• Research
  • Politika
  • About
Carnegie Russia Eurasia center logoCarnegie lettermark logo
  • Donate
WMD in Iraq: Evidence and Implications
Report

WMD in Iraq: Evidence and Implications

A groundbreaking report details what the U.S. and international intelligence communities understood about Iraq's weapons programs before the war and outlines policy reforms to improve threat assessments, deter transfer of WMD to terrorists, strengthen the UN weapons inspection process, and avoid politicization of the intelligence process.

Link Copied
By Joseph Cirincione, Jessica Tuchman Mathews, George Perkovich, with Alexis Orton
Published on Jan 8, 2004

Additional Links

Table 6. Summary: Missile and Delivery SystemAppendicesNotesFull Text (PDF)Guide to Key Findings and Summary of RecomendationChapter I: IntroductionChapter II: Iraq's WMD CapabilitiesChapter III: Findings and RecomendationsTable of ContentsTable 1. Summary of WMD Search TeamsTable 2. Key NIE DissentsTable 3. Summary of Iraq's Nuclear Weapon ProgramTable 4. Summary of Iraq's Chemical Weapon ProgramTable 5. Summary of Iraq's Biological Weapon ProgrTranscript: Authors present findings

Summary
This new study details what the U.S. and international intelligence communities understood about Iraq's weapons programs before the war and outlines policy reforms to improve threat assessments, deter transfer of WMD to terrorists, strengthen the UN weapons inspection process, and avoid politicization of the intelligence process.

The report distills a massive amount of data into side-by-side comparisons of pre-war intelligence, the official presentation of that intelligence, and what is now known about Iraq's programs.
 

Click on the link above for full text or the links to the right for specific sections of this Carnegie report.

About the Authors
Joseph Cirincione is a senior associate and director of the Non-Proliferation Project. Jessica T. Mathews is president and George Perkovich is vice president for studies of the Carnegie Endowment. Alexis Orton is a Junior Fellow with the Non-Proliferation Project.

This is a web-only publication.

About the Authors

Joseph Cirincione

Former Senior Associate, Director for NonProliferation

Jessica Tuchman Mathews

Distinguished Fellow

Mathews is a distinguished fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. She served as Carnegie’s president for 18 years.

George Perkovich

Japan Chair for a World Without Nuclear Weapons, Senior Fellow

George Perkovich is the Japan Chair for a World Without Nuclear Weapons and a senior fellow in the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Nuclear Policy Program. He works primarily on nuclear deterrence, nonproliferation, and disarmament issues, and is leading a study on nuclear signaling in the 21st century.

with Alexis Orton

Authors

Joseph Cirincione
Former Senior Associate, Director for NonProliferation
Joseph Cirincione
Jessica Tuchman Mathews
Distinguished Fellow
Jessica Tuchman Mathews
George Perkovich
Japan Chair for a World Without Nuclear Weapons, Senior Fellow
George Perkovich
with Alexis Orton
Middle EastIranIraqSecurityNuclear PolicyNuclear Energy

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    Are Russia-Japan Relations Really Warming Up?

    The truth is that Japan’s government is seeking a degree of reengagement but at a vastly reduced level than under Abe. Most significantly, Japan has shown no willingness to ease sanctions.

      James D.J. Brown

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    In Russia, Private Companies Have Been Left to Pick Up the Tab for Ukrainian Drone Attacks

    The cost of air defense has become an unregistered tax on revenue for businesses. While military rents are consolidated in the federal budget, the costs of defense are being spread across the balance sheets of companies and regional governments.

      Alexandra Prokopenko

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    As Trump Threatens to Quit NATO, the Baltic States Are Playing for Time

    Governments in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania want to ensure that a U.S. military withdrawal would not leave them dangerously exposed to a Russian attack.

      Sergejs Potapkins

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    Azerbaijan Looks to Tap Ukraine’s Military Expertise With Raft of New Deals

    Baku’s backing for Ukraine is less about confronting Russia than about quietly broadening the mix of partners it relies on.

      Zaur Shiriyev

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    The Much-Touted Middle Corridor Transport Route Could Prove a Dead End

    For the Middle Corridor to fulfill its promises, one of these routes must become scalable. At present, neither is.

      Friedrich Conradi

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center
Carnegie Russia Eurasia logo, white
  • Research
  • Politika
  • About
  • Experts
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • For Media
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.