapons and the means to make more, although none have turned up
since the war started on March 19.
The Bush administration has cited intelligenc pointing to prohibited Iraqi weapons programs as a justification for war.
Officials now say the weapons are either well hidden or were destroyed in the run-up to the war. There is no firm evidence they were moved
to other countries, they say.
Saddam's government denied having any unconventional weapons until the
end, saying it had destroyed them years before.
Fears that Saddam's military would use chemical weapons on the battlefield went unrealized, and U.S. officials have not reported any evidence that his military units were equipped with those weapons.
Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites), under questioning before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Tuesday, predicted prisoners would yet help U.S. forces find the alleged weapons.
"They will be found," he said.
Former Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz is among the Iraqis in custody
who says his government had no prohibited weapons, officials said. So is Lt.Gen. Amer al-Saadi, Saddam's alleged point man on chemical and
biological agents.
One unidentified scientist cooperating with American interrogators has
contended the government destroyed its weapons in the run-up to the war. But his information has not been verified, officials said.
Around Iraq, American forces are finding suspicious chemicals and other possible signs of weapons programs, but nothing conclusive, officials said.So far, thorough testing has not verified any of the chemicals are weapons. Other signs include burned documents and other evidence of an attempt to destroy evidence, officials said.
After coming up empty, military officials have largely abandoned earlier
methods of searching only suspected weapons sites that were noted before
the war. Now, defense officials say they are primarily going where Iraqis point them.
Spurning the proposed re-entry of U.N. weapons inspectors, the Bush
administration is sending 1,000 experts to join the 200 already searching in Iraq for evidence of weapons programs.
Tue Apr 29, 9:36 PM ET
By JOHN J. LUMPKIN, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - High-ranking Iraqi prisoners are uniformly denying Saddam
Hussein (news - web sites)'s government had any weapons of mass
destruction before the war, U.S. officials familiar with their interrogations said Tuesday.
The officials said they believe many of the prisoners are lying to protect themselves. Still, the denials are hampering U.S. forces'search for evidence of alleged chemical, biological and nuclear weapons programs in Iraq (news - web sites), as the prisoners are not
providing locations or other details interrogators are seeking.
By denying Iraq had weapons, the prisoners may be trying to distance themselves from Saddam's rule, one official said.
American officials stand by their belief that Iraq possessed prohibited weapons and the means to make more, although none have turned up
since the war started on March 19.
The Bush administration has cited intelligenc pointing to prohibited Iraqi weapons programs as a justification for war.
Officials now say the weapons are either well hidden or were destroyed in the run-up to the war. There is no firm evidence they were moved
to other countries, they say.
Saddam's government denied having any unconventional weapons until the
end, saying it had destroyed them years before.
Fears that Saddam's military would use chemical weapons on the battlefield went unrealized, and U.S. officials have not reported any evidence that his military units were equipped with those weapons.
Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites), under questioning before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Tuesday, predicted prisoners would yet help U.S. forces find the alleged weapons.
"They will be found," he said.
Former Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz is among the Iraqis in custody
who says his government had no prohibited weapons, officials said. So is Lt.Gen. Amer al-Saadi, Saddam's alleged point man on chemical and
biological agents.
One unidentified scientist cooperating with American interrogators has
contended the government destroyed its weapons in the run-up to the war. But his information has not been verified, officials said.
Around Iraq, American forces are finding suspicious chemicals and other possible signs of weapons programs, but nothing conclusive, officials said.So far, thorough testing has not verified any of the chemicals are weapons. Other signs include burned documents and other evidence of an attempt to destroy evidence, officials said.
After coming up empty, military officials have largely abandoned earlier
methods of searching only suspected weapons sites that were noted before
the war. Now, defense officials say they are primarily going where Iraqis point them.
Spurning the proposed re-entry of U.N. weapons inspectors, the Bush
administration is sending 1,000 experts to join the 200 already searching in Iraq for evidence of weapons programs.
