No evidence was needed to justify an attack on Iraq: Powell

UNITED NATIONS, January 10 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Chief UN arms inspector Hans Blix Thursday, January 9, said six weeks of probes had turned up "no smoking guns" in Iraq, but U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said none was needed to justify an attack on Iraq.

"We haven't found any smoking guns," Blix said before he and Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, briefed the UN Security Council for three hours on the progress of arms inspections in Iraq, Agence France-Presse (AFP) said.

Blix, in a statement at the closed council meeting later made available to reporters, said there was "no guarantee that prohibited stocks or activities could not exist at other sites."

The United States was quick to react, insisting Iraq possesses banned weapons and warning Baghdad that time is running out to avoid war.

"The problem with guns that are hidden is you can't see their smoke. We know for a fact that there are weapons there," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said.

No "smoking gun" required for attacking Iraq: Powell       

Later, in an interview with NBC News, Powell said, "The lack of a smoking gun does not mean that there's not one there."

And even if one were not found, he said, "If the international community sees that Saddam Hussein is not cooperating in a way that would not allow you to determine the truth of the matter, then he is in violation of the UN resolution (1441)...You don't really have to have a smoking gun."

Powell also said the January 27 date by which Blix and ElBaradei are to deliver a definitive report on Iraqi arms to the Security Council was not "a D-Day" for an attack.

"The 27th of January is a date that these two gentlemen ... have been asked to report to the council," said Powell. "That's all it is. So it is an important day, but it is not a D-day."

Powell would not discount the possibility weapons inspections could go on far beyond that date.

Asked by NBC, given the preponderance of weapons inspectors and international press in Iraq, why inspections could not be extended by up to five months, Powell said: "I'm not saying that isn't going to happen."

In its December 8 declaration, made under threat of "serious consequences" if it lied or failed to cooperate, Iraq denied having any nuclear, biological or chemical weapons or long-range missiles to deliver them.

Blix questioned Iraq's declaration, saying it had "failed to answer a great many questions" asked by the previous inspectors who left Iraq four years ago, and was "practically devoid of new evidence."

Blix and ElBaradei also urged Iraq to cooperate more fully with the inspectors, particularly in making military scientists available for interviews.

"I told the council that we were not able, for example, to have interviews in Iraq in private," ElBaradei said.

"That does not indicate the proactive cooperation we expect," he added, using an expression that suddenly seemed to be on every diplomat's lips.

Unjustified actions

Baghdad meanwhile complained of unjustified actions by members of Blix's inspection teams.

Hours before Blix's briefing, Iraqi presidential adviser General Amer al-Saadi said Iraq would complain about actions by the arms inspectors when Blix and ElBaradei visit Baghdad, where they are due January 19-20.

Iraq objects to questions asked while visiting military bases not linked to any banned arms, he said.

"And we intend to clarify this with Dr. Blix and Dr. ElBaradei when they come next week."

Saadi added the experts, who resumed inspections November 27 after a four-year break, had asked questions pertaining to, among others, the chain of command and changes that had occurred at the sites during the past few years.

"(At) a military base, at such a time, when Iraq is threatened with (a U.S.-led) invasion, to ask these questions is a bit much," he said.

But he said these "could be individual oversights from inspectors, ignorance," and "it should be clarified."

It was the first time Baghdad said it would seek clarifications about the inspectors' work since President Saddam Hussein charged Monday, January 6, that the arms experts were, under U.S. pressure, engaging in intelligence activity.

A spokesman for the inspectors denied the charge.

Powell earlier said Washington had begun providing the inspectors with "significant" data on Iraq's weapons programs.

Unless there is a smoking gun, the inspectors have to be given time: Blair

And the British government denied a report that it was urging Washington to delay war against Iraq for several months to give UN inspectors more time to provide evidence of arms violations.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair's official spokesman described as "categorically wrong" the report by London's Daily Telegraph, adding that Blair "underlines his view that the weapons inspectors must be given the time and space to do their work."

A senior government source told the paper Blair "has made it clear that, unless there is a smoking gun, the inspectors have to be given time to keep searching."

In Jakarta, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said disarmament rather than regime change was the main objective in Iraq, and war could be avoided if Saddam gave up his weapons.

Moscow meanwhile officially denied having offered political asylum to Saddam should he decide to leave office.

"This question has not been and is not being studied," the foreign ministry said in a statement, after the German press claimed Moscow was offering Saddam exile in Russia in a bid to avert a war.