German minister accuses US of deceit

Germany’s development minister today accused the US of deceiving the world over its reasons for waging war on Iraq.

“We see in the current discussion that it was about oil, it wasn’t about weapons of mass destruction,” Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul said at a party meeting in Berlin.

Wieczorek-Zeul was joining a chorus of criticism in Europe of remarks by US Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz that weapons of mass destruction became a war banner because it was the only reason which everyone in the Bush administration could agree on.

“The world was deceived there, and that’s why we are clear on our position,” the minister said at a meeting of the ruling Social Democratic Party on economic reforms.

”We want to help make sure that war never again can become a means for politics or to look after economic interests.”

Germany joined France and Russia in opposing the Iraq war, casting doubt on the US arguments in favour of military intervention and saying it could detract from the fight against international terrorism.