Ex-intel officer Andrew Wilkie: WMD deception big problem for govt
'Sooner or later the cock and bull surrounding Iraq and WMD is going to catch up with the Australian Government. The deception and its consequences are just too great to be ignored... A big problem for the Government now is the fact that the Office of National Assessments made very clear before the war that the US was intent on invading Iraq for many strategic and domestic reasons, not just because of WMDs and terrorism.'

'Australian intelligence agencies aren't leaking like their US and British counterparts. But the Government hasn't yet tried to explain unfairly its policy failure as an intelligence failure. When it does at least some spooks will be tempted to lash out. Already the head of the Defence Intelligence Organisation, Frank Lewincamp, has sought during a Senate hearing to highlight his agency's measured assessments on Iraq.'

Ex-intel officer Andrew Wilkie: WMD deception big problem for govt
'Sooner or later the cock and bull surrounding Iraq and WMD is going to catch up with the Australian Government. The deception and its consequences are just too great to be ignored... A big problem for the Government now is the fact that the Office of National Assessments made very clear before the war that the US was intent on invading Iraq for many strategic and domestic reasons, not just because of WMDs and terrorism.'

'Australian intelligence agencies aren't leaking like their US and British counterparts. But the Government hasn't yet tried to explain unfairly its policy failure as an intelligence failure. When it does at least some spooks will be tempted to lash out. Already the head of the Defence Intelligence Organisation, Frank Lewincamp, has sought during a Senate hearing to highlight his agency's measured assessments on Iraq.'