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Full Version: Hans Blix Wants Back Into Iraq and Says He Is Doubtful on Claims About Syria
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charliecstl
Hans Blix was interviewed by German mag "Der Speigel", and the article was discussed in the Washington Post.

Mr. Blix calls for the US to allow UN inspectors back into the country to restart the efforts that were abruptly interrupted by the invasion. He discusses the need for credibility and allowing the teams that have the most knowledge about Iraq and the inspections already conducted to get back on the ground.

QUOTE
Weapons inspectors left Iraq days before war in Iraq began. In explaining their decision to invade, the United States and Britain charged that Saddam Hussein's regime had weapons of mass destruction.

\"Now we will see whether London and Washington were right,\" Blix told Der Spiegel. \"I am very curious and can only wish them luck in their search.\"

...

Blix said internationally backed inspections would have \"considerably more credibility.\"

\"The alliance came as liberator and occupier, and that can prove to be a disadvantage,\" he told the magazine. \"If its experts now should really discover weapons of mass destruction, their authenticity might be called into question.\"
He also states that he is very doubtful about US claims in regard to Syria and its willingness to hold onto Iraq's WMD.

QUOTE
 Hans Blix , who was in charge of searches for chemical and biological weapons and long-range missiles in Iraq,  also challenged President Bush's administration to present proof of its allegation that Syria has chemical weapons.

\"Whoever claims this should, in the interests of credibility, very quickly present the relevant proof,\" Blix said in an interview with the German weekly Der Spiegel.  \"For my part, I doubt that the Syrians would have been enthusiastic to serve as a depot of weapons of mass destruction for Baghdad.\"
The article also states that the limited assistance his inspection teams got from US intelligence left little hope that the intelligence sources were really very knowledgeable about what was going on in Iraq.

QUOTE
 Reports on Iraqi weapons programs that the inspectors received from intelligence agencies were \"pretty pathetic\" and led to no discoveries of weapons of mass destruction,  Blix said.
And the article in its entirety:

Blix Calls for Renewed UN Inspections
fantomas
He's speaking into a vacuum. Unless a Democrat is elected in 2004, 2008 or that party regains control of the Senate (the more likely Congressional scenario as opposed to the House), he is not going to be entering Iraq with inspection teams anytime soon. Kofi Annan gently suggested that the world might take seriously any claims to having found WMDs (given our previous charges, our claims of extensive prior intelligence, the almost pathetic quality with which the Iraqi military apparatus dealt with its weaponry, as opposed to the Fedayeen Saddam, etc.), and certainly would want Blix or some other independent parties to be involved in this. He know's HE'S whistling into the wind...Blix, dream on.
PhillyFan
Step aside UN, nothing to see here... you had 12 years to fix the problem and blew it.
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