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| 2003/08/02 |
Saddam hid fact to fend war: Aide
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11:46:20 �.�
Baghdad, Aug 1 - A close aide to Saddam Hussein says the Iraqi dictator did in fact get rid of his weapons of mass destruction but deliberately kept the world guessing about it in an effort to divide the international community and stave off a US invas ion.
The strategy, which turned out to be a serious miscalculation, was designed to make the Iraqi dictator look strong in the eyes of the Arab world, while countries such as France and Russia were wary of joining an American-led attack.
At the same time, Saddam retained the technical know-how and brain power to restart the programs at any time.
US defense officials and weapons experts are considering this guessing-game theory as the search for chemical, biological and nuclear weapons continues.
If true, it would indicate there was no imminent unconventional weapons threat from Iraq, an argument US President George W. Bush used to go to war.
Saddam's alleged weapons bluff was detailed by an Iraqi official who assisted Saddam for many years.
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