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Blair admits he misunderstood `45-min claim` in Iraq dossier
London, Feb 05: British Prime Minister Tony Blair has said he had misunderstood a key part of an intelligence dossier on Iraq which he used to persuade a sceptical nation to back a war to oust Saddam Hussein.
London, Feb 05: British Prime Minister Tony Blair has said he had misunderstood a key part of an intelligence dossier on Iraq which he used to persuade a sceptical nation to back a war to oust Saddam Hussein.
Blair told the House of Commons he had been unaware that the controversial "45 minute" claim in the government's September 2002 Iraq dossier referred only to tactical battlefield weapons, and not long-range ballistic missiles.
In a debate interrupted by anti-war protesters, Blair said he had not known what weapons were being referred to by the claim -- that Saddam could deploy some chemical and biological weapons within 45 minutes -- when Britain voted narrowly to back the war.
"I have already indicated exactly when this came to my attention. It wasn't before the debate on March 18 last year," he said.
However, Blair, the staunchest international ally of US President George W. Bush in the Iraq conflict, defended the claim's inclusion in the dossier.
"If there were chemical or biological or nuclear battlefield weapons, that most certainly would be a weapon of mass destruction and the idea that their use would not threaten the region's stability I find somewhat eccentric," he said.
Blair's disclosure comes a day after he ordered an independent inquiry to probe the quality of the intelligence used to justify the war. Bureau Report
Blair told the House of Commons he had been unaware that the controversial "45 minute" claim in the government's September 2002 Iraq dossier referred only to tactical battlefield weapons, and not long-range ballistic missiles.
In a debate interrupted by anti-war protesters, Blair said he had not known what weapons were being referred to by the claim -- that Saddam could deploy some chemical and biological weapons within 45 minutes -- when Britain voted narrowly to back the war.
"I have already indicated exactly when this came to my attention. It wasn't before the debate on March 18 last year," he said.
However, Blair, the staunchest international ally of US President George W. Bush in the Iraq conflict, defended the claim's inclusion in the dossier.
"If there were chemical or biological or nuclear battlefield weapons, that most certainly would be a weapon of mass destruction and the idea that their use would not threaten the region's stability I find somewhat eccentric," he said.
Blair's disclosure comes a day after he ordered an independent inquiry to probe the quality of the intelligence used to justify the war. Bureau Report