Pentagon Officials Admits U.S. Error in “Overemphasizing” Iraq’s WMD Capabilities Before War
Global Security Newswire
A top U.S. Defense Department official has conceded that the Bush administration oversold Saddam Hussein’s WMD capabilities in justifying the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, June 29).
“I don't think there is any question that we as an administration, instead of giving proper emphasis to all major elements of the rationale for war, overemphasized the WMD aspect,” said Douglas Feith, a high-ranking policy adviser to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
“Our intelligence community made, apparently, an error, as to the stockpiles” of weapons in Iraq, Feith said. “Anything we said at all about stockpiles was overemphasis, given that we didn't find them.”
Still, Feith defended the decision to invade Iraq but, “It would have been better had we done a better job of communicating in all of its breadth the strategic rationale for the war.”
This rationale included the potential for Iraq to resume WMD development, according to AP.
Feith has been bothered by critics who have said the absence of weapons of mass destruction should negate any other reason for war. He said Iraq provided “rhetorical and financial support” for terrorists and had a record of hostility in the Middle East.
“One could fault the administration on the presentation of the rationale, but that is different from saying the rationale was actually extremely narrow and invalidated by the disclosure of the error” on weapons of mass destruction, Feith said (Robert Burns, Associated Press/Baltimore Sun, July 15)
A top U.S. Defense Department official has conceded that the Bush administration oversold Saddam Hussein’s WMD capabilities in justifying the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, June 29).
“I don't think there is any question that we as an administration, instead of giving proper emphasis to all major elements of the rationale for war, overemphasized the WMD aspect,” said Douglas Feith, a high-ranking policy adviser to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
“Our intelligence community made, apparently, an error, as to the stockpiles” of weapons in Iraq, Feith said. “Anything we said at all about stockpiles was overemphasis, given that we didn't find them.”
Still, Feith defended the decision to invade Iraq but, “It would have been better had we done a better job of communicating in all of its breadth the strategic rationale for the war.”
This rationale included the potential for Iraq to resume WMD development, according to AP.
Feith has been bothered by critics who have said the absence of weapons of mass destruction should negate any other reason for war. He said Iraq provided “rhetorical and financial support” for terrorists and had a record of hostility in the Middle East.
“One could fault the administration on the presentation of the rationale, but that is different from saying the rationale was actually extremely narrow and invalidated by the disclosure of the error” on weapons of mass destruction, Feith said (Robert Burns, Associated Press/Baltimore Sun, July 15)
