The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
212.
Dr ElBaradei
concluded:
“… we have
to date found no evidence that Iraq has revived its nuclear
weapons
programme
since the elimination of the programme in the 1990s … [O]ur work
is
steadily
progressing and should be allowed to run its natural course … [W]e
should
be able
within the next few months to provide credible assurance that Iraq
has no
nuclear
weapons programme. These few months … would be a valuable
investment
in peace
because they could help us avoid a war. We trust that we will
continue
to have the
support of the Council … to verify Iraq’s nuclear disarmament
through
peaceful
means and to demonstrate that the inspection process can and does
work
as a
central feature of the international nuclear arms control
regime.”
In his
State of the Union address on 28 January, President Bush emphasised
the threat of
terrorism
to the US and others, the potential threat from Iraq in that
context and the need
President
Bush’s detailed statements about the threat posed by Iraq
included:
“The United
Nations concluded in 1999 that Saddam Hussein had biological
weapons
sufficient
to produce over 25,000 liters of anthrax – enough doses to kill
several
million
people. He hasn’t accounted for that material. He has given no
evidence that
he has
destroyed it.
“The United
Nations concluded that Saddam Hussein had material sufficient
to
produce
more than 38,000 liters of botulinum toxin …
“Our
intelligence officials estimate that Saddam Hussein had the
materials to produce
as much as
500 tonnes of sarin, mustard and VX nerve agent …
“US
intelligence indicates that Saddam Hussein had upwards of 30,000
munitions
capable of
delivering chemical agents. Inspectors recently turned up 16 of
them –
despite
Iraq’s recent declaration denying their existence …
“From three
Iraqi defectors we know that Iraq, in the late 1990s, had several
mobile
biological
weapons labs …
“The
International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed in the 1990s that
Saddam Hussein
had an
advanced nuclear weapons development program … The British
Government
has learned
that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of
uranium from
Africa. Our
intelligence sources tell us that he has attempted to purchase
high-strength
aluminium
tubes suitable for nuclear weapons production. Saddam Hussein has
not
credibly
explained these activities. He clearly has much
to hide.”
88
The White
House Press Release, 28 January 2003, President
Delivers “State of the Union”.
332