4.4 | The search for WMD

380. On 27 June, the JIC assessed that:

• it was “too early in the investigative process to make any firm

judgements” about Iraq’s WMD; and

• so far, it had seen nothing to cause it to change either its “pre-conflict

judgements on Iraq’s WMD programmes and capabilities, or the

intelligence on which these judgements were based”.

381. At the request of the JIC Sub-Committee on Iraq/WMD, on 27 June the JIC

produced ‘Iraqi WMD: The Emerging Picture’, a summary of its current understanding of

the situation, based on the limited intelligence available since the start of hostilities.186

382. During the JIC discussion of the draft on 25 June, the main points made were:

• There was “a great deal of interest in this paper and it would be important to get

the language right”. The ISG’s work on the ground had only just begun and the

situation was still developing. It was “too early to make firm judgements about

Iraq’s WMD. Nothing had so far been found to disprove earlier JIC judgements.”

• The draft “should be structured to refer to previous JIC judgements and describe

new evidence, but it should state that it could only provide a snapshot of work in

progress”. The inclusion of Key Judgements was “not warranted”.187

383. In the Assessment’s summary, the JIC stated:

“It is too early in the investigative process to make any firm judgements about the

location, status and extent of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction (WMD). A more

focused approach to conducting the search process is only now being put into place.

Implementation will have to allow for the difficulties of operating in post-conflict Iraq.

“A number of lines of investigation … continue to be pursued. Limited new

information has emerged since the conflict on Iraq’s chemical and biological

capabilities. […] So far we have seen nothing which would cause us to change

either our pre-conflict judgements on Iraq’s WMD programmes and capabilities, or

the intelligence on which these judgements were based.”188

384. Points made in the Assessment included:

Chemical weapons

• Since the last JIC Assessment of 9 September 2002, “intelligence from a

number of sources has continued to indicate that Iraq possessed chemical

186 JIC Assessment, 27 June 2003, ‘Iraqi WMD: The Emerging Picture’.

187 Minutes, 25 June 2003, JIC meeting.

188 JIC Assessment, 27 June 2003, ‘Iraqi WMD: The Emerging Picture’.

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