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Blix says 'spin' was used to justify the war in Iraq
Eric Pfanner IHT Friday, September 5, 2003
LONDON Hans Blix, the former chief UN weapons inspector, said Thursday that the United States and Britain had employed "spin" in their justification for war in Iraq, issuing one of his strongest criticisms yet of the decision to resort to hostilities.
.
In Britain, that word has taken on a particular resonance because it is at the center of an inquiry into the death of David Kelly, another former weapons inspector, who committed suicide in July. The BBC has said Kelly was the source of reports contending that British intelligence officials thought the government had manipulated evidence about Iraqi weapons programs to exaggerate the case for war.
.
Blix was in London for the creation of the World Nuclear University, an international network of nuclear research institutions and labs that he will serve as chancellor. And while he laced a speech with academic nuance, he made it clear that he thought the decision to go to war had been premature and ill-justified.
.
"When critical thinking is replaced by spin, society loses," he said.
.
"In the Iraq case," he added, "exclamation marks were placed where question marks should have been used."
.
Blix did not specify which arguments for war he considered to be spin. But furor here began with a BBC report in May alleging that British intelligence officials were concerned about the contents of the government's dossier laying out the case for war; in particular, the BBC reported that experts thought a claim that Saddam Hussein could deploy weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes had been exaggerated.
.
Prime Minister Tony Blair has denied the BBC's allegations, and the inquiry into the events surrounding Kelly's suicide has revealed flaws in the broadcaster's reports. But it has also plunged the government into its deepest crisis, and Blair's communications director, Alastair Campbell, who has been seen here as the engineer of a strategy based on spin - last week announced his intention to resign.
.
In his new role at the nuclear university, Blix will head an institution whose main focus is peaceful nuclear applications, such as energy and medical uses. The "university," a virtual network, will link scholars and others in 30 countries, and is sponsored by the World Nuclear Association, a trade group; the World Association of Nuclear Operators, which exchanges information among power plants; the International Atomic Energy Agency, and the Nuclear Energy Agency.
.
Blix said he thought nuclear energy could play a role in reducing greenhouse emissions, adding that he thought climate change posed a greater threat to the planet than nuclear proliferation.
.
But while Blix, who is 75, has retired from his UN role, he does not plan to step out of the geopolitical spotlight. He has returned to Stockholm but is working on a book that is "about the Thirty Years' War," he joked during a brief conversation Wednesday.
.
Actually, the period covered by the book will be only a dozen years, starting in 1991. It will recount the UN weapons inspection process and other events leading up to the second Iraq war.
.
International Herald Tribune
< < Back to Start of Article LONDON Hans Blix, the former chief UN weapons inspector, said Thursday that the United States and Britain had employed "spin" in their justification for war in Iraq, issuing one of his strongest criticisms yet of the decision to resort to hostilities.
.
In Britain, that word has taken on a particular resonance because it is at the center of an inquiry into the death of David Kelly, another former weapons inspector, who committed suicide in July. The BBC has said Kelly was the source of reports contending that British intelligence officials thought the government had manipulated evidence about Iraqi weapons programs to exaggerate the case for war.
.
Blix was in London for the creation of the World Nuclear University, an international network of nuclear research institutions and labs that he will serve as chancellor. And while he laced a speech with academic nuance, he made it clear that he thought the decision to go to war had been premature and ill-justified.
.
"When critical thinking is replaced by spin, society loses," he said.
.
"In the Iraq case," he added, "exclamation marks were placed where question marks should have been used."
.
Blix did not specify which arguments for war he considered to be spin. But furor here began with a BBC report in May alleging that British intelligence officials were concerned about the contents of the government's dossier laying out the case for war; in particular, the BBC reported that experts thought a claim that Saddam Hussein could deploy weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes had been exaggerated.
.
Prime Minister Tony Blair has denied the BBC's allegations, and the inquiry into the events surrounding Kelly's suicide has revealed flaws in the broadcaster's reports. But it has also plunged the government into its deepest crisis, and Blair's communications director, Alastair Campbell, who has been seen here as the engineer of a strategy based on spin - last week announced his intention to resign.
.
In his new role at the nuclear university, Blix will head an institution whose main focus is peaceful nuclear applications, such as energy and medical uses. The "university," a virtual network, will link scholars and others in 30 countries, and is sponsored by the World Nuclear Association, a trade group; the World Association of Nuclear Operators, which exchanges information among power plants; the International Atomic Energy Agency, and the Nuclear Energy Agency.
.
