posted on Mar, 2 2003 @ 11:31 AM
In a speech to British ambassadors from around the world Monday, Straw said that terrorists and rogue states like Iraq and North Korea were part of
the ``same picture.''
He said al-Qaida ``would stop at nothing to inflict mass slaughter'' and would use weapons of mass destruction if it could acquire them.
``The most likely sources of technology and know-how for such terrorist organizations are rogue regimes which continue to flout their obligations
under international law not to develop nuclear, chemical and biological weapons,'' he said. ``This is why terrorism and rogue regimes are part of
the same picture.''
Straw said North Korea ``may possess the most destructive weapons known to man and it certainly has
no qualms about exporting weapons of mass destruction technology to any bidder.''
He said the international community had to ``disrupt and eliminate terrorist groups'' and also ``deter and remove the threat posed by hostile or
unstable states which possess or are pursuing weapons of mass destruction.''
``North Korea typifies the unpredictable nature of the threats we face over the next decade,'' Straw added.
A year ago, President Bush said North Korea was part of an ``axis of evil'' along with Iraq and Iran. The country alarmed the world in October by
admitting to a U.S. envoy that it had a secret uranium-based nuclear weapons program, in violation of a 1994 accord. Washington has indicated North
Korea may already have two nuclear weapons and can build several more in short order.
On Monday, Saddam accused U.N. weapons inspectors of engaging in ``intelligence work'' instead of searching for arms of mass destruction.
Responding to Saddam's speech, Straw told the BBC: ``We've heard this kind of stuff before.
``People need to remember with Saddam Hussein the degree to which he has impoverished his own nation, the way in which time and again he has lied
about his intentions.''
Link -
www.guardian.co.uk...