© unknownLied: Rafid Ahmed Alwan al-Janabi, known by the alias Curveball, admits he lied when he told German intelligence that the Iraqi dictator had mobile weapons laboratories as part of a secret biological programme
Engineer Rafid Ahmed Alwan al-Janabi, known by the alias Curveball, told German intelligence that the Iraqi dictator had mobile weapons laboratories as part of a secret biological programme.
However, in an interview with the Guardian newspaper, he now says he lied in order to rid his country of the brutal regime, which he had fled in 1995.
He told reporters: 'I had to do something for my country.
© unknownDefiant: Tony Blair, former PM, seen with former U.S. President George W. Bush, said he believes it still would have been right to have invaded Iraq even if it was known that Saddam Hussein did not have weapons of mass destruction
Asked if he would do the same again, despite the war and the thousands who have lost their lives in the subsequent insurgency, he said: 'I would do whatever was possible.
'I would say the same thing, because I wouldn't want that regime to continue in our country.'
In spite of being discredited for previous information he had given to the German Secret Service, the BND, his allegations were still taken seriously.
He had told them of mobile weapons laboratories, and of experiments which had killed many people.
His information was even used by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell when he appeared before the UN in New York, a move which left the defector 'shocked', he says.
In a major speech making the case for the U.S.-led invasion, Powell told delegates of uranium, Al Qaeda in the country, and also of an informant who was 'an eyewitness, an Iraqi chemical engineer who supervised one of these facilities.
© unknownDownfall: 'Curveball's' lies ultimately led to regime change in Iraq. The dictator's downfall was symbolised by the destruction of his statue in central Baghdad
The Iraq War has dogged many of the leading figures involved, including UK Prime Minister Tony Blair who has had to face two grillings by the Chilcot Inquiry into the war and continual opprobrium from the families of those who died.
He has admitted he ignored advice from the Attorney General that the war might be illegal, and concealed the Government's legal doubts from the U.S. President.
© unknownPersuasive: Secretary of State Colin Powell addressed the United Nations Security Council and told them of 'an eyewitness, an Iraqi chemical engineer who supervised one of these facilities'
Donald Rumsfeld, the former U.S. Defence Secretary, said he 'made a misstatement' when he claimed Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction sites.
He wrote in his memoir Known and Unknown that he should have said 'suspect sites': 'While I made a few misstatements - in particular the one mentioned above - they were not common and certainly not characteristic.'
...thanks for coming out, ya soppy date.
How was the Lewinsky they paid you with?
Caught every dribble, or what?