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Blix warns against use of force based on unconfirmed intelligence
Paris, June 12: Countries should be wary about authorizing military force based on intelligence reports, outgoing chief UN weapons inspector for Iraq Hans Blix told a French newspaper in an interview published today.
Paris, June 12: Countries should be wary about authorizing military force based on intelligence reports, outgoing chief UN weapons inspector for Iraq Hans Blix told a French newspaper in an interview published today.
"Launching preemptive strikes on the basis of intelligence gathered by secret services is something to which we should pay careful attention," Blix told the newspaper, in a veiled criticism of the US-British invasion of Iraq.
"It's not the first time that force has been used on the basis of intelligence that turned out to be erroneous," he added.
Blix was referring to claims by Washington and London that Baghdad was harboring weapons of mass destruction, their main justification for the war to topple Saddam Hussein. To date, no such weapons have been found.
In Iraq, "a war started on the basis of intelligence reports. We do not yet know if they were correct. But it raises the question: On what basis can a war be launched?" Blix asked.
Blix, who is to retire on June 30 after more than three years as chairman of the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC), reiterated that his inspectors never found proof that Iraq has banned weapons.
"We never said that we had evidence of the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, but rather that we had evidence that unanswered questions remained" about Baghdad's weapons programs, he said.
Bureau Report
"It's not the first time that force has been used on the basis of intelligence that turned out to be erroneous," he added.
Blix was referring to claims by Washington and London that Baghdad was harboring weapons of mass destruction, their main justification for the war to topple Saddam Hussein. To date, no such weapons have been found.
In Iraq, "a war started on the basis of intelligence reports. We do not yet know if they were correct. But it raises the question: On what basis can a war be launched?" Blix asked.
Blix, who is to retire on June 30 after more than three years as chairman of the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC), reiterated that his inspectors never found proof that Iraq has banned weapons.
"We never said that we had evidence of the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, but rather that we had evidence that unanswered questions remained" about Baghdad's weapons programs, he said.
Bureau Report