Bombardier
27-01-04, 17:03
Weapons or not, Iraq threat made war just, Ashcroft says
By William J. Kole
Associated Press
VIENNA, Austria - Even if weapons of mass destruction are never found in Iraq, the U.S.-led war was justified because it eliminated the threat that Saddam Hussein might again resort to "evil chemistry and evil biology," Attorney General John Ashcroft said yesterday.
Hussein's willingness to use such weapons was sufficient cause to overthrow his government, Ashcroft told reporters, alluding to the use of chemical and biological arms against Iraqi Kurds in 1988 and during the 1980s Iran-Iraq war.
"Weapons of mass destruction, including evil chemistry and evil biology, are all matters of great concern, not only to the United States but also to the world community. They were the subject of U.N. resolutions," Ashcroft said.
"I believe there is a very clear understanding that Saddam Hussein continued to pose a threat," he said.
Ashcroft's comments came a day after David Kay, who resigned last week as the top U.S. arms inspector, had told National Public Radio he now believed Hussein had no banned weapons.
"I don't think they exist," Kay said. "The fact that we found so far the weapons do not exist - we've got to deal with that difference and understand why."
Ashcroft also said yesterday that terrorism remained a global menace and that "we see no nations as immune to the al-Qaeda terrorist threat."
He spoke after meeting with Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel, Interior Minister Ernst Strasser, and Justice Minister Dieter Boehmdorfer on measures to fight terrorism and drug trafficking and improve air-travel security.
By William J. Kole
Associated Press
VIENNA, Austria - Even if weapons of mass destruction are never found in Iraq, the U.S.-led war was justified because it eliminated the threat that Saddam Hussein might again resort to "evil chemistry and evil biology," Attorney General John Ashcroft said yesterday.
Hussein's willingness to use such weapons was sufficient cause to overthrow his government, Ashcroft told reporters, alluding to the use of chemical and biological arms against Iraqi Kurds in 1988 and during the 1980s Iran-Iraq war.
"Weapons of mass destruction, including evil chemistry and evil biology, are all matters of great concern, not only to the United States but also to the world community. They were the subject of U.N. resolutions," Ashcroft said.
"I believe there is a very clear understanding that Saddam Hussein continued to pose a threat," he said.
Ashcroft's comments came a day after David Kay, who resigned last week as the top U.S. arms inspector, had told National Public Radio he now believed Hussein had no banned weapons.
"I don't think they exist," Kay said. "The fact that we found so far the weapons do not exist - we've got to deal with that difference and understand why."
Ashcroft also said yesterday that terrorism remained a global menace and that "we see no nations as immune to the al-Qaeda terrorist threat."
He spoke after meeting with Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel, Interior Minister Ernst Strasser, and Justice Minister Dieter Boehmdorfer on measures to fight terrorism and drug trafficking and improve air-travel security.