4.1 |
Iraq WMD assessments, pre-July 2002
504.
The paper on
Iraq’s WMD programmes was very little changed from the version
of
26 April.
The key changes were:
•
The
insertion of a reference to a judgement that Iraq’s nuclear
programme “is
based on
gas centrifuge uranium enrichment, which was the route Iraq
was
following
for producing fissile material before the Gulf War”, as context for
text
on Iraq’s
attempts to acquire technology and material with nuclear
applications,
including
specialised aluminium.
•
The
addition of the words “in their chemical and biological
weapons
programmes”
to a statement that Iraq was using transportable
laboratories
for concealment.
•
Adding to
the conclusion that Iraq had a chemical weapons capability, the
words
“and has
used it. It also has a biological weapons capability.”
505.
The paper on
UN inspections and the key changes between the initial draft
and
the version
of 20 June are described in the Box, ‘Weapons Inspections in Iraq’,
later in
this
Section.
506.
A
“consolidated draft” of the papers on Iraq, produced by the CIC on
3 June, was
circulated
by the Cabinet Office on 6 June.221
507.
The CIC had
produced a revised draft of a Foreword for the document.
That
identified
Saddam Hussein as personally responsible for Iraq’s WMD programmes
and
defying the
Security Council resolutions. It amended the previous text, which
stated that
the papers
showed “there was no doubt that Iraq has chemical, biological and
nuclear
programmes”,
to a statement that they showed “Saddam Hussein has
dangerous
chemical,
biological weapons and is nearing completion of nuclear
weapons”.
508.
The draft
Foreword also changed the statement about the UK’s diplomatic
efforts
to resolve
the issue through compliance with UN resolutions to one which
stated:
“The world
is urging Saddam Hussein to comply … giving UN weapons
inspectors
… access to
Iraq – any time,
any place, any where.
“No
decision has been taken to launch military action. It is up to
Saddam Hussein to
show the
world that he is serious about fulfilling Iraq’s …
obligations.”
509.
The CIC had
reformatted and reordered the text of the Summary and draft
paper
‘Iraqi WMD
Programmes’, including addressing Iraq’s nuclear capabilities
first, before its
chemical
and biological weapons and ballistic missiles. The substance was,
however,
largely
unchanged.
510.
The CIC added
summaries for the papers on the ‘History of UN Weapons
Inspections’
and the ‘Iraqi Regime’s Crimes and Human Rights Abuses’. There were
a
221
Minute Dodd
to [unattributed], 6 June 2002, ‘British Government Bri[e]fing
Paper on Iraq’ attaching
Paper FCO,
3 June 2002, ‘British Government Briefing Paper on
Iraq’.
103