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Report criticizes administration assessments of iraq dangers Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)    http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2004-01-08-report_x.htm http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2004-01-08-report_x.htm Report criticizes administration's assessments of Iraq dangers WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Colin Powell acknowledged Thursday that he saw no "smoking gun, concrete evidence" of ties between Saddam Hussein and the al-Qaeda terror network, but insisted that Iraq had dangerous weapons and needed to be disarmed by force. Speaking at a State Department news conference, Powell openly disagreed with a private think tank report which maintained that Iraq was not an imminent threat to the United States. And the secretary defended the case he made before the United Nations for a U.S.-led war to force Saddam from power. "My presentation ... made it clear that we had seen some links and connections to terrorists organizations over time," Powell said. "I have not seen smoking gun, concrete evidence about the connection, but I do believe the connections existed." Three experts at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace said in a report Thursday that the Bush administration systematically misrepresented a weapons threat from Iraq, and U.S. strategy should be revised to eliminate the policy of unilateral preventive war. "It is unlikely that Iraq could have destroyed, hidden or sent out of the country the hundreds of tons of chemical and biological weapons, dozens of Scud missiles and facilities engaged in the ongoing production of chemical and biological weapons that officials claimed were present without the United States detecting some sign of this activity," said the report by Jessica T. Mathews, Joseph Cirincione and George Perkovich. Powell noted that Saddam obviously had, and used, destructive weapons in the late 1980s, then refused for a decade to assure the world he'd gotten rid of them. "In terms of intention, he always had it," Powell said. Of Carnegie's finding that Iraq posed no imminent threat, Powell said: "They did not say it wasn't there." Iraq's nuclear program had been dismantled and there was no convincing evidence it was being revived, the report said. And the U.S.-led war on Iraq in 1991 combined with U.N. sanctions and inspections effectively destroyed Iraq's ability to produce chemical weapons on a large scale, it said. The real threat was posed by what Iraq might have been able to do in the future, such as starting production of biological weapons quickly in the event of war, Carnegie said. Also, Iraq apparently was expanding its capability to build missiles beyond the range permitted by the U.N. Security Council, the report said. "The missile program appears to have been the one program in active development in 2002," it said. Years of U.N. inspections to determine whether Saddam was harboring weapons of mass destruction were working well, and the United States should set up jointly with the United Nations a permanent system to guard against the spread of dangerous technology, the report said. It recommended that consideration be given to making the job of CIA director a career post instead of a political appointment. Mathews is president, Cirincione is director of the proliferation project, and Perkovich is vice president for studies at Carnegie, an independent research group. Citing the CIA and other U.S. intelligence offices, the Bush administration contended that Iraq had caches of weapons of mass destruction and plans to produce more. The Carnegie report said the U.S. intelligence process failed on Iraq and that Bush administration officials dropped qualifications and expressions of uncertainty presented by U.S. intelligence analysts. In the weeks before the war, the administration also intensified its allegations of links between Saddam and the al-Qaeda terror network headed by Osama bin Laden. Since May, when Bush declared an end to major combat, 357 U.S. service personnel have died in attacks on them and in accidents. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

alqaeda british david-kelly doubts false-intelligence inquiry investigation iraq-denies israel leak-osama-link wmd 2002 dia report questions intelligence for war { November 6 2005 } Administration manifactured and manipulated intelligence Broke missile limits { February 13 2003 } Bureau of intelligence and research got it wrong { July 19 2004 } Bush and blair plot pretext to attack iraq Bush warns on iraq { October 6 2002 } Chemical attack 45min Cheney passed intelligence from iraqi national congress Cheneys war by fraud exposed Could plant weapons Distortions of intelligence on iraq { August 1 2003 } Drone weapon { March 13 2003 } Drones target cities { February 24 2003 } Fabricating pretext war Found road German embassy siezed by anti hussein iraqis { August 21 2002 } German embassy siezed by iraqi dissidents { August 20 2002 } Iraq china chemical Iraq not violating fly zones { November 19 2002 } Iraq nukes soon { September 16 2002 } Iraq report claims no arms { September 17 2004 } Iraq report falls short { December 20 2002 } Iraqi speakers found { August 26 2002 } Nonexistent biolab trailers carried case for war { April 12 2006 } Nsa has evidence Oil contracts planned pre 911 Pilot behind enemy lines Powell testiomy based on flawed intelligence { February 5 2003 } Report criticizes administration assessments of iraq dangers Report says iraq bigger threat if defeated { July 21 2003 } Reporter apologizes for iraq coverage { March 29 2004 } Rumsfeld draws blank on blairs 45 minute iraq claim { February 11 2004 } Rumsfeld told saudi bandar sadam is toast Stovepipe seymour hersh { September 11 2001 } Tape deceiving inspectors { February 3 2003 } Tenet denied influence from osp { February 6 2004 } Tenet denies pressure to torque iraq intelligence Tenet says saddam wasnt threat Un finds empty warheads Us backed iraqis provided questionable info Whats he have White house embraced disputed intelligence { October 3 2004 } Wolfowitz says war about oil Files Listed: 43

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