- WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The
CIA is publishing a series of classified reports revising its prewar intelligence
assessments of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, an intelligence official
said on Tuesday.
-
- A Jan. 18 report, titled "Iraq: No Large-Scale Chemical
Warfare Efforts Since Early 1990s," concludes that Saddam Hussein
abandoned major chemical weapons programs after the first Gulf War in 1991.
-
- A Jan. 4 CIA report addressed Baghdad's Scud missile
and delivery system, while forthcoming reports are expected to revise prewar
estimates of Iraq's biological and nuclear capabilities.
-
- The intelligence official, who asked not to be named,
said the latest report was not considered a high-level document for review
by President Bush.
-
- "This matches up what the assessment was before
the war and what the assessment is after the war," the official said.
"It takes into account post-war information that was, by definition,
not available earlier."
-
- U.S. intelligence claims that Iraq possessed large stockpiles
of chemical and biological weapons and was attempting to acquire nuclear
capability formed a main justification for the 2003 invasion.
-
- Former CIA Director George Tenet, who resigned last July,
told Bush that finding WMD in Iraq would be a "slam dunk" according
to journalist Bob Woodward's book "Plan of Attack."
-
- But no WMD have been found in Iraq and U.S. weapons inspector
Charles Duelfer is expected this month to issue a final addendum to his
September report concluding that prewar Iraq had no such stockpiles.
-
- "The CIA has finally admitted that its WMD estimates
were wrong," Rep. Jane Harman of California, ranking Democrat on the
House intelligence committee, said in a statement.
-
- She also called on CIA officials to conduct a vigorous
review of intelligence on Iran and North Korea, "where active WMD
programs are known to exist."
-
- Bush has branded prewar Iraq, Iran and North Korea as
an "axis of evil."
-
- The United States contends that Iran is pursuing nuclear
weapons.
-
- Tehran denies the charge. But Vice President Dick Cheney,
a main proponent of the Iraq war, stirred concern about possible military
action against Iran recently by saying the country tops the administration
list of world trouble spots.
-
- The Bush administration is engaged in six-party talks
with North Korea, which U.S. officials say could have more than eight nuclear
weapons.
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