Hans Blix at the Univ of Scranton..

[PaDUer]

Here's the online article about Hans Blix visiting the University of Scranton last nite which I posted about. There's probably a longer version in the actual newspaper itself, if so, I will update the thread later.



Blix: 'We were not wrong'

By Christopher J. Kelly TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER 04/22/2004

He was the United Nations' top weapons inspector, responsible for finding and destroying Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction.

When he asked for more time to find weapons he was no longer sure existed, he was ridiculed by the Bush administration and other supporters of an invasion of Iraq. Hans Blix, Ph.D., was in Scranton on Wednesday to discuss something else he was during the run-up to the war.
-snip-
Q: Has the war helped or hurt the larger war on terrorism?

A: "There were many on the (U.N.) Security Council who said the military part would not be a problem, but the peace part could be a problem. Maybe nonsufficient planning went into that. Whether they could plan for it, I don't know ... At any rate, for the time being, (Iraq) is a breeding ground for terrorism."
-snip-

Q: You met with President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Secretary Powell and Condoleezza Rice. What were those exchanges like?

A: "(President Bush) said he had great confidence in us and that the administration would give us its full support for the inspections, and they did support us. But in autumn of 2002, not much of their intelligence had been shared with us. They were a bit like librarians who didn't want to lend their books. In January (2003), they named sites they wanted us to go to. We went to these sites and in no case were there any WMD. We began to say, 'No, this intelligence is not right.' "

-snip-

Q: You and Mohamed El Baradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, doubted the WMD intelligence before the war, and asked for more time to continue inspections. Do you feel vindicated now that no weapons have been found?

A: "Yes, of course, but that's not the most important thing. The most important thing is to get to the truth. We were closer to the truth than anyone else. We were not wrong, at any rate. I think we will get to the truth through the writings of people who were involved or who were close observers. In this sense, I believe the story I have to tell is important. I think what we will find is that there was an absence of critical thinking. You have to have critical thinking to get to the truth."

entire article--http://www.scrantontimes.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=11366049&BRD=2185&PAG=461&dept_id=415898&rfi=6

[PaDUer]

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