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Iraqi Defector Admits Lying About WMD to Topple Saddam Hussein

Published February 16, 2011

KARLSRUHE, Germany -- A defector whose claims that Iraq had biological weapons were used in justifying the 2003 U.S. invasion has admitted that he lied to help get rid of Saddam Hussein, The Guardian newspaper said Tuesday.

"Maybe I was right, maybe I was not right," Rafid Ahmed Alwan al-Janabi told the British newspaper.

"They gave me this chance. I had the chance to fabricate something to topple the regime. I and my sons are proud of that and we are proud that we were the reason to give Iraq the margin of democracy.

"I had to do something for my country, so I did this and I am satisfied because there is no dictator in Iraq any more," he added.

Janabi, codenamed Curveball by German and American intelligence officials, told the BND, Germany's secret service, that Iraq had mobile bio-weapons trucks and had built clandestine factories.

Even after he went back on his story after being confronted with denials from another source, his former boss, the BND continued to take him seriously, he said.

The BND confronted Janabi with a statement from Bassil Latif, his former boss at the Military Industries Commission in Iraq, who said there were no trucks or factories.

"OK, when [Latif says] there no trucks then [there are none]," the paper reported Janabi telling the BND.

Despite his admission, Janabi said security officials continued to take his claims seriously. They told him in 2002 that his pregnant wife might not be allowed to join him in Germany if he refused to cooperate.

The faulty information Janabi provided helped form the cornerstone of former U.S. secretary of state Colin Powell's key address to the United Nations on Feb. 5, 2003.

During the speech, Powell described Janabi as "an Iraqi chemical engineer" who "supervised one of these facilities."

"He actually was present during biological agent production runs and was also at the site when an accident occurred in 1998," Powell told the U.N..

Janabi said he was "shocked" by Powell's speech, but played down his role in the conflict.

"Powell didn't say I was the only reason for war, he talked about three things -- uranium, al Qaeda in Iraq and my story [biological weapons]," he said.

And he accused the BND of having broken an agreement that they would not hand over his information to other countries.

Tyler Drumheller, the former CIA chief in Europe, said Janabi's "fascinating" admissions "makes me feel better."

"I think there are still a number of people who still thought there was something in that, even now," Drumheller told The Guardian.

German authorities approached Janabi in 2000 after identifying him as a Baghdad-trained chemical engineer with possible inside intelligence of former leader Saddam's regime.

Janabi, who fled Iraq in 1995, denied that he lied to the BND in order to secure asylum, claiming he did it purely to topple Saddam.

"I had a problem with the Saddam regime, I wanted to get rid of him.

"Believe me, there was no other way to bring about freedom to Iraq. There were no other possibilities," he said.


Film at 11.... 😟

Wait - so the premise on which we have spent hundreds of billions of dollars and sacrificed thousands of soldiers' lives was BOGUS? Holy cow! Who could have seen this coming?!?!?

Well, at least it was worth it, because Iraqistan is now TOTALLY awesome.

oops.

Can you imagine if Saddam was still in power these days. He would have Obama bent over while pulling his big dumbo ears asking what's my name b&%ch. The world is better off. If Barry wasn't POTUS we could move on to Iran, North Korea and the worst of the evil empires New York City.

Nuke the Hamptons!

how do we know he's not lying now..?? 😕

This is why we need more water-boarding.

Or at least make him "pinkie promise" next time.

He's GOT to be lying now! Now we can't blame all of it on Bush! What's a lefty to do!

Iraq is the new black!!

That war was totally worth it....our country is better off for it.

Let's take over some other countries for no reason. After all, we have trillions to burn, and Americans don't mind their soldiers being killed and maimed for no reason, right?!?!?

I say we take out Madagascar next, unless they can PROVE that they have no WMD program-related activities and stuff.

You said it fishy.....we need to occupy some surf camps and seafood markets. I'll volunteer for that duty!

How about some REAL critical thinking? I mean it wasn't like Saddam ACTUALLY EVER USED any chemical weapons right?

The Iraq war was for Israel. Besides, I already said "oops". What else you want? Sheesh.

I miss Baghdad Bob's pressers...it was like watching Gibbs only with berets and military garb.[whip] [whip]

I thought "berets" said "breasts." 😂

I'm not a WMD expert.
-Gibbs

it's all to protect Israel.

Bu11$hit!

We went to war in Iraq on the belief of WMD being in the "wrong" hands; to "protect" oil supplies and "oil allies' like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and others, from Saddam's threat; to try to keep the region stable; to finish up what was never accomplished by Bush1; and to sell Iraqi society/government our stupid little dream that every one can and should live in a democracy- whether they like it or not. Israel was only of minor concern in the decision to attack- it still would have happened even if Israel was our enemy or there was no Israel.

Now, as to WMD: Unless intelligence was knowingly faked, I have no problem with what we did- just some of the reasons we did it for and how we did it. I cannot fault anyone for the start of the war if they unknowingly acted on inaccurate information.

However, I do not think that our current occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan is in our best interest. I don't want to see American soldiers risking and losing their lives. We have no business spending the billions and billions of dollars we already have spent and will continue to spend. After all these years, Iraq is a lost cause. And, will never be successful in the ground war. Hell, neither country even wants our "help" anymore. Then, there is the issue of Bin Laden. It is too late to do anything about him. There are plenty of dangerous radicals in the world we can work on. Who knows if he is even still alive. If we capture him, nothing will even change. The same threats will be there.

Mark my words, neither Iraq nor Afghanistan will ever become a stable democracy or long-term "friend" of the U.S., within our life times or our children's lifetimes.

Bring our soldiers home; quit pissing away money and bomb or nuke them into submission.

rfenst, PUH-LEEZE

We went to war in Iraq to forestall the inevitable nuclear armageddon that Saddam would have visited on our great nation had we given that dweeb Hans Blix even a week longer to ****** around not finding anything.

You should consider yourself lucky that our leaders and their proxies had the foresight to launch a stupendously expensive war there so that we aren't having to engage in hand-to-han combat with Iraqi invaders here.

Since you think differently, you obviously hate:

America
The Troops
Jesus
American Idol
The Rich
Joe Lunchbox
Hockey Moms
Apple Pie
Everything else we hold dear

Why do you hate America, rfenst? Why do you wish Saddam had been able to take over our country?

Sarcasm can stimulate a discussion, but it becomes borish when it remains the emphasis.
I give you credit, cbc, because you've always been against the war from day as far as I can remember. But before you blush uncontrollably realize that you were only against it because you were against everything-that-was-Bush.

In any event, without WMD's we're slowly watching the quiet minions arise from their slumber to point one last finger at Dubya before they have to make a determination regarding the current situation and "their guy" who's in the office now.

Or, we can look backwards and continue the blame game.
Because the present day is MUCH scarier than entering into a new war.