Report Clears Australia on Iraq Claims
Mar 1, 12:26 AM (ET)
By EMMA TINKLER
(AP) A Polish army soldier serving with Coalition Forces in Iraq waves at Shiite pilgrims inside a...
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CANBERRA, Australia (AP) - A parliamentary report Monday broadly cleared the Australian government of exaggerating the threat of Iraq's prewar weapons programs, saying Canberra was "more moderate" than coalition partners Britain and the United States.
"The committee found that the presentation by the Australian government was more moderate and more measured than that of its alliance partners," said David Jull, chairman of the committee that wrote the report.
Jull is a lawmaker with Prime Minister John Howard's government, and his committee is made up of five government lawmakers and three from the opposition Labor Party.
The report did point out that ministers sometimes did not mention caution expressed by intelligence agencies about the size of Iraq's arsenal and the speed with which it could be deployed.
(AP) Australian Defense Minister Robert Hill, right, and Australia's military chief Peter Cosgrove...
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"The presentations by the government seemed to suggest large arsenals and stockpiles, endorsing the idea that Iraq was producing more weapons and that the programs were larger and more active than before the Gulf War in 1991," the report said, after noting that "the Australian agencies did not think the amounts of (weapons of mass destruction) to be large."
The report recommended setting up a second independent inquiry into the performance of Australia's intelligence agencies, something the government immediately announced it would do.
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said the report, "vindicates the government's use of intelligence in stating the case for disarming Iraq."
Howard's government sent 2,000 troops to fight alongside U.S. and British troops in the invasion of Iraq and still has about 850 military personnel there. There have so far been no Australian casualties.
Presenting the report to Parliament, committee chairman Jull recommended "an independent assessment of the performance of the intelligence agencies, conducted by an experienced former intelligence expert with full access to all the material."
He said the inquiry should report to the National Security Committee of Cabinet which could then recommend possible reforms to Australian intelligence agencies.
There was no immediate reaction from the opposition Labor Party, which opposed the Iraq war.
Downer meanwhile said the report should put an end to doubts over the government's assessments of the Iraqi threat.
"It is now clear to all that the government has been open and honest with the Australian people on this critical issue of national security," he said. |
