NewsMine — war-on-terror — iraq — pretext — wmd — Viewing Item

No reliable evidence of iraqi weapons { June 6 2003 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)    http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/06/06/national1106EDT0554.DTL http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/06/06/national1106EDT0554.DTL Pentagon's intelligence service reported no reliable evidence of Iraqi weapons last September ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer Friday, June 6, 2003 ©2003 Associated Press (06-06) 10:07 PDT WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Pentagon's intelligence service reported last September that it had no reliable evidence that Iraq had chemical agents in weaponized form, officials said Friday. The time frame is notable because it coincided with Bush administration efforts to mount a public case for the urgency of disarming Iraq, by force if necessary. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and others argued that Saddam Hussein possessed chemical and biological weapons and was hiding them. Two months after major fighting in Iraq ended, U.S. officials have yet to find any chemical or other mass-killing weapons, although they still express confidence that some will turn up. Rumsfeld recently raised the possibility that Iraq destroyed the weapons before the war started March 20. He also has said he believes some remain and will be discovered when U.S. search teams find knowledgeable Iraqis who are willing to disclose the locations. In making its case for invading Iraq, the administration also argued that Iraq was seeking to develop nuclear weapons and that it might provide some of its mass-killing weapons to terrorists. On Friday, a small team of United Nations nuclear experts arrived in Baghdad to begin a damage assessment at Iraq's largest nuclear facility, known as Tuwaitha. It was left unguarded by American and allied troops during the early days of the war and then pillaged by villagers. The arrival of the team -- whose members are not weapons inspectors -- marked the first time since the Iraq war began that representatives from the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency returned to the country. The atomic energy agency had long monitored Iraq's nuclear program. In its report last September, the Defense Intelligence Agency said it could find no reliable information to indicate that Iraq had any chemical weapons available for use on the battlefield. But the agency also said Iraq probably had stockpiles of banned chemical warfare agents. The existence of the DIA report was disclosed by U.S. News & World Report, and a classified summary was reported by Bloomberg News on Thursday. Two Pentagon officials who had read the summary confirmed Friday that it said DIA had no hard evidence of Iraqi chemical weapons. A White House spokesman said a portion of the still-classified report is being taken out of context of the entire document's conclusions, which match what the Bush administration argued all along. "The entire report paints a different picture than the selective quotes would lead you to believe," said Michael Anton, a spokesman with the White House's National Security Council. "The entire report is consistent with with the president was saying at the time." A senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there was a National Intelligence Estimate published at nearly the same time as the DIA report -- and with DIA's concurrence -- that concluded Saddam had weapons of mass destruction. The DIA's analysis is just one piece of an intelligence mosaic that Rumsfeld and other senior administrations could consider in making their own assessment of Iraq's chemical and biological weapons capability. Congress is reviewing the prewar intelligence to determine whether the administration overplayed the weapons threat in order to justify toppling the Iraqi regime. On Friday, the Senate Armed Services convened a closed-door hearing focusing on the mission of the 75th Exploitation Task Force, which made the initial effort to find Iraqi weapons of mass destruction at the conclusion of the war, and the follow-on search team, called the Iraq Survey Group. The committee was hearing from Stephen A. Cambone, the undersecretary of defense for intelligence; Vice Adm. Lowell E. Jacoby, director of the DIA; and an unidentified CIA representative. ©2003 Associated Press

tubes uranium weapons-declaration Blair admits weapons may never be found { January 12 2004 } Blair admits wmds may never be found { July 6 2004 } Blair decided regime change april 2002 despite rhetoric { May 2 2005 } Blix accuses fabricating evidence { April 12 2003 } Blix report doubts wmd { June 2 2003 } British doctored wmd dossier { May 29 2003 } Bush declines to back call for intelligence probe Bush jokes about finding wmds Bush says war worth it despite no wmds Bush says weapons will be found Chemical weapons plant created after invasion { August 14 2005 } Children play with uranium tubes Cia condemned for flawed intelligence Cia operative asked to falsify wmd report { December 9 2004 } Classified study doubts weapons in 2002 Documents concerning uranium came from italy { October 25 2005 } Fbi says profit motivated italian uranium forgery Germ trailer evidence rejected { June 7 2003 } GWB_WMD_Memo [pdf] Inspector reports iraq had no WMD Iraq declared al samoud missiles { April 29 2003 } Iraq destroyed wmd 1995 Iraq may have destroyed wmd { May 27 2003 } Kay blames cia for no wmd Kurds help find wmd lab { May 7 2003 } Mccain picked for iraq intelligence probe Might have to be planted New inspections to plant weapons { April 8 2003 } New reports on us planting wmds in iraq No firm evidence banned weapons { April 7 2003 } No reliable evidence of iraqi weapons { June 6 2003 } No reliable information wmd { June 6 2003 } No weapons found in iraq says report No wmd found but { February 14 2003 } No wmds found in iraq { September 24 2003 } Nuclear program materials still buried { June 26 2003 } Officer refused falsify wmd reports Panel assails CIA for failure on iraq weapons { March 29 2005 } Powell says new data may have affected war decision { February 3 2004 } Powell says wmd stocks wont be found Powell says wmd un speech blot on record Presidential report is critical of intelligence agencies Questions on blair intelligence { April 21 2003 } Report says intel on wmd was dead wrong { March 31 2005 } Rockefeller says weapons should been found { May 29 2003 } Saddam had no weapons in 2003 { October 6 2004 } Saddam says wmd excuse for war Scientist says arms kept till war { April 21 2003 } Scientist surrenders says no wmd Search for wmds in iraq ended last month { January 12 2005 } Sen Durbin jan 26 06 on iraq wmds [mp3] Sen Durbin jan 26 06 on iraq wmds Senate panel blames bad iraq intelligence on CIA Senators told iraqi weapons could hit east coast Seniors sources ruled out finding wmds { July 10 2003 } Skepticism on bushs weapons claims grow { May 22 2003 } Smoking gun wmd site just pesticide Task force unable find wmd { May 11 2003 } Team hunting iraq WMD ends its search { January 12 2005 } Test barrels nerve agent Us adds teams hunt { April 27 2003 } Us not inspected iraq nuclear facility { April 25 2003 } US team concludes saddam had no wmd { April 26 2005 } Us withdraws team of weapons hunters { January 8 2004 } Usa and uk lied war pretext Usa will falsify wmd Weapons hunter quits says doubts they exist Wmd intelligence was falisified { February 15 2004 } Wmd proof [jpg] Files Listed: 69

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