Blix said he thought nuclear energy could play a role in reducing greenhouse emissions, adding that he thought climate change posed a greater threat to the planet than nuclear proliferation.
.
But while Blix, who is 75, has retired from his UN role, he does not plan to step out of the geopolitical spotlight. He has returned to Stockholm but is working on a book that is "about the Thirty Years' War," he joked during a brief conversation Wednesday.
.
Actually, the period covered by the book will be only a dozen years, starting in 1991. It will recount the UN weapons inspection process and other events leading up to the second Iraq war.
.
International Herald Tribune LONDON Hans Blix, the former chief UN weapons inspector, said Thursday that the United States and Britain had employed "spin" in their justification for war in Iraq, issuing one of his strongest criticisms yet of the decision to resort to hostilities.
.
In Britain, that word has taken on a particular resonance because it is at the center of an inquiry into the death of David Kelly, another former weapons inspector, who committed suicide in July. The BBC has said Kelly was the source of reports contending that British intelligence officials thought the government had manipulated evidence about Iraqi weapons programs to exaggerate the case for war.
.
Blix was in London for the creation of the World Nuclear University, an international network of nuclear research institutions and labs that he will serve as chancellor. And while he laced a speech with academic nuance, he made it clear that he thought the decision to go to war had been premature and ill-justified.
.
"When critical thinking is replaced by spin, society loses," he said.
.
"In the Iraq case," he added, "exclamation marks were placed where question marks should have been used."
.
Blix did not specify which arguments for war he considered to be spin. But furor here began with a BBC report in May alleging that British intelligence officials were concerned about the contents of the government's dossier laying out the case for war; in particular, the BBC reported that experts thought a claim that Saddam Hussein could deploy weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes had been exaggerated.
.
Prime Minister Tony Blair has denied the BBC's allegations, and the inquiry into the events surrounding Kelly's suicide has revealed flaws in the broadcaster's reports. But it has also plunged the government into its deepest crisis, and Blair's communications director, Alastair Campbell, who has been seen here as the engineer of a strategy based on spin - last week announced his intention to resign.
.
In his new role at the nuclear university, Blix will head an institution whose main focus is peaceful nuclear applications, such as energy and medical uses. The "university," a virtual network, will link scholars and others in 30 countries, and is sponsored by the World Nuclear Association, a trade group; the World Association of Nuclear Operators, which exchanges information among power plants; the International Atomic Energy Agency, and the Nuclear Energy Agency.
.
Blix said he thought nuclear energy could play a role in reducing greenhouse emissions, adding that he thought climate change posed a greater threat to the planet than nuclear proliferation.
.
But while Blix, who is 75, has retired from his UN role, he does not plan to step out of the geopolitical spotlight. He has returned to Stockholm but is working on a book that is "about the Thirty Years' War," he joked during a brief conversation Wednesday.
.
Actually, the period covered by the book will be only a dozen years, starting in 1991. It will recount the UN weapons inspection process and other events leading up to the second Iraq war.
.
International Herald Tribune LONDON Hans Blix, the former chief UN weapons inspector, said Thursday that the United States and Britain had employed "spin" in their justification for war in Iraq, issuing one of his strongest criticisms yet of the decision to resort to hostilities.
.
In Britain, that word has taken on a particular resonance because it is at the center of an inquiry into the death of David Kelly, another former weapons inspector, who committed suicide in July. The BBC has said Kelly was the source of reports contending that British intelligence officials thought the government had manipulated evidence about Iraqi weapons programs to exaggerate the case for war.
.
Blix was in London for the creation of the World Nuclear University, an international network of nuclear research institutions and labs that he will serve as chancellor. And while he laced a speech with academic nuance, he made it clear that he thought the decision to go to war had been premature and ill-justified.
.
"When critical thinking is replaced by spin, society loses," he said.
.
"In the Iraq case," he added, "exclamation marks were placed where question marks should have been used."
.
Blix did not specify which arguments for war he considered to be spin. But furor here began with a BBC report in May alleging that British intelligence officials were concerned about the contents of the government's dossier laying out the case for war; in particular, the BBC reported that experts thought a claim that Saddam Hussein could deploy weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes had been exaggerated.
.
Prime Minister Tony Blair has denied the BBC's allegations, and the inquiry into the events surrounding Kelly's suicide has revealed flaws in the broadcaster's reports. But it has also plunged the government into its deepest crisis, and Blair's communications director, Alastair Campbell, who has been seen here as the engineer of a strategy based on spin - last week announced his intention to resign.
