London, Sept 18: Even as the controversy over reports that UK "sexed" up the intelligence dossier on Iraq to plead its case for war rages, former UN chief weapons
inspector Hans Blix today accused the US and UK of "over-interpreting" information about Saddam Hussein's alleged Weapons of Mass Destruction.
Dr Blix claimed that the two countries allowed "spin" to "infect their presentation" of intelligence about Iraq's military capabilities ahead of the war.
Interviewed on BBC Radio 4's today programme, Dr Blix was asked if the US and UK had talked up the case for war. He said: "They over-interpreted. They were convinced
that Saddam was going in this direction (of making Weapons of Mass Destruction) and I think it is understandable against the background of the man that they did so."
Blix' latest comments come a day after he said Iraq probably destroyed all of its weapons of mass destruction more than a decade ago.
He compared the way Britain and America were sure Iraq had weapons of mass destruction programmes to the way people in the middle ages were convinced that witches existed and so found them when they looked.
Responding to Dr Blix's criticism, a British foreign office spokesman said Saddam Hussein's possession of Weapons of Mass Destruction was a matter of fact and the search for them continues.
Bureau Report
