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PM Tony Blair insists WMD evidence will be found *LINK*
Posted By: wtnf In Response To: CIA plays down hopes of finding Saddam's WMD *LINK* (wtnf)
Date: 25, September 03, at 7:01 a.m.
Jul 11 2003
PM insists WMD evidence will be found but pressure piles on arms confusion grows
By James Hardy, Political Editor
TONY Blair yesterday insisted "concrete evidence" of weapons of mass destruction would be found to justify his war on Iraq.
And he dismissed accusations that British soldiers went to war on the basis of a lie.
The PM spoke as Labour MP Brian Donohoe publicly warned that the premier would have to quit if WMD are not found.
Mr Blair's official spokesman said: "The Prime Minister is absolutely confident we will find evidence not only of WMD programmes but concrete evidence of the product of those programmes as well."
On the day the PM replaced the P-word with the C-word, the monumental confusion over whether Iraq has, or had, lethal weapons escalated.On Tuesday, he spoke only of finding evidence of WMD "programmes", alerting MPs to a possible U-turn on the claim which had underpinned his case for war.
A day later, a source thought to be not too far from the Foreign Secretary tipped off the BBC that actual weapons may never be found.
And yesterday, fearful of looking foolish, Downing Street deployed the C-word - "concrete". The twisting and turning typifies the campaign of evasion and deceit which has marked the Government's handling of the issue.
Labour MPs, and Tories, are increasingly unready to believe a word the PM says on Iraq and he is doing little to help them out.
And despite his defiant stand yesterday it became clear there is a growing certainty at the the top of the Government that no weapons will ever be discovered.
In fact, the Foreign Office admitted nine weeks ago it had virtually given up hope of finding the alleged stockpile of WMD.
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said he was certain Iraq had possessed the weapons and officials said later finding them would be a "bonus". Hours earlier Mr Blair told a press conference he was "confident" they would come to light.
Yesterday, Mr Donohoe - who voted for war with Iraq over Mr Blair's assurances about Saddam's arsenal - said: "If I don't see evidence that is overwhelming in terms of WMD having been there, I'm not going to call for it but I do believe the position of the PM in those circumstances is untenable and that he would have to resign."
Former Cabinet minister Robin Cook, who quit over the war, added: "They said quite explicitly that there were weapons, indeed famously they said there were weapons that would be ready within 45 minutes.
"To establish that that is correct, you do have to produce the weapons.
"You cannot now say 'Well, there were some scientists around who might at some time have had a capacity to develop it'."
Pressure was growing last night for Mr Blair to set up an independent inquiry similar to the one which followed the Falklands conflict to clear up the confusion over intelligence evidence.
Lord Armstrong, formerly the country's most senior civil servant, said: "There would be something to be said for having somebody skilled in assessing and analysing evidence with unquestioned intellectual integrity and political independence."
Former PM John Major said a probe would help restore trust in the Government.
He added: "We are in the middle of the war on terror. No one knows what our troops will be asked to do next.
"Unless this is cleared up there is a danger that, were a similar circumstance to arise, Parliament and public would not have the faith they have had in the past." The Government's WMD row with the BBC spilled over into the House of Commons last night where leader Peter Hain was involved in bitter exchanges.
He insisted the TV corporation should "stop becoming a player in the story and start to become a spectator" in the argument over intelligence on Iraq.
But Labour's Glenda Jackson told him: "This is not some arcane Parliamentary debate, people died on the decisions that this House made, based on reports that Government had given not only on the size of the WMD arsenal but also on the capacity of Saddam Hussein to launch them within 45 minutes."
Former Tory Foreign Secretary Lord Hurd said: "The decision to send our troops in was taken on a basis which looks dodgy.
"Not because Alastair Campbell doctored a paper or because the PM deliberately deceived us, but because it was on a very flimsy basis about the existence of weapons."
Mr Blair knows his credibility and his long-term prospects as PM rest on proving his wild-eyed claims about the threat posed by Saddam Hussein and his WMD.
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