Rumsfeld points finger at Saddam
FROM DAMIAN WHITWORTH IN WASHINGTON AND RICHARD BEESTON, DIPLOMATIC EDITOR
THE Bush Administration said last night that President Saddam Hussein of Iraq remained a highly suspicious figure at the centre of the investigation into terror attacks against the United States and gave clear hints that the war against terrorism could be widened. The tough talk from Donald Rumsfeld, the Defence Secretary, was at odds with Washington's partners, including Britain, which was at pains yeserday to play down any Iraqi link to the terrorist attacks. Jordan, another key ally, said that broadening the war to include Iraq would be "a catastrophe" for the coalition against terror.
The Iraqi President's regime, which has denied any hand in any terrorist operations, said at the weekend that it was convinced that the United States and Britain were planning to attack and predicted an assault against 300 targets by 1,000 missiles.
In some of the strongest language used by an American Cabinet minister, Mr Rumsfeld said: "This Administration is not afraid of saying the word 'Iraq'. Iraq has been on the terrorist list for years. There is no question that Iraq is a state that has committed terrorist acts and has sponsored terrorist acts. (Saddam) clearly, as (the leader of) a terrorist state, is a threat to other countries in the world, including the US."
Mr Rumsfeld said that military patrols along Iraq's borders had ensured that the Iraqi leader had been "contained to some extent", but there were people who "wish he weren't there. And certainly I'm one of them." Asked directly if there were plans to go after Saddam, he said: "We're doing what we're doing and I will say this - the President has said this is a war against terrorist networks across the globe."
Czech officials have confirmed that Mohammed Atta, the suspected ringleader of the suicide hijackers, had met an Iraqi intelligence official in Prague before the attacks. Mr Rumsfeld said that the meetings were significant and were being investigated by "the proper law enforcement people".
He said that investigators were also looking at the possibility that the anthrax used in the letter sent to Tom Daschle, the Senate majority leader, contained the additive Bentonite, which is believed to have been used by only the Iraqi germ warfare programme.
However, threats against Baghdad were played down by Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary. Speaking on ABC's This Week programme, he was adamant that "Iraq has not been targeted. You only take military action where there is the clearest possible evidence of culpability and where military action is the only option left.
"I have seen no evidence which links the Iraqi regime to Osama bin Laden's guilt and al-Qaeda's guilt for what happened on September 11," he said.
King Abdullah of Jordan voiced the concerns of many Western allies in the Arab world when he pleaded to the American-led coalition not to broaden its campaign and attack Iraq. He said. "In no way should the Arabs be held responsible for these crimes."