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==Iraqi chemical weapons program== In September 2002, MI6 chief Sir [[Richard Dearlove]] said the agency had acquired information from a new source revealing that Iraq was stepping up production of chemical and biological warfare agents. The source, who was said to have "direct access", claimed senior staff were working seven days a week while the regime was concentrating a great deal of effort on the production of [[anthrax]]. Dearlove told the chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC), Sir [[John Scarlett]], that they were "on the edge of (a) significant intel breakthrough" which could be the "key to unlock" Iraq's weapons programme.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Al-Othman |first=Hannah |date=2016-07-07 |title=False agent who based reports on action film told MI6 Saddam had WMD |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/mi6-was-led-to-believe-that-saddam-had-wmd-by-false-agent-who-based-reports-on-hollywood-action-movie-a3289946.html |access-date=2025-03-22 |website=The Standard |language=en}}</ref> However, it was noticed that the agent's description of glass containers, not typically used for chemical munitions, resembled the nerve gas inaccurately depicted in glass beads or spheres in ''The Rock''. By February 2003 β a month before the [[2003 invasion of Iraq|invasion of Iraq]] β MI6 concluded that their source had been lying "over a period of time" but failed to inform [[10 Downing Street|No 10]] or others, even though Prime Minister [[Tony Blair]] had been briefed on this intelligence.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/jul/06/movie-plot-the-rock-inspired-mi6-sources-iraqi-weapons-claim-chilcot-report|title=The Rock movie plot 'may have inspired MI6 source's Iraqi weapons claim'|first=Peter|last=Walker|date=July 6, 2016|work=The Guardian|access-date=June 30, 2017|archive-date=July 7, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160707152917/https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/jul/06/movie-plot-the-rock-inspired-mi6-sources-iraqi-weapons-claim-chilcot-report|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/07/06/mi6-iraq-nerve-gas-report-stolen-from-action-film-the-rock/|title=MI6 Iraq nerve gas report 'stolen from action film The Rock'|work=The Telegraph|date=July 6, 2016|access-date=June 30, 2017|archive-date=April 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170406214925/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/07/06/mi6-iraq-nerve-gas-report-stolen-from-action-film-the-rock/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="independent">{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/supposed-iraqi-wmd-described-in-intelligence-dossier-resembled-inaccurate-portrayal-in-1996-holywood-a7123341.html|title=Supposed Iraqi WMD described in dossier resembled inaccurate portrayal in Holywood film The Rock, Chilcot notes|date=July 6, 2016|work=The Independent|access-date=June 30, 2017|archive-date=May 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170517071918/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/supposed-iraqi-wmd-described-in-intelligence-dossier-resembled-inaccurate-portrayal-in-1996-holywood-a7123341.html|url-status=live}}</ref> According to ''[[The Independent]]'', the false claims of weapons of mass destruction were the justification for UK's entering the war.<ref name="independent"/> Screenwriter David Weisberg said, "What was so amazing was anybody in the poison gas community would immediately know that this was total bullshit β such obvious bullshit". Weisberg said he was unsurprised a desperate agent might resort to films for inspiration, but dismayed that authorities "didn't do apparently the most basic fact-checking or vetting of the information. If you'd just asked a chemical weapons expert, it would have been immediately obvious it was ludicrous." Weisberg said he had had some "funny emails" after the report, but he felt "it's not a nice legacy for the film." "It's tragic that we went to war," he concluded.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/jul/08/it-was-such-obvious-bullshit-the-rock-writer-shocked-film-may-have-inspired-false-wmd-intelligence?CMP=twt_gu|title='It was such obvious bullshit': The Rock writer shocked film may have inspired false WMD intelligence|first=Catherine|last=Shoard|date=July 8, 2016|work=The Guardian|access-date=June 30, 2017|archive-date=August 26, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826025404/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/jul/08/it-was-such-obvious-bullshit-the-rock-writer-shocked-film-may-have-inspired-false-wmd-intelligence?CMP=twt_gu|url-status=live}}</ref>
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