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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Gut Trader who wrote (72751)	9/23/2004 2:09:37 AM
From: Gut Trader	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793797

‘Dr. Germ’ Iraqi Bio-Weapons Scientist Says Her Country Wants Only Peace B A G H D A D, Feb. 10 — The woman known as "Dr. Germ" reportedly helped Iraq build a biological weapons program massive enough to kill everyone on Earth twice, but she says the weapons were merely a deterrent and that Iraq would never use them against the U.S. because it no longer has any such weapons. Although U.S. Seceteray of State Colin Powell says Iraq still has chemical and biological weapons, Dr. Rihab Taha says the weapons, including 2,200 gallons of anthrax, were all destroyed over a decade ago. "In summer of 1991, the whole quantity was completely destructed by [the] Iraqi side and the bombs and the warheads, and UNSCOM [United Nations Special Commission] themselves verified this matter," Taha told ABCNEWS' Diane Sawyer. In Iraq's declaration to the United Nations in December, the country rebutted claims it has nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. The U.S. and Britain dismissed the 12,000-page declaration and United Nations weapons inspectors reported a discrepancy between the amount of anthrax Iraq produced and what it had accounted for. However, Taha said the biological section of the report, which she said she helped compile, was honest and transparent. "We spent a lot, hundreds of hours with them, clarifying these things to them. If they are fair, they should close this matter," she said. No Trust for Inspectors or Reporters Taha, the 47-year-old mother and architect of Iraq's biological weapons program, has refused to be interviewed privately by U.N. weapons inspectors because she says she doesn't trust them. Taha, who earned a PhD in microbiology from a British university, acknowledges producing "biological agents" including botulinum — which makes the tongue swell until it causes the victim to suffocate — and anthrax. She's also been credited with the creation of hemmorrhagic conjunctivitis, which makes its victims' eyes bleed, and gas gangrene, which makes its victims' skin melt and fall off. ‘I’m Proud’ "I'm a scientist and I'm proud of myself, in fact," Taha said. "Because I haven't done anything which I feel shy about or embarrassed about. Who use the mass destruction weapon in the world? The first people [to] use a mass destruction weapons are American people. They use this against Japan," she said. The scientist says she rarely speaks to the media, because she doesn't trust them. "I have my opinion about the media and the press, so I don't want to talk very much with them. Sometimes they are not very fair. So I think it is better not to talk with them," Taha said. Taha said Iraqis are not looking to hurt anyone, and she denies allegations that Iraqi scientists have tested biological weapons on Iranian prisoners. "This is just to cast doubt about Iraqi people, about the scientists of the Iraqi people, to give or to raise this psychological propaganda and to get people around the world to hate Iraqi people and to hate Iraqi scientists. We are not a beast. We are a human being and we want to live in peace and love with all other countries," she said. Taha says her work has helped to protect the people of Iraq from Israel. "They want to destroy the whole area. They want to kill all the Arab people," she said. "We haven't done anything to harm other people. It is our right to be capable enough to defend ourselves … all what we have done is just a deterrent. Nothing more than that," she said. Taha said she is not worried about the possibility of war with the U.S. because she trusts the Iraqi government and God to protect her country. "We have great confidence in our government and our leaders. I believe in God and I'm sure God will help us." Copyright © 2004 ABC News Internet Ventures