Media Release

FA114 - 13 September 2003

Iraq: JIC Assessment

There is nothing new in the British Joint Intelligence Committee assessment.

The Australian intelligence community, as part of the Government’s prudent contingency planning, undertook various assessments of what could go wrong in the event of conflict in Iraq.

In the end it was a matter of judgement for the Government to weigh up the risks and benefits of military action to disarm Saddam of his weapons of mass destruction.

It was the judgement of the Government, and rightly so, that the longer term proliferation and terrorism risks of leaving Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction in place outweighed any short-term risks.

The Government was open about these risks. The Prime Minister on 24 March said in Parliament that the threat levels against Australian interests in a number of countries – especially the Middle East – had been raised because of the war in Iraq.

The Government stands by its judgement that removing Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction would reduce the threat posed by terrorists over the longer term.

Media inquiries: 02 6261 1555

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