MER - US Lied on Purpose to 'Take Advantage of Situation' post-9/11

<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> Pilger claims White House knew Saddam was no threat <br> <br> September 23, 2003 - 2:33PM <br> <br> Australian investigative journalist John Pilger says he has evidence <br>> the war against Iraq was based on a lie which could cost George W <br>> Bush and Tony Blair their jobs and bring Prime Minister John Howard <br>> down with them. <br>> <br>> A television report by Pilger aired on British screens last night <br>> said US Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Adviser <br>> Condoleeza Rice confirmed in early 2001 that Iraqi dictator Saddam <br>> Hussein had been disarmed and was no threat. <br>> <br>> But after the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington on <br>> September 11 that year, Pilger claimed Rice said the US "must move to <br>> take advantage of these new opportunities" to attack Iraq and claim <br>> control of its oil. <br>> <br>> Pilger uncovered video footage of Powell in Cairo on February 24, <br>> 2001 saying, "He (Saddam Hussein) has not developed any significant <br>> capability with respect to weapons of mass destruction. He is unable <br>> to project conventional power against his neighbours." <br>> <br>> Two months later, Rice reportedly said, "We are able to keep his arms <br>> from him. His military forces have not been rebuilt." <br>> <br>> Powell boasted this was because America's policy of containment and <br>> its sanctions had effectively disarmed Saddam. <br>> <br>> Pilger claims this confirms that the decision of US President George <br>> W Bush - with the full support of British Prime Minister Blair and <br>> Howard - to wage war on Saddam because he had weapons of mass <br>> destruction was a huge deception. <br>> <br>> Pilger interviewed several leading US government figures in <br>> Washington but said he did not ask Powell or Rice to respond to his <br>> claims. <br>> <br>> "I think it's very serious for Howard. Howard has followed the <br>> Americans and to a lesser degree Blair almost word for word," Pilger <br>> told AAP before his program was screened on ITV tonight. <b on></b> </body>