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Rumsfeld Dismisses Iraqi Claims of Innocence Regarding WMDs
Thursday, November 14, 2002
By Kathleen T. Rhem
American Forces Press Service

“There undoubtedly will, during this period, be any number of statements by any number of people on this subject. [ ... ] And rather than reacting to any statements that may or may not have been made by any of these folks, I'll just simply say they do have weapons of mass destruction. And the purpose of the U.N. resolution, of course, is to -- for them to agree to allow inspectors in and allow inspectors to make some conclusions.”

WASHINGTON -- AFIS
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld today dismissed Iraq's claims that it has no weapons of mass destruction.

"I'll just say they do have weapons of mass destruction," he said in a Pentagon media briefing with Kazakhstani Defense Minister Col. Gen. Mukhtar Alytnbayev.

Rumsfeld said he had received a copy of the letter Iraq sent to the U.N. Security Council grudgingly agreeing to allow weapons inspectors into the country. The letter reportedly claims Iraq has no such weapons and that Saddam Hussein's regime will "deal with" the Security Council resolution approved Nov. 8.

Rumsfeld said he had not read the letter carefully but indicated there may be some differences between the English version he has and an Arabic version. Experts are comparing the two.
(More: DoD News Source)
2002 © The United States Department of Defense.

Related Story:
* Secretary Rumsfeld Joint Press Conference with MoD of Kazakhstan
United States Department of Defense
Presenter: Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld
(11:30 AM ET)
Thursday, November 14, 2002

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