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Sunday, Apr 04, 2004

International

International

Powell admits evidence may be wrong

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

Colin Powell

WASHINGTON, APRIL 3. In remarks that could be further damaging to the Bush administration, the Secretary of State, Colin Powell, has conceded that the evidence he presented to the United Nations Security Council last February of two trailers in Iraq being used for weapons of mass destruction may be wrong.

Briefing the media on his flight back from Brussels, Gen. Powell said that at the time he had been given solid information on the two trailers being used to make biological weapons. Now, according to him, "it appears not to be the case that it was that solid."

Gen. Powell has said that at the time of his presentation to the United Nations there were assurances from the intelligence community that the information on the mobile laboratories was solid and multi-sourced, the intelligence assessment based on four sources.

"I looked at the four elements they gave me for that one and they stood behind them. Now, it appears not to be the case that it was that solid," he remarked, adding that the Presidential Commission should probe the subject and see if there was a `basis' for the confidence that was placed on intelligence at the time.

"If the sources fall apart, we need to find out how we got ourselves into that position and I have had discussions with the CIA about that," Gen. Powell said. The Presidential Commission headed by a retired federal judge, Lawrence Silberman, and the former Senator, Charles Robb, will be presenting its report in the spring of 2005, or much after the November presidential election.

The comments of Gen. Powell are the first acknowledgement by the administration that the presentation in New York last February was based in part on erroneous information. Even last year, there were persistent questions about the quality of the intelligence material being presented by Gen. Powell, but the Bush administration insisted that it had made the `case' against Iraq in a comprehensive manner.

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