Swedish arms experts found signs of an Iraqi programme for manufacturing prohibited weapons during a secret visit in June, their supervisor said today. Military and government officials pooh-poohed played down the claims and criticised the visit, saying it was not authorised.
| "We didn't authorize the visit, so they found nothing. Just throw it away." |
Two chemical and biological weapons experts travelled to Iraq to help a television team evaluate information it had obtained about Saddam Husseinâs alleged weapons of mass destruction, said Aake Sellstroem, from the Swedish Defence Research Agency, who authorised the visit. The information indicated Iraq had a programme for making chemical and biological weapons as late as last year, but yielded no clues about whether any actual weapons were made, he said. âWhat this shows is that there was interest, organisation and activities involving weapons of mass destruction until 2002,â Sellstroem said. âBut I havenât seen any information about how many weapons there were.âSellstroem, who heads the agencyâs weapons of mass destruction research unit, said a TV crew from a Monaco-based production company, World Television Network, requested his help in evaluating information it had received from an unnamed Iraqi source.
| If they got it that easily, there's more — and we're sitting on it. |
He said he made the decision to authorise the visit in haste and regretted not informing his superiors or the government about it.
| "Ummm... Sorry. You were in the shower..." |
Swedish Defence Minister Leni Bjoerklund strongly criticised the researchers for embarking on such a sensitive mission without government approval.
Defence research agency spokesman Hans Rehnvall said the two weapons experts, who were not identified, failed to find a âsmoking gun.â
| "Nope. Nope. Nuttin' there. Move along. Nothin' to see..." |
âThey didnât regard the results as particularly surprising or dramatic. A piece of the puzzle among many others,â Rehnvall said. |