Last Update: Friday, September 9, 2005. 10:28am (AEST)

Powell regrets UN speech on Iraq WMDs

Former US secretary of state Colin Powell says his United Nations
speech making the case for the US-led war on Iraq was "a blot" on his
record.

Mr Powell has also said that he had "never seen evidence to suggest" a
connection between the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in the United
States and the Saddam regime.

In the February 2003 presentation to the UN Security Council, Mr
Powell forcefully made the case for war on the regime of Saddam
Hussein, offering "proof" that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction
(WMD).

The presentation included satellite photos of trucks that Mr Powell
identified as mobile bioweapons laboratories.

After the invasion, US weapons inspectors reported finding no Iraqi
nuclear, biological or chemical weapons.

In an interview with American ABC TV news to be broadcast on Friday
(US time), Mr Powell said "it's a blot" on his record.

"I'm the one who presented it on behalf of the United States to the
world, and (it) will always be a part of my record. It was painful.
It's painful now," he said.

Mr Powell spent five days at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
headquarters ahead of the speech studying intelligence reports, many
of which turned out to be false.

He said he felt "terrible" at being misinformed. 

[...]

Source: Australian Broadcasting Corporation
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200509/s1456650.htm

Cheers, Steve..

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