Iraq Survey Group
[1][2] It consisted of a 1,400-member international team organized by the Pentagon and Central Intelligence Agency to hunt for the alleged stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction, including chemical and biological agents, and any supporting research programs and infrastructure that could be used to develop WMD.The ISG's mission also included the ongoing investigation into the fate of United States Navy Captain Michael Scott Speicher, who was shot down in 1991 during the Gulf War.On August 2, 2009, the Navy reported that Speicher's remains were found in Iraq by United States Marines belonging to MNF-W's Task Force Military Police.Acting as an independent entity outside of the normal chain of command (ISG reported directly to Donald Rumsfeld), it surveyed and exploited hundreds of possible WMD sites across the breadth of Iraq with very few problems.[3] Lines of enquiry adopted by the ISG include the examination of sites across Iraq, as well as interviewing scientists, truck drivers and other workers with possible knowledge of WMD.Now that you know reality on the ground as opposed to what you estimated before, you may reach a different conclusion-—although I must say I actually think what we learned during the inspection made Iraq a more dangerous place, potentially, than, in fact, we thought it was even before the war."[citation needed] Kay's team established that the Iraqi regime had the production capacity and know-how to produce chemical and biological weaponry if international economic sanctions were lifted, a policy change which was actively being sought by a number of United Nations member states.[citation needed] Kay's successor, named by CIA director George Tenet, was the former UN weapons inspector Charles A. Duelfer, who stated at the time that the chances of finding any WMD stockpiles in Iraq were "close to nil.By early 2005, the MCTs were disbanded and all but two former MCT members, Army Sergeants 1st Class Marshall Lowery and Robert Shano, returned to their parent units and the MP teams that supported them were dispersed to other camps and given other missions.Although Lowery rotated back to the US after the ISG was deactivated, Shano extended his tour in Iraq to serve with a group of coalition advisors mentoring the Iraqi officer candidates at the Military Academy in Al-Rustimaya.The ISG stated that while it had, "not found evidence that Saddam possessed WMD stocks in 2003," they acknowledged "the possibility that some weapons existed in Iraq, although not of a militarily significant capability.
Iraq Study Groupmultinational force in Iraqweapons of mass destruction alleged to be possessed by IraqinvasionCharles A. Duelferthe PentagonCentral Intelligence Agencyweapons of mass destructionchemicalbiological agentsAmericanBritishAustralianDavid KayGulf WarDefense Intelligence AgencyDepartment of DefenseKeith DaytonUnited NationsUnited Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection CommissionHans BlixInternational Atomic Energy AgencyMohamed ElBaradeiUN Security CouncilIraq disarmament crisisUnited States NavyCaptainMichael Scott SpeicherDover Air Force BaseBedouinsBaghdadCamp SlayerBaghdad International AirportDonald Rumsfeldimprovised explosive deviceCharles DuelferKansas Army National Guardmortarinsurgentsrocket warheadsmustard gasBabylonIran–Iraq Waroffensive weaponsbiologicalnuclear weaponsUNMOVICSenate Armed Services CommitteeGeorge TenetUnited Nations member statesGeorge W. BushIraq Intelligence CommissionUnited KingdomButler ReviewboycottedSaddam HusseinUN sanctionsOil-for-food programchemical warfareaddendaRationale for the Iraq WarWMD theories in the aftermath of the 2003 Iraq WarSector Control Point - BaghdadWayback MachineCNN InternationalCBS NewsThe Center for Public IntegrityReutersAssociated PressAmerican Broadcasting CompanyPublicAffairsIraq WarIraqi conflictPrelude17 July RevolutionIranian Revolution1979 Ba'ath Party PurgeU.S. support for IraqChemical attacks against IranAnfal campaignIran–Contra affairInvasion of KuwaitNayirah testimonySanctions against IraqNo-fly zones1991 uprisingsUNSCOMArms-to-Iraq affairOil-for-Food ProgrammeInvestigationsSeptember 11 attacksAftermathWar on terror2001 anthrax attacksU.S. War in AfghanistanRationaleWMD claimsYellowcake uraniumAluminum tubesBiological weaponsChemical weapons"Curveball"Mobile weapon labsSaddam–al-Qaeda conspiracy theoryPragueRicin claimsAmerican imperialismBush DoctrineWolfowitz DoctrineColin Powell's UN presentationDisarmament crisisFailed peace initiativesIraq resolutionUK parliament's support for invasionIraqi–Kurdish conflictLegalityLegitimacy of the invasionMedia coverageMilitary analyst programRapid response operationSaddam's alleged shredderPreemptive warSaddam Hussein and human rightsHabbush letterDowning Street memoSeptember Dossier