Former Iraqi general Georges Sada, who served as
second-in-command of the Iraqi air force under
deposed dictator Saddam Hussein, says Hussein moved
weapons of mass destruction into Syria before the
US-led invasion by loading them into civilian
aircraft in which the passenger seats were removed.
The revelation is made in the newly published book,
Saddam's Secrets.
Speaking to The New York Sun, Sada reported that
special Republican Guard units led by Saddam's
cousin, Ali Hussein al-Majid, nicknamed "Chemical
Ali," loaded "yellow barrels with skull and
crossbones" in two Boeing jets. The planes made 56
flights to Syria in the weeks leading up to the war.
Hussein also sent WMD out on trucks.
"Saddam realized, this time, the Americans are
coming," Sada said. "They handed over the weapons of
mass destruction to the Syrians." |
Former dictator Saddam Hussein
Photo : AFP
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The revelation follows by one month Israeli Gen.
Moshe Yaalon's comments that Israel had intelligence
showing that Saddam "transferred the chemical agents
from Iraq to Syria."
The term "weapons of mass destruction" is used to
describe nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons.
In the case of Iraq, Hussein was suspected of
possessing primarily chemical weapons, although the
Iraqis were also working on developing nuclear
weapons. As part of the ceasefire in the 1991
Persian Gulf war, Hussein agreed to get rid of his
WMDs. However, Hussein's many "palaces" were
off-limits to U.N. weapons inspectors, and the
dictator kicked the U.N. inspectors out of Iraq in
1998.
A U.S.-led coalition occupied Iraq in 2003, in part
because Hussein was suspected of continuing to
possess chemical weapons. However, no chemical
weapons have been found by the occupying forces.
On March 16, 1988, Hussein attacked the Iraqi
Kurdish town of Halabjah with a mix of mustard gas
and nerve agents, killing 5,000 civilians, and
wounding 10,000 more.
Syria, which shares a long border with Iraq, is
ruled by the Baath party, as was Iraq under Saddam
Hussein. The Baath party was founded in 1945 as a
radical, left-wing, Arab nationalist party and came
to power in both Syria and Iraq in 1963.
Syria's regime, headed by dictator Bashar Assad, has
a long history of supporting terrorist groups.
Terrorist groups sponsored by Syria include Hamas,
the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for
the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, and the
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. In
addition, Assad has been accused of masterminding
the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister
Rafik Hariri.
Sada's book also says that on the eve of the first
Gulf War, Saddam was planning to use his air force
to launch a chemical weapons attack on Israel.
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