4.2 |
Iraq WMD assessments, July to September 2002
someone who
can abide by international law, not a murderous dictator; by
someone
who can
bring Iraq back into the international community where it belongs,
not …
languishing
as a pariah; by someone who can make the country rich and
successful,
not
impoverished by Saddam’s personal greed; and by someone who can
lead
a
government more representative of the country as a whole while
maintaining
absolutely
Iraq’s territorial integrity.
“We have no
quarrel; with the Iraqi people. Indeed, liberated from Saddam
they
could make
Iraq prosperous and a force for good in the Middle East. So
the
ending of
this regime would be the cause of regret for no one other than
Saddam.
But our
purpose is disarmament. No one wants military conflict. The whole
purpose
of putting
this before the UN is to demonstrate the united determination of
the
international
community to resolve this in the way it should have been
resolved
years ago:
through a proper process of disarmament under the UN.
Disarmament
of all
weapons of mass destruction is the demand. One way or another it
must be
acceded
to.”
817.
Mr Iain
Duncan Smith, Leader of the Opposition, said that the “key
question” was
whether
Saddam Hussein had “the means, the mentality and the motive to pose
a
threat to
pose a threat to Britain’s national security and the wider
international order”.
Mr Duncan
Smith concluded that Saddam had the means and mentality. He
stated:
“The
evidence produced in the Government’s report shows clearly that
Iraq is still
pursuing
its weapons of mass destruction programme …
“The …
dossier confirms that Iraq is self sufficient in biological weapons
and
that the Iraqi
military is ready to deploy those, and chemical weapons, at
some
45 minutes’
notice.”
818.
Addressing
whether Saddam Hussein had the motive to strike against
Britain,
Mr Duncan
Smith stated:
“… I
believe that it is fair to assume that he has …
“The report
shows that Saddam has illegally retained up to 20 Al Hussein
missiles,
with a
range of 650km, capable of carrying the various warheads that he
needs,
and that
he is also developing new ones.”
819.
Mr Charles
Kennedy, Leader of the Liberal Democrats, asked:
“Does the
Prime Minister truly believe that, on the evidence published
today,
a sufficient
case has now been made that both clarifies Iraq’s present
capacity,
as well
as its intent?”
“ … yes I
do believe the information we published today shows that there is
a
continuing
chemical and biological weapons programme, and an attempt
by
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