Rafid Ahmed Alwan al-Janabi, who was known in American and German intelligence services under the code name Kurvball, told the British daily Guardian how he invented that Iraq had secret weapons of mass destruction to convince the Americans that Saddam Hussein was dangerous and that he should be overthrown, reports the Croatian Večernji list.
He invented that Saddam has trucks with biological weapons ready for use and launch and that he has secret factories for weapons of mass destruction. He claims that it was on the basis of his stories that former US President George Bush made the decision to launch an attack on Iraq and overthrow Saddam Hussein.
Although he says he was shocked to see what his fabrication led to, he emphasizes that he himself, as well as his sons, are proud that he was given the opportunity to help topple the Saddam regime, from which he fled into exile in 1995.
Spies helped him
The story begins in Germany, where Janabi was granted asylum and where he still lives. He says that in 2000 he was contacted by a German official, to whom he told the story of a mobile biological weapon. Janabi says German intelligence identified him as a chemical engineer trained in Baghdad. They asked him for any insider information about Saddam's Iraq.
"I immediately understood that this was an opportunity that could not be missed. The German intelligence officers were so eager for information and details that they helped me describe the production processes of biological and chemical weapons. They gave me a manual for chemical engineers, which I still have," he said. Janabi.
He told the Guardian that the truth also came out in mid-2000, when German agents traveled to Dubai to interview Dr Basil Latif, Janabi's former boss in the Iraqi military industry. Janabi accused Latif's son, who was studying in London, of procuring weapons for Saddam.
Latif already said then that none of what Janabi said was true. When the Germans confronted him with Latif's version, he backed down, but when they contacted him again about the same story two years later, he realized that Latif had not convinced them.
No remorse for lies
Then they threatened him that they would not allow his pregnant wife to come to Germany, but would return her from Spain to Morocco. He had no way out, so he began to cooperate. When he heard Colin Powell's speech before the Security Council on February 5, 2003, it became clear to him that his lies served as a pretext for war.
Now he emphasizes that he does not regret what he did, even though more than 100.000 people died in his country.
"They die in all wars. I wanted freedom for Iraq. Did I have another choice?" Janabi said.
German parliamentarian Hans-Christian Strobele warned that Kurvboll violated German law that prohibits the spread of false information that could lead to war or damage to relations between the two countries, and that he could end up in prison.
He could be sentenced to life imprisonment - claims that German politician who plans to put Kurvbol's confession on the agenda of the Bundestag. He is interested in whether the then German chancellor Gerhard Schröder knew that Curveball was lying before the invasion of Iraq. Schroeder then refused to join Bush's "coalition of the willing".
The Iraqi dissident was aware that his speech would cause consequences. He gave his wife and brother in Sweden the phone number of a Guardian journalist "in case something happens to him".
Gallery
Bonus video:
