Russian Newspaper Says US Helps Iraq Develop WMD

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, April 01, 2003

Russian Newspaper Says US Helps Iraq Develop WMD

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The United States had provided Iraq with military equipment and technology for a long period of time, and had helped Iraq develop weapons of mass destruction (WMD), Russia's Moscow Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper reported on Monday.

The paper said that from 1970's to 1990, the United States committed itself to helping Iraq develop nuclear and biological weapons, and missile weaponry. The US, which once regarded Iraq as its allies, supported Iraq with weapons in its eight-year war with Iran.

It also said that the US military assistance to Iraq was mainly conducted by some US companies under allegedly legal commercial contracts. Some US allies in NATO had signed such contracts with Iraq as well.

In all, about 700 foreign companies were involved in the development of Iraq's nuclear projects under nearly 2,000 signed contracts with a total volume of one billion US dollars, said the paper.

It added that US companies had invested heavily in Iraq's chemical weapons programs and in the 1980's some of them had financed some of its biological weapons programs.

The United States launched war on Iraq on March 20 with a claimed aim of toppling Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and ridding Iraq of weapons of mass destruction. Baghdad has repeatedly denied possession of such banned weapons.

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