International Intelligence Agencies Were Wrong on Prewar Iraq’s WMD Efforts, U.S. Panel Chairman Says

A U.S. Senate inquiry into U.S. intelligence on prewar Iraq has determined that a “worldwide intelligence failure” led to the widespread belief that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction, investigating committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) said yesterday (see GSN, July 1).

The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence report, set to be released by the middle of next week, concludes that international intelligence agencies were involved in an “assumption train” that prewar Iraq possessed banned weapons. After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Roberts said, intelligence agencies were more likely to come to conclusions based on incomplete information due to concerns over another possible attack.

“These conclusions literally beg for changes in the intelligence community,” Roberts said. “What we had was a worldwide intelligence failure,” he added (John Hanna, Associated Press/WCCO.com, July 1).

Meanwhile, senior officials involved in the detention of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein have said that he provided little useful information on prewar Iraq’s alleged WMD efforts during his seven-month captivity, according to the New York Times.

Hussein was interrogated mainly by one intelligence officer in Arabic, the officials said. While no physically coercive methods were used against Hussein, some psychological tactics, such as varying the length of time of questioning, were used, they said.

Hussein indicated during his interrogation that he hoped ambiguity over prewar Iraq’s WMD capabilities “would keep the neighbors at bay, while the U.S. would be hung up in interminable debate at the U.N.,” one official said (Lewis/Johnston, New York Times, July 2).

The planned trial of Hussein in Iraq for war crimes and crimes against humanity is expected to push aside the debate in the United States over whether prewar Iraq actually possessed weapons of mass destruction, a senior Bush administration official said (see GSN, July 1).

“There are still some who argue that it was not the right thing to overthrow him,” the official said. “Put aside the WMD, and go look at the mass graves,” he added (Bill Sammon, Washington Times, July 2).

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