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Iraq War Justified by Iraqi Capabilities, Not Actual WMD, Bolton Says The recent war in Iraq was justified because former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein maintained a cadre of nuclear weapons scientists, U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton said yesterday, adding that whether Iraq actually possessed weapons of mass destruction was not “really the issue” (see GSN, Sept. 3). “The issue I think has been the capability that Iraq sought to have … WMD programs,” Bolton said (see GSN, May 23). Hussein maintained “a coterie” of scientists with the goal of resuming the development of nuclear weapons once free of international restrictions, Bolton said. That, when combined with Iraq’s history of misleading U.N. weapons inspectors, illustrated that Hussein could not be trusted not to develop weapons of mass destruction, he said. “Whether he possessed them [weapons of mass destruction] today or four years ago isn’t really the issue,” Bolton said. “As long as that regime was in power, it was determined to get nuclear, chemical and biological weapons one way or another,” he said (Associated Press/USA Today, Sept. 5). British Intelligence Inquiry Meanwhile, British senior judge Lord Hutton has suspended a parliamentary inquiry that has recently heard testimony on whether British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s government exaggerated prewar intelligence on Iraq to build the case for war, according to the Associated Press (see GSN, Sept. 4). Hutton adjourned the inquiry until Sept. 15 to allow time to consider what witnesses should be recalled and what evidence should be focused upon, AP reported. The inquiry was convened to investigate the apparent suicide of former U.N. weapons inspector David Kelly, who was identified before his death as the possible source for a BBC report that Blair’s office exaggerated intelligence information contained in a September 2002 dossier (Jane Wardell, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Sept. 5). Blair himself yesterday defended the decision to go to war with Iraq, acknowledging that his government has come under fire. “It’s been a tough time for obvious reasons, but I do not believe we should change our course because I believe in it,” Blair said during a press conference. Blair also indicated that he had no thoughts of resigning, according to the New York Times. “I carry on doing the job because I believe in what I’m doing,” Blair said (Warren Hoge, New York Times, Sept. 5).
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