-->CIA tried to bribe top Iraqi aides to defect - newspaper
(December 25,2002 )(Agencies)




The US Central Intelligence Agency approached three senior Iraqi military officers when they were in New York last June and offered them money to defect, a newspaper reported Wednesday.


General Amer al-Saadi, President Saddam Hussein's science advisor; Jaafar Zia, head of the former Iraqi nuclear program and an expert named Mehdi Labidi were discussing with the United Nations a resumption of arms inspections in Iraq, said the Saudi-owned Asharq al-Awsat daily.


During their stay at a New York hotel, the CIA never stopped approaching them, with one saying he had been showed a"suitcase full of dollars," Asharq said.


The newspaper, quoting sources close to the delegation, said the Iraqi government had informed the United Nations about the incident, claiming"harrassment."

Aus: China Daily, 25.12.02