No Iraqi WMD, admits Cowen

SPEAKING in the Dáil, Minister for Foreign Affairs Brian Cowen yesterday accepted the “increasingly firm conclusion” that Iraq did not possess weapons of mass destruction (WMD) at the time of the invasion.

But while admitting this raised significant questions about the reliability of intelligence, Mr Cowen nonetheless placed the blame squarely on Saddam Hussein and not on apparent failures by the British or US administrations.

“Of concern is how the international community should deal with a leader ... who is prepared to defy the UN Security Council and to allow the impression persist that he is in possession of WMD, even to the extent of bringing UN sanctions, invasion and occupation upon his people,” he said.

Mr Cowen said war could have been averted if Saddam had co-operated fully with the weapons’ inspectors rather than in his minimalist and unsatisfactory manner.

Mr Cowen said the Government had received public and private briefings on Iraqi WMD from Britain and the US, and he denied the Government had not relied on their own intelligence sources.