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18 Mar, 2013

West “ignored evidence from senior Iraqis” that WMDs did not exist – The Independent

Two senior Iraqi politicians told Western intelligence that Saddam Hussein had no weapons of mass destruction on the eve of the 2003 invasion – but their warnings were ignored and then not reported to the subsequent Butler inquiry, according to a major new investigation.

Vital intelligence used to justify the invasion of Iraq 10 years ago was based on “fabrication” and “wishful thinking”, the BBC Panorama documentary claims. While information from highly placed Iraqis was dismissed as unimportant if it indicated that Hussein did not have WMD, tip offs from low-ranking Iraqis were eagerly lapped up if they reinforced what George W Bush and Tony Blair wanted to hear, it is claimed.

Read the rest: West ‘ignored evidence from senior Iraqis’ that WMDs did not exist – The Independent.