The Iraq War
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Deulfer Report
October 7, 2004

    Created in 2003 after the invasion of Iraq, the Iraq Survey Group was founded on the premise of finding weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) that would solidify and justify the reason for entering Iraq.  This multinational force was comprised of thousands of U.S., British and Australian citizens.  It included military intelligence agents, WMD experts and security details.  George W. Bush strongly believed that Saddam Hussein’s Iraq contained WMDs and was possibly arming them for use.  While there was no hint on an actual attack, the Bush administration thought it necessary to preemptively strike Iraq, finding and destroying all WMDs.  The Iraq Survey Group was sent in to find these nuclear weapons and report back.  However, Charles Duelfer, who replaced David Kay on January 23, 2004 as the leader of the Iraq Survey Group, produced a final report that fully contradicted the administrations reasons for entering Iraq.  In what would later be called the Duelfer Report, the Iraq Survey Group detailed their findings of the WMDs in Iraq.  Duelfer reported that at this time Saddam Hussein had not WMDs that the group could find.  It became apparent that the nuclear program in Iraq was shut down and then destroyed following the end of the Gulf War in 1991.  The report went on to say that the government possessed no WMDs, including nuclear and chemical, that Bush stated Iraq had.  This new report contradicted Bush’s statement that, “"The danger is already significant and it only grows worse with time,"… "If we know Saddam Hussein has dangerous weapons today -- and we do -- does it make any sense for the world to wait to confront him as he grows even stronger and develops even more dangerous weapons?"  However the report did go on to state that Iraq was trying hard to cheat on UN sanctions that banned them from building a nuclear program.  It was said that Hussein wanted to end UN sanctions so that in future time he could begin rebuilding nuclear weapons.  However at the present time there was no known nuclear program anywhere in Iraq.  What Deulfer also found was that Saddam did not want to attack them U.S. with any WMDs.  In retrospect it was Iraq’s intentions to look threatening in the eyes of the Middle East.  In particular, Saddam wanted to deter Iran which had fought an eight year war with Iraq.  Duelfer’s report also delved into the psyche of Saddam Hussein.  Contrary to what most thought, the report stated that Hussein was afraid of the U.S. military power, but maintained intentions to develop a better relationship with the U.S.  Saddam had even over the years sent proposals to enter in discussions with the U.S.  Lastly, Duelfer’s report brought to light a devastating scandal that had been overlooked so far.   Saddam Huissein had developed a connection with many countries, most of them U.S. allies, and many companies to illegally bring in over $11 billion in income.  Also Huissen used these connections to locate and finance importation of banned technology and services.  Deulfer said this as well as most of Hussein’s strategies was to eventually lift UN sanctions.  This could possibly lead to the building of nuclear programs   He used his new connections to help erode UN support.  Overall however, Deufler’s report stated clearly that while it was possible that Hussein wanted to start rebuilding nuclear programs later on, Iraq at the present contained no known WMDs.  This report clearly contradicted the Bush administration’s reasons and justifications for entering Iraq in the first place.