Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal al-Miqdad (Archive)

Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal al-Miqdad recalled that the Bush administration was determined to attack Iraq for a number of reasons beyond Iraq’s alleged weapons of mass destruction.

"On a day like today 20 years ago, and near the Syrian seat where I was sitting in the Security Council, the then US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, staged a scene of manipulation and lies to justify the US invasion of Iraq on the pretext that it possesses weapons of mass destruction," al-Miqdad tweeted.

Al-Miqdad added that Powell presented "audio recordings", "satellite images", "testimonials", and "documents" at the time, claiming that these are evidence rather than speculation, facts, and well-documented information, and showing a small tube containing Iraqi-produced biological substances capable of killing tens of thousands of people.

"Of course, it became clear that everything he put forward was mere unsubstantiated lies, and Powell himself described what he said before the Security Council as a ‘disgrace’, but sadly, Iraq was invaded on the basis of these lies, and everyone knows the disastrous results left by this invasion of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by US forces and their allies in Iraq," the Foreign Minister stressed.

Al-Miqdad emphasized that the US and its agents in France, Britain, and Germany are engaging in the same games and lies to launch the war against Syria just like they did in Iraq 20 years ago under the guise of its possession of weapons of mass destruction.

He advised the world to learn from history and not allow the US and its allies France, the United Kingdom, and Germany to repeat similar deception or use false claims to justify interfering in the affairs of other countries and undermining their security, stability, and prosperity.

‘Bush lied. People died’

US President Joe Biden was one of the 77 senators who gave President George W. Bush the authority to use force in Iraq back in October 2002.

US military officials admitted that some troops committed abuses, claiming always independently of senior commanders, and claimed that more than 300 criminal investigations were opened in response to accusations of prisoner mistreatment and that 100 soldiers were subjected to court-martial proceedings and administrative punishments.

Washington, along with coalition forces, invaded Iraq in March 2003, after toppling Saddam Hussein, under the pretext of disarming Iraq’s alleged weapons of mass destruction, plunging Iraq into bloodshed and chaos.

The US invasion of Iraq left at least five million Iraqi orphans, murdered over 100,000 Iraqis, forced four to five million Iraqis to flee their homes, displaced ancient Iraqi minority groups, and destroyed much of Iraq's infrastructure and economy.