Friday, May 30, 2003
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By Hasan Suroor
Even as Mr. Blair insisted that he had "absolutely no doubt'' about the existence of Iraqi weapons, MPs seized on Mr. Rumsfeld's remarks to call for an inquiry into the veracity of intelligence claims cited by the British Government to justify the invasion of Iraq. The intelligence claims were quoted in a dossier published by Downing Street last October, and then repeatedly mentioned by Mr. Blair in Parliament saying Iraq had chemical and biological weapons which could be activated at 45 minutes notice. Downing Street today denied allegations that intelligence reports were deliberately exaggerated to make a case for a war. But MPs were not satisfied and insisted that the Government disclose the evidence of the existence of the Iraqi arsenal. They said if it turned out that Mr. Blair had misled Parliament, it could be politically explosive for him. "This is absolutely dangerous for Tony Blair. The potential charge is that the House of Commons has been misled,'' said the Left-wing Labour MP and a former minister, Peter Kilfoyle, who plans to table a motion seeking evidence. The former Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, who resigned over his opposition to the war, said Mr. Rumsfeld's remarks blew a "gaping hole'' in Mr. Blair's claims. "Saying that they can't find the weapons, and they may never find the weapons, blows an enormous gaping hole through the case for war that was made on both sides of the Atlantic...We were told Saddam had weapons ready for use within 45 minutes. It's now 45 days since the war has finished and we have still not found anything. It's plain he did not have that capacity to threaten us, possibly did not have the capacity to threaten even his neighbours...,'' he said calling for an investigation by a parliamentary committee. Mr. Cook's sharp reaction was echoed across the anti-war spectrum cutting across party lines, and there was reported to be embarrassment in government circles over Mr. Rumsfeld's statement in which he reportedly said: ''It...is possible that they (Iraq) decided that they would destroy them (weapons) prior to a conflict and I don't know the answer.'' Commentators said the issue would raise doubts about the American and British claims over Iran's nuclear intentions and allegations that it is harbouring Al-Qaeda supporters. Mr. Blair, talking to journalists accompanying him on his Iraq visit, sought to shift the focus from the weapons' controversy saying : "Our priorities in Iraq are less to do with finding weapons of mass destruction ....and more to do with humanitarian and political reconstruction.'' He made no mention of the weapons when he addressed British troops in Basra this morning, stressing instead the global benefits from the ouster of Saddam Hussein. He described the `liberation' of Iraq as a "defining moment of the century'', and praised the troops for their `extraordinary' achievement.
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