LONDON, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- Former UN chief arms inspector Hans Blix says Britain's prime minister and US President George Bush are "clinging to straws" to justify the Iraqi war.
The BBC reported Sunday that Blix, writing for the Independent, said last week's Iraq Survey Group's report had found no evidence of weapons of mass destruction, but Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair said the report made clear Saddam Hussein had "every intention" of developing them.
"Far from confirming Tony Blair's reported reading that Saddam 'had every intention of reviving his WMD programs,' the report suggests Saddam gave his officials the impression that he was interested in resuming programs 'if sanctions were lifted,' " Blix said. "This is the new straw to which the governments concerned have begun to cling."
Blix said he agreed with the report that said Saddam allowed the world to believe he still had WMD "to look bigger and more dangerous than he was."
