Sgt Sostand
07-08-03, 12:31 PM
‘Dodgy’ dossier
on weapons
dogs British prime minister
LONDON, July 8 — Prime Minister Tony Blair dug in his heels Tuesday against more criticism of his government’s handling of intelligence information used to support London and Washington’s case for war against Iraq. Blair, dogged by questions about a so-called “dodgy dossier” that detailed Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction, refuted allegations “totally” that the government “misled Parliament and the people.”
BLAIR’S APPEARANCE before a House of Commons liaison committee on Tuesday came a day after the influential Foreign Affairs Committee criticized Downing Street’s treatment of intelligence on Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction.
On Monday, the committee ultimately cleared Blair and his Cabinet of deliberately misleading Parliament, but not before warning that “the jury is still out” on the accuracy of the government’s assessment of Iraq’s weapons program. Ahead of the war, Blair cited British intelligence information that Saddam Hussein could deploy deadly chemical and biological weapons within 45 minutes. With U.S. and British forces now in control of Iraq, no weapons of mass destruction or deployment capabilities have been discovered.
IRAQ DOMINATES
On Tuesday, the war in Iraq dominated the liaison committee, which also quizzed Blair on domestic issues.
Openly sarcastic, the members of the committee pressed Blair on the lack of evidence of weapons of mass destruction since London and Washington overthrew Saddam. “Does that mean [Saddam] buried them deeper than we thought he did?” one lawmaker asked.
Opposition lawmaker Edward Leigh told Blair the government should apologize for including a graduate student’s thesis in what was billed as high-level intelligence information justifying the overthrow of Saddam.
Blair said he had already expressed his regret to Parliament, which has regularly grilled him on Iraq.
Blair responded that it was too early in post-Saddam Iraq to conclude that no deadly weapons — which Iraq said it destroyed under U.N. supervision in the 1990s — would be found.
“I have absolutely no doubt at all that we will find evidence of weapons of mass destruction programs,” the prime minister said under cross examination.
on weapons
dogs British prime minister
LONDON, July 8 — Prime Minister Tony Blair dug in his heels Tuesday against more criticism of his government’s handling of intelligence information used to support London and Washington’s case for war against Iraq. Blair, dogged by questions about a so-called “dodgy dossier” that detailed Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction, refuted allegations “totally” that the government “misled Parliament and the people.”
BLAIR’S APPEARANCE before a House of Commons liaison committee on Tuesday came a day after the influential Foreign Affairs Committee criticized Downing Street’s treatment of intelligence on Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction.
On Monday, the committee ultimately cleared Blair and his Cabinet of deliberately misleading Parliament, but not before warning that “the jury is still out” on the accuracy of the government’s assessment of Iraq’s weapons program. Ahead of the war, Blair cited British intelligence information that Saddam Hussein could deploy deadly chemical and biological weapons within 45 minutes. With U.S. and British forces now in control of Iraq, no weapons of mass destruction or deployment capabilities have been discovered.
IRAQ DOMINATES
On Tuesday, the war in Iraq dominated the liaison committee, which also quizzed Blair on domestic issues.
Openly sarcastic, the members of the committee pressed Blair on the lack of evidence of weapons of mass destruction since London and Washington overthrew Saddam. “Does that mean [Saddam] buried them deeper than we thought he did?” one lawmaker asked.
Opposition lawmaker Edward Leigh told Blair the government should apologize for including a graduate student’s thesis in what was billed as high-level intelligence information justifying the overthrow of Saddam.
Blair said he had already expressed his regret to Parliament, which has regularly grilled him on Iraq.
Blair responded that it was too early in post-Saddam Iraq to conclude that no deadly weapons — which Iraq said it destroyed under U.N. supervision in the 1990s — would be found.
“I have absolutely no doubt at all that we will find evidence of weapons of mass destruction programs,” the prime minister said under cross examination.