More WMD lies
It was revealed by Dr. John Gee (a former Weapons Inspector with the Iraq Survey Group), that Downer deliberately supressed the circulation of a letter he wrote, stating that there were no WMD's in Iraq.
Dr. Gee resigned from the Iraq Survey Group (ISG) after what he believed was a flawed process that was "intellectually dishonest". He says that rather than going into Iraq to find if there were WMD's, the ISG was being pressured to substantiate the false claims of an imminent threat, upon which the invasion was based. He said the ISG was being run by the CIA, to protect the CIA. Upon resignation, Dr. Gee submitted a letter to Downer (as well as various foreign affairs and defence officials), outlining his concerns about the process. He also met Downer face-to-face to spell out what he saw wrong. He claims Downer supressed this, and cites information passed to him by several respected people involved.
It was interesting to see Lord Downer today in his usual paltry arrogant way, denying any knowledge of the communication... but when pressed, yes he remembers the meeting, but Dr. Gee raised some concerns about the 'process', which is now academic, since no WMD's were found. He denies stopping the circulation of the document to other departments, but was less than convincing.
This is classic Howard Government politics: supress what doesn't support your case, and deny it until the storm blows over. They have taken Ministerial responsibility to a new low, and apparently have no moral qualms about bare-faced lying at all.
Dr. Gee resigned from the Iraq Survey Group (ISG) after what he believed was a flawed process that was "intellectually dishonest". He says that rather than going into Iraq to find if there were WMD's, the ISG was being pressured to substantiate the false claims of an imminent threat, upon which the invasion was based. He said the ISG was being run by the CIA, to protect the CIA. Upon resignation, Dr. Gee submitted a letter to Downer (as well as various foreign affairs and defence officials), outlining his concerns about the process. He also met Downer face-to-face to spell out what he saw wrong. He claims Downer supressed this, and cites information passed to him by several respected people involved.
It was interesting to see Lord Downer today in his usual paltry arrogant way, denying any knowledge of the communication... but when pressed, yes he remembers the meeting, but Dr. Gee raised some concerns about the 'process', which is now academic, since no WMD's were found. He denies stopping the circulation of the document to other departments, but was less than convincing.
This is classic Howard Government politics: supress what doesn't support your case, and deny it until the storm blows over. They have taken Ministerial responsibility to a new low, and apparently have no moral qualms about bare-faced lying at all.
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