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May 08, 2003

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U.S. soldiers have uncovered a trailer in the northern Iraq town of Tall Kayf, which they believe could be a mobile weapons laboratory. But officials said more tests are needed before any conclusions could be reached.

If the trailer turns out to be a weapons lab, it will be the first major piece of evidence to support U.S. allegations that Saddam Hussein was developing weapons of mass destruction.

This comes as the Pentagon plans to send 2,100 more American experts to Iraq to search for weapons. Currently the U.S. has a force of 600 in Iraq.

To date no biological or chemical weapons have been found raising some questions about the reliability of evidence provided to the government.

In this week’s New Yorker an explosive article by Seymour Hersh examines how much of the intelligence linking Iraq to weapons of mass destruction came from a little known department in the Pentagon called the Office of Special Plans.

Shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, under the guidance of Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, the office began gathering intelligence on Iraq independent of the CIA or the Pentagon’s own Defense Intelligence Agency.

According to the New Yorker article the Pentagon’s office became one of President Bush’s main source of intelligence regarding Iraq’s possible possession of weapons of mass destruction and connection with Al Qaeda.

Well we are joined by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Seymour Hersh to outline his story...

• Seymour Hersh, Pulitzer Prize winning investigative reporter with The New Yorker. His latest piece is titled "Offense and Defense: The Battle Between Donald Rumsfeld and the Pentagon."

Related link:

• "Selective Intelligence: Donald Rumsfeld has his own special sources. Are they reliable?"–New Yorker