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Blix warns against conclusion that Iraq has no WMD
Stockholm, Apr 12: It is too early to conclude that Iraq has no Weapons of Mass Destruction just because Baghdad has not used any such weapons, UN chief weapons inspector Hans Blix said in an interview published today.
Stockholm, Apr 12: It is too early to conclude that Iraq has no Weapons of Mass Destruction just because Baghdad has not used any such weapons, UN chief weapons inspector Hans Blix said in an interview published today.
"It's a little early to draw the conclusion that there aren't any (such weapons),” Blix told Swedish daily ‘Aftonbladet’.
President Saddam Hussein may well have decided that world opinion would have swung behind the United States had Iraq used such weapons, he said.
"This has to do with the sharp criticism against the war all over the world. It is certain that if they had used Weapons of Mass Destruction then the criticism would have become much weaker. People would have said: 'in any case, they had Weapons of Mass Destruction, and they lied about them all along’," Blix said.
Even as the very existence of his regime came under threat, Saddam would have kept to that line, Blix believes.
"It may be important for Saddam what kind of obituaries he gets. He sees himself himself as an Arab hero and he would rather be remembered as a hero than as a liar," he said.
Blix, who retires from his job in June, said his future projects include writing books about Iraq and North Korea.
President Saddam Hussein may well have decided that world opinion would have swung behind the United States had Iraq used such weapons, he said.
"This has to do with the sharp criticism against the war all over the world. It is certain that if they had used Weapons of Mass Destruction then the criticism would have become much weaker. People would have said: 'in any case, they had Weapons of Mass Destruction, and they lied about them all along’," Blix said.
Even as the very existence of his regime came under threat, Saddam would have kept to that line, Blix believes.
"It may be important for Saddam what kind of obituaries he gets. He sees himself himself as an Arab hero and he would rather be remembered as a hero than as a liar," he said.
Blix, who retires from his job in June, said his future projects include writing books about Iraq and North Korea.
Bureau Report