Associated Press Iraqi Minister: WMD Could Still Be Found Thu Jan 29,11:52 AM ET By VESELIN ZHELEV, Associated Press Writer
SOFIA, Bulgaria - Iraq's foreign minister warned Thursday that weapons of mass destruction could still be found in Iraq, but the search could take time because of the sophistication of Saddam Hussein's regime. Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari made his comments only days after the expert who led the CIA's search for banned weapons in Iraq said he found no evidence Saddam possessed such weapons in recent years. That expert, David Kay, said he found no traces of chemical or biological stockpiles. But Zebari said that because Saddam used chemical gas against his own people, he remains certain that stockpiles of such weapons still exist. "We in Iraq have seen Saddam Hussein develop, manufacture and use these weapons against us with impunity," Zebari said. "The system of hiding, of concealment was very sophisticated in Iraq. So I really believe some of those weapons could be found." Zebari, a Kurd and longtime critic of Saddam, has said in the past the Iraqi ruler had such weapons and used them. Saddam's regime used chemical weapons against Iranian soldiers and killed an estimated 5,000 Kurdish civilians in a chemical attack on the northern city of Halabja in 1988. Zebari also commented on an Iraqi newspaper report that Saddam's regime bribed prominent foreigners with oil money, saying "it was a standard practice of Saddam's regime" to buy the support of foreign officials and business people with oil bribes. The allegations were published this week in Al-Mada, one of several Iraqi newspapers that have sprung up since the fall of Saddam's regime in April. The newspaper offered a list of about 270 former Cabinet officials, legislators, political activists and journalists from more than 46 countries allegedly involved in the scam. The paper said those people were suspected of profiting from Iraqi oil sales that Saddam allegedly offered them in exchange for cultivating political and popular support in their countries. Iraq's Governing Council has asked the Oil Ministry to gather information on allegations, said Mahmoud Othman, a member of the U.S.-appointed council.
