While 9/11 Came Closer, George W. Bush's Team Focused on Saddam Hussein's WMDs
On August 7, 2001, the intelligence team discussed Iraq's rumored weapons of mass destruction—another misreading before disaster.
On August 6, 2001, the Presidential Daily Briefing focused on al Qaeda threats. The FBI and CIA were concerned about potential attacks and which agency might be blamed. On August 7, the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) released a secret report regarding Iraq's reemerging nuclear weapon program. U.S. intelligence had been largely speculating about Iraq's WMD program since U.N. inspectors were banned from the country in November 1998.
Information gathered through American monitoring, regional allies, and the Iraqi expatriate community suggested Iraq was pursuing nuclear, biological weapons, and long-range missiles. This intelligence supported the U.S. policy of eliminating all Iraq's WMD and met the U.N. requirement for inspection.
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