.
Eric Pfanner IHT Friday, September 5, 2003
LONDON Hans Blix, the former chief UN weapons inspector, said Thursday that the United States and Britain had employed "spin" in their justification for war in Iraq, issuing one of his strongest criticisms yet of the decision to resort to hostilities.
.
In Britain, that word has taken on a particular resonance because it is at the center of an inquiry into the death of David Kelly, another former weapons inspector, who committed suicide in July. The BBC has said Kelly was the source of reports contending that British intelligence officials thought the government had manipulated evidence about Iraqi weapons programs to exaggerate the case for war.
.
Blix was in London for the creation of the World Nuclear University, an international network of nuclear research institutions and labs that he will serve as chancellor. And while he laced a speech with academic nuance, he made it clear that he thought the decision to go to war had been premature and ill-justified.
.
"When critical thinking is replaced by spin, society loses," he said.
.
"In the Iraq case," he added, "exclamation marks were placed where question marks should have been used."
.
Blix did not specify which arguments for war he considered to be spin. But furor here began with a BBC report in May alleging that British intelligence officials were concerned about the contents of the government's dossier laying out the case for war; in particular, the BBC reported that experts thought a claim that Saddam Hussein could deploy weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes had been exaggerated.
.
Prime Minister Tony Blair has denied the BBC's allegations, and the inquiry into the events surrounding Kelly's suicide has revealed flaws in the broadcaster's reports. But it has also plunged the government into its deepest crisis, and Blair's communications director, Alastair Campbell, who has been seen here as the engineer of a strategy based on spin - last week announced his intention to resign.
.
In his new role at the nuclear university, Blix will head an institution whose main focus is peaceful nuclear applications, such as energy and medical uses. The "university," a virtual network, will link scholars and others in 30 countries, and is sponsored by the World Nuclear Association, a trade group; the World Association of Nuclear Operators, which exchanges information among power plants; the International Atomic Energy Agency, and the Nuclear Energy Agency.
.
Blix said he thought nuclear energy could play a role in reducing greenhouse emissions, adding that he thought climate change posed a greater threat to the planet than nuclear proliferation.
.
But while Blix, who is 75, has retired from his UN role, he does not plan to step out of the geopolitical spotlight. He has returned to Stockholm but is working on a book that is "about the Thirty Years' War," he joked during a brief conversation Wednesday.
.
Actually, the period covered by the book will be only a dozen years, starting in 1991. It will recount the UN weapons inspection process and other events leading up to the second Iraq war.
.
International Herald Tribune
< < Back to Start of Article LONDON Hans Blix, the former chief UN weapons inspector, said Thursday that the United States and Britain had employed "spin" in their justification for war in Iraq, issuing one of his strongest criticisms yet of the decision to resort to hostilities.
.
In Britain, that word has taken on a particular resonance because it is at the center of an inquiry into the death of David Kelly, another former weapons inspector, who committed suicide in July. The BBC has said Kelly was the source of reports contending that British intelligence officials thought the government had manipulated evidence about Iraqi weapons programs to exaggerate the case for war.
.
Blix was in London for the creation of the World Nuclear University, an international network of nuclear research institutions and labs that he will serve as chancellor. And while he laced a speech with academic nuance, he made it clear that he thought the decision to go to war had been premature and ill-justified.
.
"When critical thinking is replaced by spin, society loses," he said.
.
"In the Iraq case," he added, "exclamation marks were placed where question marks should have been used."
.
Blix did not specify which arguments for war he considered to be spin. But furor here began with a BBC report in May alleging that British intelligence officials were concerned about the contents of the government's dossier laying out the case for war; in particular, the BBC reported that experts thought a claim that Saddam Hussein could deploy weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes had been exaggerated.
.
Prime Minister Tony Blair has denied the BBC's allegations, and the inquiry into the events surrounding Kelly's suicide has revealed flaws in the broadcaster's reports. But it has also plunged the government into its deepest crisis, and Blair's communications director, Alastair Campbell, who has been seen here as the engineer of a strategy based on spin - last week announced his intention to resign.
.
In his new role at the nuclear university, Blix will head an institution whose main focus is peaceful nuclear applications, such as energy and medical uses. The "university," a virtual network, will link scholars and others in 30 countries, and is sponsored by the World Nuclear Association, a trade group; the World Association of Nuclear Operators, which exchanges information among power plants; the International Atomic Energy Agency, and the Nuclear Energy Agency.
.
