British Prime Minister Tony Blair was Saturday night at the center of an embarrassing row after the most senior US official in Baghdad bluntly rejected Blair's assertion that secret weapons laboratories had been discovered in Iraq.
In a Christmas message to British troops, Blair claimed there was "massive evidence of a huge system of clandestine labor-atories." The Iraqi Survey Group (ISG) had unearthed compelling evidence that showed former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein had attempted to "conceal weapons," the prime minister said.
But in an interview yesterday, Paul Bremer, the Bush administration's top official in Baghdad, flatly dismissed the claim as untrue -- without realizing its source was Blair.
It was, he suggested, a "red herring," probably put about by someone opposed to military action in Iraq who wanted to undermine the coalition.
"I don't know where those words come from but that is not what [ISG chief] David Kay has said," he told ITV1's Jonathan Dimbleby TV program. "It sounds like a bit of a red herring to me."
With confusion apparently growing between London and Washington over weapons of mass destruction, the Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Menzies Campbell said he would be pressing ministers when parliament returned in the New Year on what precisely the government knew.
"It is high time the prime minister cleared this matter up once and for all," he said.
Blair made his remarks in a pre-Christmas interview with the British Forces Broadcasting Service, heard by the 10,000 British troops stationed in southern Iraq. In recent days, senior Whitehall officials have raised the extraordinary possibility that Saddam did not have weapons of mass destruction after all -- but believed he did after being misled by his own advisors.
In his interview on Saturday, Bremer was forced to pull back when told the claims of hidden weapons laboratories were made by Blair.
"There is actually a lot of evidence that has been made public," he said, adding that this included "clear evidence" of ongoing biological and chemical programs, as well as rocket production that violated UN Security Council resolutions. Bremer also dismissed Hans Blix, the former chief UN weapons inspector, as "out of touch."
Earlier, Blix had ridiculed the prime minister's laboratories claim as "innuendo." It was "increasingly clear" that Saddam did not have any weapons of mass destruction left when US and British forces invaded Iraq, he said.
‘UNFRIENDLY’: Changing the nationality listing of Taiwanese residents to ‘China’ goes against EU foreign policy as well as democratic and human rights principles, MOFA said Taiwan yesterday called on Denmark to correct its designation of the nationality of Taiwanese residents as “China” or face retaliatory measures. The Danish government in 2024 changed the nationality of Taiwanese citizens on their residence permits from “Taiwan” to “China.” The decision goes against EU foreign policy and contravenes democratic and human rights principles, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) spokesman Hsiao Kuang-wei (蕭光偉) said. Denmark should present a solution acceptable to Taiwan as soon as possible and correct the erroneous designation to preserve the longstanding friendship between the two nations, Hsiao said. The issue could damage Denmark’s image and business reputation in Taiwan,
KEY INDUSTRY: The vice premier discussed a plan to create a non-red drone supply chain by next year, which has been allocated a budget of more than NT$7.2 billion The government has budgeted NT$44.2 billion (US$1.38 billion) to cultivate Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) industry over the next five years, which would make the nation a major player in the industry’s democratic supply chain in the Asia-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. Cho made the remarks during a visit to the facilities of Cub Elecparts Inc (為升電裝). Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Su-yueh (陳素月) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsieh Yi-fong (謝依鳳) also participated in the trip. Cub Elecparts has transitioned from the automotive industry to the defense industry, which is the top priority among the nation’s
SUFFICIENT: The president said Taiwan has enough oil for next month, with reserves covering more than 100 days and natural gas enough for 12 to 14 days A restart plan for the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Wanli District (萬里) and the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County’s Hengchun Township (恆春) would be submitted to the Nuclear Safety Commission by the end of the month, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, reversing the government’s policy to abolish nuclear energy. On May 17 last year, Taiwan shut down its last nuclear reactor and became the first non-nuclear nation in East Asia, fulfilling the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government’s pledge of a “nuclear-free homeland.” Even without nuclear power, Taiwan can maintain a stable electricity supply until 2032,
DEROGATORY: WTO host Cameroon’s designation of Taiwan as a ‘province of China’ seriously undermines the nation’s status and rights as a WTO member, MOFA said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday condemned Cameroon for listing Taiwan as “Taiwan, Province of China” in visa documents for an upcoming WTO ministerial conference, a move that led to Taiwan’s withdrawal from the event. The designation “seriously undermined” Taiwan’s status and rights as a WTO member, the ministry said in a statement. It is the first time since 2001 that Taiwan has declined to attend a WTO Ministerial Conference. The conference is scheduled to take place from Thursday to Sunday next week in Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon. Taiwan had planned to send a delegation led by Minister Without Portfolio
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