This isn't likely to be picked up by our 'watchdog media.'

Top Iraqi Nuclear Scientist Wants Probe

The father of Iraq's nuclear bomb program, speaking publicly for the first time since U.S. forces occupied Baghdad, called Monday for a U.N. probe of what nuclear inspectors knew before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and denied Saddam Hussein had tried to restart his atomic program.

Jafar Dhia Jafar said U.N. inspectors had "reached total conviction" that Iraq was free of nuclear weapons before the U.S.-led invasion yet failed to convey that frankly to the Security Council because of pressure from the United States.

Before and after the U.S.-led invasion last March, U.S. officials have insisted Saddam was developing a nuclear weapons program. Chief U.N. inspector Hans Blix and his nuclear counterpart Mohamed ElBaradei, however, say their teams found no evidence of any weapons of mass destruction or programs to build them in Iraq.

"Reports of the United Nations to the Security Council should have been clear and courageous," Jafar said. "I believe the United Nations should also investigate ... the facts that were known before the war and why they (nuclear inspectors) did not declare them to the Security Council."[snip]

"Saddam Hussein issued orders in July 1991 for the destruction of all banned weapons, in addition to the systems to produce them. It was carried out by the Special Republican Guard forces," they wrote.

"We can confirm with absolute certainty that Iraq no longer possessed any weapons of mass destruction after its unilateral destruction of all its components in the summer of 1991, and did not resume any such activity because it no longer had the foundations to resume such activity."

Three days before the invasion last March, Vice President Dick Cheney said Iraq was "trying once again to produce nuclear weapons," even though ElBaradei said his inspectors had found no evidence of that.

After the war, U.S. inspectors also found no signs of a revived program. Still, David Kay, the chief U.S. inspector who resigned in January, contended last October he had found "evidence of Saddam's continued ambition to acquire nuclear weapons." That evidence has not been made public.

In their paper, the scientists wrote: "The United States and Britain were not content with the United Nations' reluctance to tell the truth ... so they fabricated lies about Iraq resuming its nuclear activity."[snip]

Link to whole story

It'll be interesting to see if this gets any attention from the press. Here's the 'smoking gun.' Unfortunately, it's pointed in the wrong direction for the Bush Administration.