Iraq shrugs off US/British arms dossier accusations

IRAQ yesterday said it was not worried by accusations that its weapons declaration to the United Nations contained little new, and said it would give UN inspectors a list of scientists linked to arms programmes.

“We are not worried. It’s the other party (the United States and Britain) that is worried because there is nothing they can pin on us,” presidential adviser Amir al-Saadi told a news conference. “There is nothing that they don't know about Iraq's weapons programmes. They know everything.”

US and British officials have said the Iraqi dossier submitted on December 7 is full of holes, a charge that Saadi said was aimed to pre-empt the assessment of weapons experts: “We have heard only politicians talk like that. We have not heard any reputable weapons expert come and pick holes in our declaration.”