Letter: Russia remains key ally of Iraq, Saddam

Friday, Sept. 27, 2002 | 9:18 a.m.

In a news conference on Oct. 11, 2001, Bush characterized the new global conflict as "a war against all those who seek to export terror, and a war against those governments that support or shelter them."

He hit this theme again in his address before the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 12, stating: "And our greatest fear is that terrorists will find a shortcut to their mad ambitions when an outlaw regime supplies them with the technologies to kill on a massive scale."

The problem is that all of the most culpable "outlaw regimes" were represented right there in the U.N. General Assembly -- and the president has partnered us with some of them in the war on terror.

In his U.N. speech, President Bush repeatedly singled out Iraq's role in international terror and warned of Saddam Hussein's plans for developing "weapons of mass destruction" (WMD).

The fact is, however, that it is our new "partner," Vladimir Putin, who is supplying Iraq with the WMD technology, which is a continuation of the Moscow-Baghdad relationship extending back four decades. Putin has recently concluded a $40 billion agreement with Saddam Hussein.

Russian military advisers and scientists have always figured prominently in Saddam's totalitarian state, and have been especially critical for his WMD programs.

Are we being lied to, or what?

KEN HOVEY