-Caveat Lector- Euphorian spotted this on the Guardian Unlimited site and thought you should see it.
To see this story with its related links on the Guardian Unlimited site, go to http://www.guardian.co.uk Is this British-trained woman at the heart of a germ warfare plot? Brian Whitaker Tuesday September 24 2002 The Guardian She is a 46-year-old mother with a PhD from the University of East Anglia ... and she takes up more space in Tony Blair's Iraq dossier than either of Saddam Hussein's two sons. Rihab Taha is - or at least was - head of a secret biological warfare programme in Iraq and has allegedly overseen the manufacture of 10 billion doses of deadly viruses and bacteria, including botulinum. She took up the job in 1984, almost immediately after completing a research degree in Norwich. "Her work here was only on diseases affecting wheat and tobacco," a spokeswoman for her former university said yesterday. "She was here when the UK enjoyed good relations with Iraq and we have had no contact with her since she left." During the 1990s, Dr Taha became well known among UN weapons inspectors for her histrionic performances under questioning. Though normally mild-mannered, she would explode into a rage or burst into tears, shout and throw chairs, or storm out of the room when interviewed. At first she claimed that all biological agents and weapons had been destroyed in the first few months after the 1991 war, and made no mention of the secret germ warfare factory at al-Hakam, 80 miles west of Baghdad, where work was carried on under her supervision. Later, when asked about the al-Hakam factory, she said it was only making chicken feed. Bizarrely, it was through the weapons inspectors - and specifically Rolf Ekeus, former head of UNSCOM - that Dr Taha met her husband to be. In 1993, Mr Ekeus invited her and the Iraqi oil minister, Amer Rashid, to the UN in New York for talks on UNSCOM-Iraqi relations. Between the discussions, romance blossomed. Mr Rashid divorced his wife and married Dr Taha. In 1995, she admitted that a factory she had set up near Baghdad had made enough anthrax and botulinum to kill millions. UNSCOM suspected that weapons in her arsenal had been tested on humans According to the British dossier, Dr Taha played a central role in Iraq's weapons programme. In 1985 she was appointed head of a small biological weapons research team. "Significant resources were provided, including construction of a dedicated production facility at al-Hakam," the dossier says. "[Toxic] agent production began in 1988." Four years ago Dr Taha was publicly honoured by Saddam Hussein at the Military Industrial Commission in Baghdad. Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
