Leading
Iraq MP tells BBC Iraq will co-operate with weapons inspections
but warns of CIA involvement
A leading
member of the Iraqi Parliament, Mudhassar Adhami MP, has insisted
that Iraq will co-operate with weapons inspectors but warned the
United Nations inspectors not to lose their legitimacy by having
close relations with the CIA.
Speaking
as part of a special BBC World Service debate on the Iraq conflict
he, a leading supporter of Saddam Hussein, said: "We
don't have any weapons of mass destruction and have not had any
since 1998.
"We
will give free access and full co-operation to the inspections teams.
"The
aim of accepting the teams is to avoid a war and prove to the world
that we don't have any weapons of mass destruction and, more importantly,
to get the sanctions lifted and stop interference in our internal
affairs.
"The
Americans are not after weapons of mass destruction - the aim of
the US is simply to launch a war against Iraq."
Speaking
about the inspection teams in Iraq, he said: "We hope nothing
will happen like before. UNSCOM lost their legitimacy because of
their close relations with the CIA.
"We
hope there will be no trouble makers in these teams to create problems
for us. We will co-operate.
"We
hope that the teams will work within the legal framework of their
tasks. This is very important."
The
BBC World Service hosted a special
debate on issues relating to the Iraq crisis at 11.00am today
(Wednesday 19 November), repeated at 7.00pm.
Notes
to Editors
US
Arms Control Under-Secretary says US "confident" Iraq
has hidden weapons of mass destruction
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