Blix attacks Blair and Bush's 'pre-war witch hunt'

Former United Nations chief weapons inspector Hans Blix has likened the run-up to the war in Iraq to a witch hunt.

He said the subsequent failure to find weapons of mass destruction would dent the public’s faith in President George Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair.

“The governments (of the United States and Britain) were like the witch hunters of past centuries.

“They were so convinced that there were witches in Iraq that every black cat became proof of it,” Blix said in Barcelona where he was receiving the Peace Prize from the United Nations Association of Spain.

“The tendency was to view any evidence in a more serious light than was the reality.

“It’s clear that the September 11th attack on the United States drove the analysis,” he added.

But a spokesman for President Bush dismissed the criticism.

“Maybe Mr Blix felt we should trust in the good intentions of Saddam Hussein,” White House press secretary Scott McClellan said.

“In a post-September 11 world, the president understood we could not afford to trust in the good intentions of a madman who continued to defy the international community.”

Blix said that intelligence information from the United States and other countries was exaggerated, and that politicians should have asked more critical questions.

“They were mistaken in their views, but I don’t think they acted in bad faith,” Blix said, referring to Bush, Blair and other leaders who supported the war.

“The consequences of that are political. Now people have less confidence in them.”

The Peace Prize, worth £2,000 (€2,961), recognises Blix’s attempts to try to find a peaceful solution to the Iraq conflict. Past recipients include Nelson Mandela, Mikhail Gorbachev and the association Doctors Without Borders.

The Swede led the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and pushed for prolonging the search before military action was taken.