David Kay, the former chief of the occupation's hunt for Iraq's "weapons of mass destruction", claimed that part of captive leader Saddam Hussein's secret weapons program was hidden in Syria.
In an exclusive interview with The Telegraph, Dr. Kay, who last week resigned as head of the Iraq Survey Group, said that he had uncovered proof that "unspecified materials" had been moved to Syria shortly before the US-led war to topple Saddam Hussein and his regime had been launched.
"We are not talking about a large stockpile of weapons," he said in the interview conducted Saturday.
"But we know from some of the interrogations of former Iraqi officials that a lot of material went to Syria before the war, including some components of Saddam's WMD program. Precisely what went to Syria, and what has happened to it, is a major issue that needs to be resolved."
According to the British paper, Kay's comments will intensify pressure on Syria's President Bashar al-Assad to
clarify the "extent of his cooperation with Saddam's regime and details of Syria's WMD program".
Assad has said his country was entitled to defend
itself by acquiring its own biological and chemical weapons arsenal. (Albawaba.com)
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
