Pentagon thinks Saddam bought WMDs in Russia and hid them in Syria

If you think the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq came to nothing and that the pretext for the war was unjustified, then you would be mistaken. Saddam possessed a huge arsenal which he managed to smuggle out of Iraq with the help of Russian special forces. Indeed this story came to light several years ago. The source of this story is John Shaw, the former high-ranking Pentagon official. In October 2004 he announced to the world that Russian special forces had hidden the Iraqi dictator’s weapons in Syria and Lebanon. It is true that not even those in the organization itself believed him. Did the head of the Pentagon Donald Rumsfeld dream of finding WMDs in Iraq?

Photo: Pentagon thinks Saddam bought WMDs in Russia and hid them in Syria

Since his resignation, Shaw has not stopped voicing his views. Last Saturday at the so-called “International Intelligence Summit” he again linked Saddam, Syria and Russian special forces.

“Weapons of mass destruction bought by Saddam in Russia were taken to Syria and Lebanon,” announced the former deputy undersecretary of defense for international technology security, who was speaking at the summit held in Arlington .

“They were moved by Russian special forces dressed in civilian clothing, who had been instructed to enter Iraq to move the weapons and destroy all the evidence that would prove their existence,” he declared.

Shaw called the removal of weapons from Iraq “an organized campaign in which the neighboring states were directly involved. There is a long history of relations between these states and Russia.”

The former official of the US Defense Department thinks that Saddam managed to amass more than 100 million tones of weapons and ammunition. This makes up approximately 60% of the US’s military arsenal. In his words, these weapons came into Iraq’s hands from Russia, China and France .

John Shaw’s information comes from British intelligence service: “Intelligence services noticed numerous occurrences of lorries crossing Syria ’s border and then returning empty.”

Shaw worked closely on a report with Julian Walker, the former British ambassador to Iraq, where he spent some twenty years or so. Shaw also helped a certain Ukrainian, who subsequently held a high position in the Ukraine ’s intelligence services.

The Ukraine, as a way of expressing their gratitude for the US’s help in them gaining independence, has pulled certain highly important documents out of their archives. The documents give evidence of the transfer of weapons from the Soviet Union to Iraq and also show that Russia has given support to Saddam Hussein’s regime.

In 2004, when John Shaw presented his information to the Defense Departments of both the USA and the Central Intelligence Agency, they unanimously declared it be to false intelligence. However, thanks to Shaw’s connections in Great Britain and in the Ukraine, his report has been released.

The transfer of the WMDs to Syria and Lebanon was carried out by Russian forces. One of the main aims of the operation was to “hide all traces of Russian involvement in Iraq’s WMD program.”

Shaw believes that the publishing of his findings, which show that Bush’s administration ignored the fact that Russia helped Iraq , could lead to very serious consequences.

However, retired General-Lieutenant of the US Air Force Thomas McInerney has not been worried about giving his opinion and he cites the Iran as one of the main reasons for the current politics of Bush’s administration. “ Iran’s nuclear program is advancing more quickly than anyone can imagine. The USA now relies on Russia, China and France. The Bush administration does not want to release any information which would cast them in a bad light.”

Information on the summit

The International Intelligence Summit^sm, a non-partisan, non-profit, neutral forum that uses private charitable funds to bring together for the first time the intelligence agencies of the free world and the emerging democracies. The purpose of The Summit is to provide an opportunity for the international intelligence community to listen to and learn from each other, and to share ideas in the common war against terrorism. The Summit's Advisory Council includes Generals, former senior FBI official, former senior Mossad officer, and the former Chair of British Joint Intelligence Committee, says the official website (www.intelligencesummit.org).

One of the main sponsors of the summit is a charitable fund of Michael Cherny, the former Russian aluminum tycoon. He now lives in Israel .

John Shaw himself has been involved in one of the scandals at the centre of the reconstruction work in Iraq . He in particular has tried to attain contracts for firms of his friends and their business partners. Once, when presenting himself as a worker for the notorious company Halliburton, Shaw tried to enter restricted territory of one of Iraq’s ports. The scandal occurred in 2004. Two and a half months later he appeared with his evidence.

Vasily Bubnov

Translated by Michael Simpson