20 March 2002
CIA Director Tenet Says Iraq Pursues Weapons of Mass Destruction
(Sees possibility for cooperation between Iraq, al-Qaida) (620)
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director George Tenet said Iraq is
drawing neighboring countries into economically dependent
relationships in hopes of further undermining their support for the
U.N. sanctions against Baghdad.
Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee in Washington
March 19, Tenet said the profits Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein gains
from these relationships provide him the means to reward key
supporters and, more importantly, to fund his pursuit of weapons of
mass destruction.
Tenet said the CIA believes that the Iraqi regime is trying to develop
biological, chemical and nuclear weapons and missiles capable of
delivering them.
He said at present, the greatest near-term concern regarding Iraq is
the fear that it could acquire fissile material.
The CIA chief said Iraq and al-Qaida share a mutual antipathy for the
United States and the Saudi ruling family, creating the possibility
for tactical cooperation between them, despite divergent ideologies.
Following are excerpts from Tenet's prepared testimony containing his
comments about Iraq:
(begin excerpt)
Let me turn now to Iraq. Saddam has responded to our progress in
Afghanistan with a political and diplomatic charm offensive. Since the
turn of the year he has hinted at the possible return of inspectors,
allowed the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights to visit Baghdad,
and had his Foreign Minister meet with UN Secretary General Annan-for
the first time in over a year-to discuss resolutions pertaining to
Iraq.
......
Saddam has carefully cultivated neighboring states, drawing them into
economically dependent relationships in hopes of further undermining
their support for the sanctions. The profits he gains from these
relationships provide him the means to reward key supporters and, more
importantly, to fund his pursuit of WMD. His calculus is never about
bettering or helping the Iraqi people.
Let me be clear: Saddam remains a threat. He is determined to thwart
UN sanctions, press ahead with weapons of mass destruction, and
resurrect the military force he had before the Gulf war. Today, he
maintains his vise grip on the levers of power through a pervasive
intelligence and security apparatus, and even his reduced military
force-which is less than half its pre-war size- remains capable of
defeating more poorly armed internal opposition groups and threatening
Iraq's neighbors.
As I said earlier, we continue to watch Iraq's involvement in
terrorist activities. Baghdad has a long history of supporting
terrorism, altering its targets to reflect changing priorities and
goals.
It has also had contacts with al-Qa'ida. Their ties may be limited by
divergent ideologies, but the two sides' mutual antipathy toward the
United States and the Saudi royal family suggests that tactical
cooperation between them is possible-even though Saddam is well aware
that such activity would carry serious consequences.
......
Iraq continues to build and expand an infrastructure capable of
producing WMD. Baghdad is expanding its civilian chemical industry in
ways that could be diverted quickly to CW production. We believe it
also maintains an active and capable BW program; Iraq told UNSCOM it
had worked with several BW agents.
We believe Baghdad continues to pursue ballistic missile capabilities
that exceed the restrictions imposed by UN resolutions. It may also
have retained the capability to deliver BW or CW agents using modified
aircraft or other unmanned aerial vehicles.
We believe Saddam never abandoned his nuclear weapons program. Iraq
retains a significant number of nuclear scientists, program
documentation, and probably some dual-use manufacturing infrastructure
that could support a reinvigorated nuclear weapons program. Baghdad's
access to foreign expertise could support a rejuvenated program, but
our major near-term concern is the possibility that Saddam might gain
access to fissile material.
(end excerpts)
(end excerpt)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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