4.4 | The
search for WMD
WMD
evidence responsibly. We would share with the UN any relevant
information we
uncovered.”
89.
Ambassador
John Negroponte, the US Permanent Representative to the
UN,
made no
reference to UNMOVIC. He said that the Coalition had been focused
on
re‑establishing
security and would now intensify the search for WMD. This
was
“likely to
take time”. The US:
“…
recognised the need for transparency … But … the disarmament regime
needed
to be
reassessed given the new facts on the ground … [T]he Coalition was
still
very much
in the stabilisation phase and the principal efforts in the search
for WMD
remained
ahead of us.”
90.
Responding to
comments made during the discussion, Dr Blix made a number
of
points,
including:
•
“For
independent verification, UNMOVIC would need access to locations
and
persons.”
•
“… UNMOVIC
was the only international body which had a role and
expertise
in
inspections of biological weapons and missiles. If we were moving
to a
WMD free
zone there was a question of whether we should extend rather
than
dismantle
that capability.”
91.
In
mid-April, the US invited the UK and Australia to participate in
the ISG.
92.
At the end
of April, Mr Hoon approved the deployment of specialist UK
units
to the
ISG.
93.
On
16 April, AM Burridge’s Private Office informed PJHQ that 119
UK personnel
were
“dedicated to SSE operations”.42
Most were
attached to XTF-75, with 44 “on
call” from
1st (UK) Armoured Division. An additional 68 personnel were
attached to
“Supplementary
Assets” assigned to force protection tasks, and could be “co-opted
to
SSE
operations” through a request to AM Burridge.
94.
AM Burridge’s
Private Office proposed a number of additional UK contributions
to
support the
creation of the ISG, including appointment of a UK deputy head of
the ISG
and
additional life support to UK SSE personnel.
95.
In its meeting
on 16 April, the JIC was informed:
“The US had
invited the UK and Australia to participate in the Iraq Survey
Group
(ISG),
which would be tasked with looking at a range of post-conflict
issues,
42
Letter
Capewell to PJHQ, 16 April 2003, ‘Report from the Iraq Survey
Group (ISG) Conference Held at
CENTCOM
Forward Headquarters (CFH) – Qatar 13/14 April
2003’.
443