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Former Iraqi General Alleges WMD Transfers to Syria
A former top Iraqi military commander has claimed that the regime of deposed President Saddam Hussein transferred weapons of mass destruction to Syria ahead of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the New York Sun reported today (see GSN, Jan. 18). Gen. Georges Sada, formerly second in command of the Iraqi air force, made the allegations in “Saddam’s Secrets,” a book released this week. “There are weapons of mass destruction gone out from Iraq to Syria, and they must be found and returned to safe hands,” Sada told the Sun yesterday. Two Iraqi Airlines pilots told Sada in mid-2004 that they had transported the arms in passenger planes whose seats had been removed. They said they witnessed Iraqi Republican Guard brigades placing materials, including “yellow barrels with skull and crossbones on each barrel” onto the converted cargo planes. “I know (the pilots) very well. They are very good friends of mine. We trust each other. We are friends as pilots,” he said. He said the two men are now employed by airlines outside Iraq and would not come forward because they fear for their safety. The pilots said the 56 flights they made to Syria were widely believed to be relief efforts in the wake of a flood caused by a June 2002 dam collapse in that country. “Saddam realized, this time, the Americans are coming,” Sada said. “They handed over the weapons of mass destruction to the Syrians” (Ira Stoll, New York Sun, Jan. 26).
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