Madam, - Before the invasion of Iraq the US and British governments said there were weapons of mass destruction in that country. The British authorities even claimed that some of the WMDs could be readied for use within 45 minutes.
No WMD has been found, but there was a brief, disingenuous attempt in 10, Downing Street to elide pre-war "WMDs" into "weapons programmes". The claim that such weapons will be found now looks increasingly insubstantial.
Ba'athist insurgents and other opponents of occupation have access to suppliers of elaborate weaponry, because the post-war frontiers of Iraq are porous. The weaponry may well include devices classifiable as WMDs. It is proper to point out now that if WMDs are found in Iraq, their presence will not acquit the two governments from charges of deliberate misrepresentation before the war began. - Yours, etc.,
GEORGE HUXLEY, MRIA, c/o Buswells Hotel, Molesworth Street, Dublin 2.