lucky wilbury
04-19-2004, 04:03 PM
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3639977.stm
Denmark reveals Iraq arms secrets
Mr Rasmussen says the reports vinidcate him
Denmark has declassified intelligence reports compiled before the Iraq war which show officials thought Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.
In one report, Iraq was thought to have both chemical and biological weapons, as well as an active nuclear programme.
The extracts appear to contradict claims leaked to a newspaper that there was no evidence to back up the theory.
Former intelligence officer Major Frank Soeholm Grevil has been charged with breaching the official information act.
The major told reporters at the Berlingske Tidende newspaper he had sent 10 reports to the prime minister which concluded that the coalition was unlikely to find weapons of mass destruction.
Pressure
The two journalists who published the leaks, Jesper Larsen and Michael Bjerre, have been charged with exploiting information emerging from a crime.
Before the war, Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen supported the US-led invasion and told parliament that he was convinced Iraq was in possession of such weapons.
Denmark sent a submarine and a warship to participate in the campaign.
Since the leaks - and the failure to find any weapons of mass destruction - the prime minister has come under increasing pressure from opposition parties to declassify the reports.
But Danish Defence Intelligence Service (DDIS) chief Rear Admiral Joern Olesen said: "These reports that have been made public document that Iraq, according to the entire DDIS's evaluation, probably had biological and chemical weapons just before the war."
Mr Olesen said the documents were based on information gathered by the United Nations and Nato but the reports warned that "any evaluation is subject to uncertainties".
Mr Fogh Rasmussen said the documents were proof that neither he nor anyone else in government had tried to mislead parliament.
"The released documents remove any insistence of claims that the government could have misused, twisted or suppressed information received from the DDIS," he told reporters.
Investigation
But AP news agency says a Danish intelligence report dated 7 March, 2003, concluded that there was no "certain information that Iraq has operative weapons of mass destruction".
Spokesman for the opposition Social Democrats Jeppe Kofod said that in March the prime minister still insisted he "knew" Iraq had the weapons.
"I don't think we get a complete picture of what the government knew," he said.
He called for more details following the release of the documents and for an independent investigation into whether Mr Fogh Rasmussen deliberately misled MPs.
Denmark reveals Iraq arms secrets
Mr Rasmussen says the reports vinidcate him
Denmark has declassified intelligence reports compiled before the Iraq war which show officials thought Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.
In one report, Iraq was thought to have both chemical and biological weapons, as well as an active nuclear programme.
The extracts appear to contradict claims leaked to a newspaper that there was no evidence to back up the theory.
Former intelligence officer Major Frank Soeholm Grevil has been charged with breaching the official information act.
The major told reporters at the Berlingske Tidende newspaper he had sent 10 reports to the prime minister which concluded that the coalition was unlikely to find weapons of mass destruction.
Pressure
The two journalists who published the leaks, Jesper Larsen and Michael Bjerre, have been charged with exploiting information emerging from a crime.
Before the war, Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen supported the US-led invasion and told parliament that he was convinced Iraq was in possession of such weapons.
Denmark sent a submarine and a warship to participate in the campaign.
Since the leaks - and the failure to find any weapons of mass destruction - the prime minister has come under increasing pressure from opposition parties to declassify the reports.
But Danish Defence Intelligence Service (DDIS) chief Rear Admiral Joern Olesen said: "These reports that have been made public document that Iraq, according to the entire DDIS's evaluation, probably had biological and chemical weapons just before the war."
Mr Olesen said the documents were based on information gathered by the United Nations and Nato but the reports warned that "any evaluation is subject to uncertainties".
Mr Fogh Rasmussen said the documents were proof that neither he nor anyone else in government had tried to mislead parliament.
"The released documents remove any insistence of claims that the government could have misused, twisted or suppressed information received from the DDIS," he told reporters.
Investigation
But AP news agency says a Danish intelligence report dated 7 March, 2003, concluded that there was no "certain information that Iraq has operative weapons of mass destruction".
Spokesman for the opposition Social Democrats Jeppe Kofod said that in March the prime minister still insisted he "knew" Iraq had the weapons.
"I don't think we get a complete picture of what the government knew," he said.
He called for more details following the release of the documents and for an independent investigation into whether Mr Fogh Rasmussen deliberately misled MPs.