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NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRIBUTOR : ANDREW GILLIGAN Defence corr

EX TFC

DRAFT CUE : Doubts about the reliability of Tony Blair's

assertion last September that Iraq could deploy WMD within
45 minutes have been confirmed by this programme .

WHAT DO THEY SAX :

*Evidence that experts felt their work was being
misrepresented to 3ustify an attack on Iraq to fit in with
the US led timetable for overthrowing Saddam Hussein

BACKGROUND :
GILLIGANS NOTES FROM HIS SOURCE INT
Q : What about the Blair Dossier (of Sept 24th 2002) When we
last met (in Spring 2002) you said the dossier wouldn't
tell us anything we da.dnt already know .

A : Until the week before it was just the same as I told

you . It was transformed in the week before it was
published to make it sexier .

Q : What do you mean?

A : The classic was the statement that WMD were ready for
use within 45 minutes . Most things in the dossier were
double-sourced but that was a single source . And we
believed that the source as wrong . He said it took 45
minutes to construct a missile assembly and that was
misinterpreted (in the dossier) to mean that WMD could be
deployed in 45 minutes . What we thought it actually meant
was that they could launch a conventional missile in 45
minutes . There was no evidence that they had loaded
missiles with WMD, or could do so anything like that
quickly .

Q: So how cd this transformation happen ?

A: Campbell

Q: What do you mean? They made it up?

A : No, it was real information . But it was included in the

dossier against our wishes because it wasn't reliable . It
was a single source and it was not reliable"

He also said DSt had asked if there was anything else on

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seeing the dull originael and were told about this and
other things including African Uranium although he said he
had no personal knowledge of that because he didnt do
nuclear

Other quotes :
"What you have to understand is that 10 -15 years ago
there was a lot of information . With the concealment and
deception operation (by the Iraqis) there was far less
material

"I believe it is 30% likely there was a CW programe in the

six months before the war, and more likely that there was a
BW programme, but it was small because you couldn't conceal
a larger programme . The sanctions were actually quite
effective . They did limit the programme ."

"Most people in ir_telligence weren't happy with it because

it didn't reflect the considered view they were putting
forward ."

On the aftermath : "We don't have a great deal more

information yet than we had before . We have not got very
much out of the detainees yet ."

SJ

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006 WirD John-Andrew Gilligan - Duration : 0110"

JOHN
The govt will face further queations this morning over its
claims about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq . Our
defence corr is Andrew Gilligan .

LIVE EX TRAFFIC GILLIGAN

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