Fed: Government prepares for new WMD probe

AAP General News (Australia)
02-17-2004
Fed: Government prepares for new WMD probe

The federal government appears to be preparing the ground for a new inquiry into the
pre-war intelligence it received about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.

Labor is demanding the new probe look at how the government used intelligence assessments
as well as the performance of spy agencies.

Foreign Minister ALEXANDER DOWNER says if a parliamentary committee recommends a new
inquiry when it reports on March the first, the government will consider it.

But it's an open secret, following a series of leaks, that the committee will recommend
another inquiry.

The most detailed leak, in the Sydney Morning Herald, says the committee has found
the government didn't doctor intelligence assessments in order to bolster the case for
war.

Labor's foreign affairs spokesman KEVIN RUDD says he suspects Prime Minister JOHN HOWARD
is preparing to hang the intelligence agencies out to dry while leaving the government
beyond scrutiny.

AAP RTV dw/sb/jas/

KEYWORD: IRAQ WMD AUST (CANBERRA)

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