Former weapons inspector warns against Iraq attack

Attacking Saddam Hussein as part of the war on terrorism would have ‘‘devastating’’ consequences, a former United Nations weapons inspector warned today.

There was no evidence that Iraq was involved in the September 11 attacks on New York and the Pentagon, said former UN inspector Scott Ritter, who added: ‘‘I don’t believe that Saddam Hussein is involved in international terror.’’

He conceded the Iraqi regime had supported terrorist organisations in the past and had dealt brutally with any opposition.

But he went on: ‘‘In terms of anti-American terror? No. Saddam Hussein, that is not his method of operation. That is not what he does.

‘‘I think he is focused solely on getting economic sanctions lifted against his county.’’

Mr Ritter’s comments come after United States President George Bush warned last night that Iraq might become a target.

Afghanistan was ‘‘still just the beginning’’ of a larger war against terrorism, he said.

Asked whether Iraq might be the next target after Afghanistan, Mr Bush expanded his threat to go after states which harbour terrorists to include states that ‘‘develop weapons of mass destruction that will be used to terrorise nations’’.

He also had a specific warning for Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, saying: ‘‘He needs to let inspectors back in his country to show he is not developing weapons of mass destruction.’’

Mr Ritter blamed Iraq’s refusal to allow inspectors back in on the ‘‘very complex and convoluted history of the weapons inspections’’.

He went on: ‘‘Iraq would make the case that they have established sufficiently that they complied with the UN resolutions to disarm and weapons inspections had become nothing more than a vehicle for pursing American unilateral objectives of overthrowing Saddam Hussein.

‘‘The truth is much more complicated than that.

‘‘The inspections did establish a fundamental level of disarmament, I would say between 90% and 95% of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction were accounted for.

‘‘The United States did use the weapons inspection process as a vehicle to collect intelligence information that was more conducive to removing Saddam Hussein from power.’’

This meant an attack on Iraq would be ‘‘not just wrong, but it would disastrous in term of America’s war on terror’’, he said.

‘‘Right now we are focused on those who perpetrated this awful attack on the United States and Iraq is not linked with those,’’ he said.

‘‘If the United States expands its war on terror to be inclusive of Iraq I think you will see that the coalition that we have put together, the international support we have garnered to take on Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida will dissipate.’’

But Sharif Ali, spokesman for the opposition Iraqi National Congress, said: ‘‘Of course Saddam is involved in international terrorism, he has been involved for years.’’

The Iraqi leader had attempted to assassinate George Bush senior when he was in the White House, said Mr Ali, adding: ‘‘He has had contacts with bin Laden and al-Qaida on many levels.’’