WASHINGTON,
April 30 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Following Britain's
Foreign Secretary statement that Iraq may not have weapons of mass
destruction, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State said that finding such
weapons could take “months”.
Finding
evidence of Iraq's banned weapons programs could take several months
because it was so well-hidden, Deputy Secretary of State Richard
Armitage said Wednesday, April 30, Agence France-Presse (AFP) said.
"We're
finding now that the capabilities are even more dispersed and disguised
than we thought," Armitage said in a speech at the National Defense
University.
"It's
going to take us months to find this material, but find it we
will."
The
United States -- which ousted the regime of Saddam Hussein, claiming it
was developing banned nuclear, biological and chemical weapons -- has
come under fire in recent weeks because little proof of those claims has
emerged.
Armitage
dismissed the criticism, saying "I'm extraordinarily confident that
Iraq had those capabilities.
"It's
far too easy to hide and move these capabilities and far too difficult
to find them."
U.S.-led
forces attacked Iraq March 20 after failing to convince the UN Security
Council to support war against Iraq. Iraq had been under UN sanctions
stemming from its August 1990 invasion of neighboring Kuwait.
Saying
the invasion was a “last resort” after all other means of
disarmament had failed, Armitage called for more effective international
efforts to stop proliferation of nuclear, biological and chemical
weapons.
"Iraq
is an object lesson that can happen if you leave the problems of
proliferation to the solutions of the past," he said.
Straw:
Iraq May Not Have WMDs
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Iraq
may not have WMDs, Straw
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Britain's
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw admitted Monday, April 28, that there may
be no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
He
told the Commons that war was declared because the regime had once been
in possession of them.
And
he insisted they did not have to be found to justify the invasion.
His
astonishing U-turn stunned MPs on all sides of the Commons - and came
hours after Tony Blair again insisted that weapons were there and would
be found, The Mirror Daily reported on Tuesday, April 29.
"I'm
absolutely certain that Iraq had illegal possession of weapons of mass
destruction and had these recently and there is every reason why these
ought to be found."
Earlier,
Blair told his monthly Downing Street press briefing: "I remain
confident that they will be found."
He
added defiantly: "Before people crow about the absence of weapons
of mass destruction, I suggest they wait a little bit."
Straw's
remarks are a clear watering down of the Government's position. Critics
of the war said the move was a blatant attempt to prepare the public for
the failure to find weapons, The Mirror reported.
His
spokesman said: "He used his words very carefully.
"The
point he is avoiding making is that the war is justified only if we find
weapons of mass destruction."
A
Bonus
And
he admitted that any chemical or biological weapons finds would be a
"bonus".
MPs
said they were staggered by the U-turn.
Senior
Labour backbencher Ian Gibson said: "The justification for war was
that Iraq had weapons and could use them. Apparently that wasn't the
case after all.
"Now
they are backtracking because they suspect that there are no weapons to
be found.
"The
public should beware the point where spin and lying by politicians comes
together."
Labour
MP Tam Dalyell, the Father of the House, accused the Government of
hoodwinking the nation.
He
said: "We were told again and again the reason for going to war was
that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and that they could be used
within 45 minutes.
"Now
it's clear that the Iraqis have had no weapons for some time and that
Parliament was given a completely false impression."
The
White House also showed signs of a climbdown last week, claiming that
Saddam may have destroyed his arsenal before the war started.
President
George Bush said then: "We know he had them and whether he
destroyed them, moved them or hid them, we're going to find out the
truth."
Tony
Blair ordered British commanders in Iraq to find out why U.S. soldiers
paraded three captured looters naked through the streets of Baghdad.
Downing
Street revealed that US commanders were being asked for further details.
Mr
Blair's official spokesman said: "We don't know why they were
photographed with their kit off. Let's find out the facts, then we will
see if we need to comment."
Amnesty
International said the gunpoint parade was an "appalling"
violation of international conventions on the treatment of prisoners.
