Iraq troops 'not just about WMDs'
July 14, 2004

US military engagement in Iraq did not hinge on the presence of weapons of
mass destruction, former US president Bill Clinton said today.

But regardless of the reasons for military involvement in Iraq, the troops
were now there and it was important to make the situation work, he said.

Mr Clinton said US President George W. Bush had been correct to demand UN
inspectors be allowed into Iraq.

"I think he (Mr Bush) was right to demand that we have the UN inspection and
if the UN inspectorate said Saddam Hussein is not cooperating I would have
supported the military action even if the UN didn't," Mr Clinton told Sydney
radio 2GB in a wide-ranging phone interview from the US.

Mr Clinton said the Bush administration had been focused on getting rid of
Saddam Hussein and was not just concerned about whether Iraq had weapons of
mass destruction.


"The Bush administration believed that there were different reasons for
(controlling) Saddam Hussein.

"They thought whether or not he had weapons of mass destruction, it would be
a good thing to get rid of him because he was a bad guy, because a more
democratic government in Iraq could be good."





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It was more than just WMDs. Is Bill secretly working against Kerry so that
his wife is the Democratic frontrunner in 2008?