This was a smokescreen to deceive public opinion and provide a reason for regime change.
In July 2001, Condaleeza Rice (the USA National Security Adviser) stated in a TV interview about Iraq: "We are able to keep arms from him. His military forces have not been rebuilt."
The USA, UK and France (as well as the old USSR) have tested their weapons in the open, often on other peoples' territories, producing radioactive pollution. India and Pakistan have performed underground tests. In 2002, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf publicly stated that he was prepared to employ nuclear weapons against India over their conflict in Kashmir. In 2003, North Korea threatened to use nuclear weapons on USA troops if it was attacked.
The USA is the only country to have used nuclear bombs on population centres; it has done so on two occasions: the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan.
The USA and UK did not rule out the use of depleted uranium in the 2003 invasion and there is some evidence of its use by the USA.
The use of these weapons would violate the Chemical Weapons Convention. Professor Julian Perry, an authority on the Convention, stated that "Legally, speaking, Iraq would be totally justified in releasing chemical weapons over the UK if the [USA and UK] use them in Baghdad".
In a 2003 UK enquiry, government emails indicated that another dossier about Iraq's weapons threats was exagerated to prepare public opinion for the invasion. The version of the dossier dated 19 September 2002 was entitled Iraq's Programme for Weapons of Mass Destruction. The published title was Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction.
In March 2003, one of the weapons inspectors, Dr Mohamed Al-Baredi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), reported to the United Nations Security Council that several UK and USA reports about Iraq's nuclear capabilites were fake.
Refering to a UK story that Iraq was attempting to smuggle uranium out of Niger, Dr Al-Baredi said: "...the IAEA has concluded... that these documents, which formed the basis for the reports of recent uranium transactions between Iraq and Niger, are in fact not authentic. We have, therefore, concluded that these specific allegations are unfounded".
Another story put out by the UK concerned high strength aluminium tubes that Iraq had attempted to purchase. Dr Al-Baredi confirmed that these tubes were not suitable for a uranium enrichment program as stated by the USA. He added that none of Iraq's declared high strength magnets could be used to enrich uranium.
The USA accused Iraq of manufacturing nuclear weapons at a complex called Tuwaitha. The IAEA concluded that Tuwaitha "now conducts civilian research in the non-nuclear field".
The USA has a military presence in 120 countries around the world. This includes the storage of nuclear weapons in Europe and the Pacific.
George Tenet (director of the USA CIA) wrote to the Senate Intelligence Committee that Iraq was unlikely to attack the USA with either conventional or weapons of mass destruction in the near future.
Most of Iraq's neighbours are more concerned about the USA's weapons and the West's presence and influence in the region. USA battle ships patrol the Persian Gulf - no Iranian ships cruise off the USA coast. The USA has military bases in Turkey, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia - no Arab or Turkish soldiers are stationed on USA soil. USA weapons are sold to Israel and used against civilians - when USA civilians are attacked it is labelled as "terrorism". The UK has listening posts in Cyprus - no Cypriot equivalent exists in the UK.
Finally, in an interview in the July 2003 issue of magazine Vanity Fair, the USA Deputy Defence Secretary, Paul Wolfowitz, admitted "For bureaucratic reasons we settled on one issue, weapons of mass destruction, because it was the one reason everyone could agree on".
Over a year after the invasion of Iraq, no weapons of mass destruction have been found, even by the 1200-strong, USA appointed, Iraq Survey Group (ISG). The leader of the ISG, David Kay, eventually resigned over the issue. The UK Prime Minister, Tony Blair, stated in 2004, that these weapons "may never be found". After a senate hearing in the USA in 2004, several senators stated that "had we known what we know now, we would not have voted for the war".
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cc: Defence Secretary, Foreign Secretary, Attorney-General, Sir Richard Wilson, John Scarlett, Francis Richards, CDS, C, Jonathan Powell, Sally Morgan, Alastair Campbell
IRAQ: PRIME MINISTER'S MEETING, 23 JULY
Copy addressees and you met the Prime Minister on 23 July to discuss Iraq.
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John Scarlett summarised the intelligence and latest JIC assessment. Saddam's regime was tough and based on extreme fear. The only way to overthrow it was likely to be by massive military action. Saddam was worried and expected an attack, probably by air and land, but he was not convinced that it would be immediate or overwhelming. His regime expected their neighbours to line up with the US. Saddam knew that regular army morale was poor. Real support for Saddam among the public was probably narrowly based.
C reported on his recent talks in Washington. There was a perceptible shift in attitude. Military action was now seen as inevitable. Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy. The NSC had no patience with the UN route, and no enthusiasm for publishing material on the Iraqi regime's record. There was little discussion in Washington of the aftermath after military action.
From: Matthew Rycroft
Date: 23 July 2002
S 195 /02
The Iraq War
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