The Hutton inquiry in the UK into the death of Dr. Kelly, a UK bio-weapons expert, and the dispute between the BBC and the UK government over whether or not the intelligence dossier was "sexed-up" at the request of the Prime Minister's office continues. A main point of contention has been the claim that Iraq could deploy chemical weapons within 45 minutes. The BBC reports on the changes to this "45 minute" claim in the various drafts, including the final release: link to report. A UK newspaper, The Independent, reports that "Downing Street's Iraq weapons dossier caused such deep concern among senior intelligence officers that they formally complained to their superiors." There was particular concern about the wording of the 45 minute claim. See The dossier is damned again.
according to the BBC report there were four drafts, including the final release, of the dossier. The first draft on September 5 did not contain the claim at all. The claim appeared in two intermediate versions which contained the words "intelligence suggests" and "may" with regard to the strength of the intelligence about Iraq's deployment capabilities. The final release on September 24 stated:' "His (Saddam Hussein's) military planning allows for some of the WMD to be ready within 45 minutes of an order to use them." ' This much more forceful statement conveys a much stronger degree of certainty than the intelligence officials felt was warranted.
I guess it all gets down to the matter of intent. Were these changes in wording made to make the case before the British public more compelling? The inquiry will continue.
10:52:54 AM 
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