Iraq Weapons story 'all a lie'

The Star --
Amir al-Helou, previously editor-in-chief of the Baathist government weekly Alif Baa magazine, has resurfaced since the U.S.-led war as a contributor to Iraq's mostly widely read newspaper, the London-based daily Azzaman.

"The story of weapons of mass destruction is all a lie and the Americans know that very well," Helou said.

"We swallowed the (U.S.) bait and launched a campaign to defend ourselves against accusations that we had weapons of mass destruction," Helou said.

Although he now writes articles critical of Saddam's government, he reiterated its line on banned weapons.

"Iraq used to have weapons of mass destruction in 1991 but did not use them against the (U.S.-led) coalition forces in the war that drove Iraqi troops out of Kuwait."

All such weapons, he added, had been destroyed either by U.N. arms inspectors or U.S. air strikes during the 1991 war.

"Washington and London knew all about Iraq's banned weapons because the West helped Iraq to acquire them," Helou said.