CIA Revising Assessments of Iraqi WMD Programs

The CIA plans to prepare a series of classified reports revising its past assessments of prewar Iraq’s alleged WMD efforts, an intelligence official said yesterday (see GSN, Feb. 1).

Two reports released this month have addressed the agency’s assessments of prewar Iraq’s chemical and missile programs. Additional reports are expected to include new assessments of prewar Iraq’s alleged nuclear and biological capabilities, according to Reuters. 

“The CIA has finally admitted that its WMD estimates were wrong,” Representative Jane Harman (Calif.), the top Democrat on the House intelligence panel, said in a statement (Reuters, Feb. 1).

Meanwhile, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said yesterday that there was “no doubt” former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had possessed weapons of mass destruction.

“He’s the only leader in history who has used chemical weapons or any other sort of weapons of mass destruction against his own people,” Downer said (Associated Press, Feb. 1).

Back to top
About Newswire  |  Contact National Journal  |  Re-Use Guidelines © Copyright 2008 by National Journal Group, Inc. The material in this section is produced independently for NTI by National Journal Group, Inc. Any reproduction or retransmission, in whole or in part, is a violation of federal law and is strictly prohibited without the consent of the National Journal Group, Inc. All rights reserved.