A Pentagon advisor has revealed Saddam Hussein made a desperate attempt to forge a deal with the US to prevent war. Baghdad intelligence officials made a proposal, with Saddam's backing, which would allow American troops and inspectors into the country to search for weapons of mass destruction. The deal also involved a secret meeting in London between a Lebanese businessman, who had been briefed by the head of the Iraqi Intelligence Service, and Richard Perle, a top Pentagon adviser. The deal would involve Baghdad handing over a man accused of involvement in the 1993 World Trade Centre bombing, and elections would be held in Iraq, according to the New York Times. The deal, described by Mr Perle as "a quite astonishing proposal", was sought as coalition troops were massing on the border with Iraq. It was apparently a last-ditch attempt to open communications between the two countries through a clandestine channel, rather than usual diplomatic means. Mr Perle met with the businessman, named as Imad Hage, in London in March, days before war broke out. But, following years of bluff and deception by the Saddam regime, the offer was declined. "I was dubious that this would work but I agreed to talk to people in Washington," Mr Perle said. Mr Hage, who has joint Lebanese-American citizenship, said: "They (the Iraqis) wanted to talk and they offered things they never would have offered if the build-up hadn't occurred." A Pentagon spokesman said: "Iraq and Saddam had ample opportunity, through highly credible sources, over a period of several years, to take action to avoid war and had the means to use highly credible channels to do that. Nobody needed to use questionable channels to convey messages." Story filed: 15:25 Thursday 6th November 2003
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