BASIC PRESS RELEASE

SUNDAY 25 JANUARY 2004 - FOR IMMEDIATE USE

Unravelling the Known Unknowns:
Why no Weapons of Mass Destruction have been found in Iraq

BASIC Special Report

British American Security Information Council

BASIC has today released a major research report that reviews the accumulated evidence of Iraq's suggested possession of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and concludes that the rationale for overthrowing Saddam Hussein's regime was bogus.

Coming just before the release of the Hutton inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death of David Kelly, this report provides a timely update and summary of the evidence that has been accumulated by US inspectors in Iraq and from other publicly available sources over the last eight months.

The first part of the report reviews the pre and post-war evidence of Iraq's nuclear, biological and chemical capabilities and specifically identifies five examples where the US and UK authorities got it wrong, thus confirming that the countries armed forces were led into battle on spurious grounds.

The second part of the report reviews the flaws and ambiguities in US and UK intelligence analysis with particular reference to the use of Iraqi defectors and other misleading indigenous human intelligence.

BASIC Director Dr Ian Davis said that:

The main conclusion is that the failure to find banned weapons in Iraq suggests very strongly that the UN weapons inspectors succeeded in their mandate, and that the Iraq complied with its obligations to dismantle and destroy all nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.

The report makes several recommendations that address the intelligence and political failings that led the US and the UK to war with Iraq and undermined the legitimacy of the United Nations. Two key recommendations are: 'The spooks should be brought out of the shadows' and 'Think about WMD nearer home'.

Preventing the spread of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons is indeed a major concern for our time, but mistakes must be acknowledged, policies reviewed and doctrines amended, the report suggests.

'Unravelling the Known Unknowns: Why no Weapons of Mass Destruction have been found in Iraq', can be downloaded at: http://www.basicint.org/pubs/Research/2004WMD.htm.

For interviews call Ian Davis on 07887 782389 (UK) or David Isenberg on 703 998 5590 (U.S.).