Front Page   

Saddam denies he had WMDs

WASHINGTON DEC. 15. Deposed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has denied to his interrogators that his regime had weapons of mass destruction and ties to Al-Qaeda, media reports quoting U.S. officials said today.

He has greeted his initial interrogation with a mix of sarcasm and defiance, the officials said.

Mr. Hussein has complied with simple commands to stand up and sit down, but officials said he has not provided much useful information on the guerrilla war or other matters.

He has also denied knowledge of the fate of Scott Speicher, the Navy fighter pilot who disappeared over Iraq during the first Gulf War, officials said. His interrogation is taking place at an undisclosed location in Iraq. U.S. intelligence and military officials say their first priority is to focus on the resistance and the whereabouts of Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri and other remaining senior regime officials and insurgent leaders.

Mr. Hussein denied during the initial interrogation after his capture that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction, Time magazine has reported. Citing a U.S. intelligence official in Iraq, the report said that when asked if his Government had such weapons, Mr. Hussein replied: "No, of course not. The U.S. dreamed them up itself to have a reason to go to war with us."

The magazine reported that the official, who read a transcript of Mr. Hussein's interrogation, said the interrogator asked: "If you had no weapons of mass destruction, then why not let the U.N. inspectors into your facilities?"

Saddam's reply: "We didn't want them to go into the Presidential areas and intrude on our privacy."

The U.S. intelligence official told the magazine that he had not been very cooperative and did not answer any of the initial questions directly. The transcript was full of "Saddam rhetoric type stuff," said the official, who paraphrased some of Saddam's responses. According to the report, when asked, "How are you?" he responded: "I am sad because my people are in bondage." Newsweek said the former Iraqi leader identified himself as he surrendered with no resistance. "Don't shoot," he said, according to a military source quoted by Newsweek. "I am Saddam Hussein, the president of the Republic of Iraq."

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• What a difference a day makes!
• Bhutan cracks down on anti-India militants
• Gogoi hails move
• Saddam could face death: Iraqi official
• Saddam denies he had WMDs
• DMK threatens to pull out of NDA
• Cyclonic storm intensifies
• Storm kills 7
• Oil prices up

Copyright © 2003, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu