Home > News > Report

Saddam was bluffing about WMD: Blix

September 17, 2003 17:50 IST

Iraq probably got rid of its weapons of mass destruction a decade ago, but Saddam Hussein pretended otherwise to deter attacks, former United Nations chief weapons inspector Hans Blix said on Wednesday.

Speaking to Australian national radio from Sweden, Blix said, "I'm certainly more and more to the conclusion that Iraq has, as they maintained, destroyed all almost of what they had in the summer of 1993."

The search for evidence of biological, chemical, or nuclear weapons would probably only uncover documents at best, he said. "The more time that has passed, the more I think it's unlikely that anything will be found,'' Blix said in the interview broadcast on Wednesday.

This debunks the US and British reasons given for the war against Iraq, with Blix saying his views were already know in Washington.

"Yes, that's right," Blix said when asked if he believed that Saddam had destroyed his weapons 10 years ago.

"You see, if they didn't have anything [WMD] after '91, there must be some explanation why they behaved as they did," Blix said. "They certainly gave the impression that they were denying access and so forth. I mean, you can put up a sign on your door, 'Beware of the dog', without having a dog."


Article Tools

Email this Article

Printer-Friendly Format

Letter to the Editor




Related Stories


Blix wants Iraq to destroy missiles

Regrettable that inspection isn t over: Blix

Angry Blix abuses US critics

US desperate for a smoking gun

















Copyright © 2003 rediff.com India Limited. All Rights Reserved.