Blix said he thought nuclear energy could play a role in reducing greenhouse emissions, adding that he thought climate change posed a greater threat to the planet than nuclear proliferation.
.
But while Blix, who is 75, has retired from his UN role, he does not plan to step out of the geopolitical spotlight. He has returned to Stockholm but is working on a book that is "about the Thirty Years' War," he joked during a brief conversation Wednesday.
.
Actually, the period covered by the book will be only a dozen years, starting in 1991. It will recount the UN weapons inspection process and other events leading up to the second Iraq war.
.
International Herald Tribune LONDON Hans Blix, the former chief UN weapons inspector, said Thursday that the United States and Britain had employed "spin" in their justification for war in Iraq, issuing one of his strongest criticisms yet of the decision to resort to hostilities.
.
In Britain, that word has taken on a particular resonance because it is at the center of an inquiry into the death of David Kelly, another former weapons inspector, who committed suicide in July. The BBC has said Kelly was the source of reports contending that British intelligence officials thought the government had manipulated evidence about Iraqi weapons programs to exaggerate the case for war.
.
Blix was in London for the creation of the World Nuclear University, an international network of nuclear research institutions and labs that he will serve as chancellor. And while he laced a speech with academic nuance, he made it clear that he thought the decision to go to war had been premature and ill-justified.
.
"When critical thinking is replaced by spin, society loses," he said.
.
"In the Iraq case," he added, "exclamation marks were placed where question marks should have been used."
.
Blix did not specify which arguments for war he considered to be spin. But furor here began with a BBC report in May alleging that British intelligence officials were concerned about the contents of the government's dossier laying out the case for war; in particular, the BBC reported that experts thought a claim that Saddam Hussein could deploy weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes had been exaggerated.
.
Prime Minister Tony Blair has denied the BBC's allegations, and the inquiry into the events surrounding Kelly's suicide has revealed flaws in the broadcaster's reports. But it has also plunged the government into its deepest crisis, and Blair's communications director, Alastair Campbell, who has been seen here as the engineer of a strategy based on spin - last week announced his intention to resign.
.
In his new role at the nuclear university, Blix will head an institution whose main focus is peaceful nuclear applications, such as energy and medical uses. The "university," a virtual network, will link scholars and others in 30 countries, and is sponsored by the World Nuclear Association, a trade group; the World Association of Nuclear Operators, which exchanges information among power plants; the International Atomic Energy Agency, and the Nuclear Energy Agency.
.
Blix said he thought nuclear energy could play a role in reducing greenhouse emissions, adding that he thought climate change posed a greater threat to the planet than nuclear proliferation.
.
But while Blix, who is 75, has retired from his UN role, he does not plan to step out of the geopolitical spotlight. He has returned to Stockholm but is working on a book that is "about the Thirty Years' War," he joked during a brief conversation Wednesday.
.
Actually, the period covered by the book will be only a dozen years, starting in 1991. It will recount the UN weapons inspection process and other events leading up to the second Iraq war.
.
International Herald Tribune LONDON Hans Blix, the former chief UN weapons inspector, said Thursday that the United States and Britain had employed "spin" in their justification for war in Iraq, issuing one of his strongest criticisms yet of the decision to resort to hostilities.
.
In Britain, that word has taken on a particular resonance because it is at the center of an inquiry into the death of David Kelly, another former weapons inspector, who committed suicide in July. The BBC has said Kelly was the source of reports contending that British intelligence officials thought the government had manipulated evidence about Iraqi weapons programs to exaggerate the case for war.
.
Blix was in London for the creation of the World Nuclear University, an international network of nuclear research institutions and labs that he will serve as chancellor. And while he laced a speech with academic nuance, he made it clear that he thought the decision to go to war had been premature and ill-justified.
.
"When critical thinking is replaced by spin, society loses," he said.
.
"In the Iraq case," he added, "exclamation marks were placed where question marks should have been used."
.
Blix did not specify which arguments for war he considered to be spin. But furor here began with a BBC report in May alleging that British intelligence officials were concerned about the contents of the government's dossier laying out the case for war; in particular, the BBC reported that experts thought a claim that Saddam Hussein could deploy weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes had been exaggerated.
.
Prime Minister Tony Blair has denied the BBC's allegations, and the inquiry into the events surrounding Kelly's suicide has revealed flaws in the broadcaster's reports. But it has also plunged the government into its deepest crisis, and Blair's communications director, Alastair Campbell, who has been seen here as the engineer of a strategy based on spin - last week announced his intention to resign.
.
