Hans Blix

Hans Blix

Hans Blix (born June 28, 1928) is a Swedish diplomat and politician for the Liberal People's Party. He was Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs (1978–1979) and later became the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Quotes

• It was to do with information management. The intention was to dramatise it.
  • BBC TV's Breakfast With Frost, February 8, 2004

• I found it peculiar that those who wanted to take military action could — with 100 per cent certainty — know that the weapons existed and turn out to have zero knowledge of where they were.
  • from an unnamed Swedish radio program, quoted in Mirror.co.uk, "Blix Blasts 'Illegal' US War on Iraq", August 7, 2003 [1]

• I have my detractors in Washington. There are bastards who spread things around, of course, who planted nasty things in the media.
  • The Guardian, "Blix: I was smeared by the Pentagon" June 11, 2003 [2]

• … there are people in this administration who say they don't care if the UN sinks under the East river, and other crude things…
  • The Guardian, ibid.

• It's true the Iraqis misbehaved and had no credibility but that doesn't necessarily mean that they were in the wrong.
  • The Guardian, "One last warning from the man who made an enemy of Bush", June 11, 2003 [3]

• But in the Middle Ages people were convinced there were witches. They looked for them and they certainly found them.
  • BBC News, "Blix criticises UK's Iraq dossier", September 18, 2003 [4]
  • referring to the British and American governments' insistence that there are WMD in Iraq after Blix had already concluded and reported there was nothing to be found

• There was a very consistent creation of a virtual reality, and eventually it collided with our old-fashioned, ordinary reality.
  • On the U.S. attitude regarding alleged Iraqi weapons of mass destruction as a justification for U.S. military action, as quoted widely in the media including the Boston Globe article "Newsview: U.S. reports no weapons in Iraq", September 18, 2004 [5]

Quotes of others about Blix

• Personally, Mr. Blix is amiable and has a sense of humor; politically he is weak and easily fooled. I can think of few European officials less suitable for a showdown with Saddam. Indeed, it is with utter disbelief that I watch television news about Mr. Blix's negotiations with the Iraqi dictator's henchmen. [...] Regardless of how this crisis develops from this point, the United Nations has neglected its duties by asking a wimp to lead the inspectors who are supposed to stand up to the brute of Baghdad.
  • Per Ahlmark, Former Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden (Liberal Party), in The Washington Times, November 1, 2002. [6]

• "He's as reliable as a Volvo." Colin Powell

External links

• Hans Blix Quote Archive