In September 2002, the U.S. and the U.K. both released reports claiming that Iraq violated weapons bans. “There was a surprising discrepancy in the two reports’ assessments of the time that would be needed for Iraq to develop nuclear weapons. The British document…explained that as long as sanctions remained effective, Iraq would not be able to produce a nuclear weapon. This did not differ from the IAEA’s [International Atomic Energy Agency’s] assessment. If sanctions were removed or became ineffective, the British dossier said, it would take Iraq at least five years to produce the required fissile material for a bomb; if Iraq was able to obtain such material and other needed components from foreign sources, it would only take a year or two. The US report avoided making an assessment of its own but cited the International Institute of Strategic Studies’ conclusion that Iraq could build a nuclear bomb within months if it was able to obtain fissile material.” [The 15th of the month used for date sorting purposes only.]
– Hans Blix, Disarming Iraq, Page 231