UNITED NATIONS: US Secretary of State Colin Powell tried on Thursday to explain away remarks on Iraq dating back to the beginning of the Bush administration, before the United States decided to invade Iraq.
Speaking in Cairo in February 2001, on his first Middle East trip, Powell said that Iraq had not developed “any significant capacity” in weapons of mass destruction and was not able to attack his neighbours with conventional weapons.
A Democratic congressional aide dug out his remarks this week and has circulated them to the media.
Asked why he changed his assessment, Powell said: “I didn’t change my assessment... I did not say he (Iraqi President Saddam Hussein) didn’t have weapons of mass destruction.”
“He was a threat then. The extent of his holdings were yet to be determined. It was early in the administration and the fact of the matter is it was long before 9/11 (the date of the 2001 attacks on the United States),” he added.
“He (Saddam Hussein) has not developed any significant capability with respect to weapons of mass destruction. He is unable to project conventional power against his neighbours. So in effect, our policies have strengthened the security of the neighbours of Iraq, and these are policies that we are going to keep in place,” Powell added.—Reuters
