Not The Dodgy Dossier

By Cernig

The British government has released a 2002 dossier of prewar intelligence on Iraq, one prepared by the Foreign Office's then Chief Press Officer rather than an actual intelligence agency or WMD expert.

The document includes references to intelligence claims that Iraq had acquired uranium and had equipment necessary to produce chemical weapons. But the file does not contain a claim that Iraq could launch weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes - an allegation which was later discredited but became crucial to Blair's push to back the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

But what it isn't is the infamous "Dodgy Dossier", prepared in February 2003, the one which is really of interest to those who accuse Blair of "sexing up" WMD claims in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq. By releasing this document instead, the UK government is hoping to put a smokescreen over that latter document and stall its release.