U.S. Expert Reports No WMD Found in Iraq - From Yahoo News

Papa Shango

By JOHN J. LUMPKIN, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Chief U.S. weapons searcher David Kay reported Thursday he had found no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq a finding that brought fresh congressional complaints about the Bush administration's prewar assertions of an imminent threat from Saddam Hussein


Kay, in a report to Congress, described evidence of a possible small-scale biological weapons effort, and said searchers had substantial evidence of an Iraqi push to boost the range of its ballistic missiles beyond prohibited ranges.

But his team had found only limited evidence of any chemical weapons effort, he said, and there was almost no sign that a significant nuclear weapons project was under way.

"We have not found at this point actual weapons," Kay said. "It does not mean we've concluded there are no actual weapons."

"In addition to intent, we have found a large body of continuing activities and equipment that were not declared to the U.N. inspectors when they returned in November of last year," he said.

He cautioned that the search was still under way and said he should know within six to nine months if there was more to be found.

The lack of substantive findings so far brought immediate negative reactions from both Republicans and Democrats in Congress — and also seemed certain to raise new questions among allies overseas about the Bush administration's justification for going to war.

"I'm not pleased by what I heard today, but we should be willing to adopt a wait and see attitude — and that's the only alternative we really have," said Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., said of Kay's briefing: "There was talk about facilities that might. There was talk about intent. But there was not talk about weapons of mass destruction. ... There's nothing we can point to and they're asking for another six to nine months."

The administration's assertions about Iraq's weapons programs and ties to terrorism, and the intelligence conclusions behind those assertions had driven the administration's case for war.

Critics have contended that either the CIA (news - web sites) and other agencies that make up the U.S. intelligence community made serious errors in their analysis or the administration exaggerated what intelligence information it did have to persuade a skeptical world to support an invasion.

The administration is asking for $600 million to continue the hunt for conclusive evidence that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction, according to congressional officials.

Separately, CIA Director George J. Tenet, in a letter to the leaders of the House Intelligence Committee obtained by The Associated Press, rejected congressional criticism that the prewar intelligence findings were flawed.

Tenet's statement came in response to a blistering letter from Reps. Porter Goss, R-Fla., and Jane Harman, D-Calif., the heads of the House intelligence committee. That letter, dated Sept. 25, cited "significant deficiencies with respect to the collection activities concerning Iraq's WMD and ties to al-Qaida prior to the commencement of hostilities there."

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Thursday "it will be unfortunate" if it turns out that intelligence used to justify the war in Iraq turns out to have been seriously flawed.

The findings cited by Kay included:

_ On biological weapons, a single vial of a strain of botulinum, a poison that can be used as a weapon, located at the home of a known biological weapons scientist.



_ On chemical weapons, multiple sources told the weapons hunting group that Iraq did not have a large, ongoing, centrally controlled program after 1991. There had been reports that Iraq retained some of its old chemical weapons but Kay said none had been found.

_ On nuclear weapons, Kay said in his statement to Congress that despite evidence of Saddam's continued ambition to acquire nuclear weapons, "to date we have not uncovered evidence that Iraq undertook significant post-1998 steps to actually build nuclear weapons or produce fissile material."

_ But on missiles, Kay said the team had "discovered sufficient evidence to date to conclude that the Iraqi regime was committed to delivery system improvements."

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So What happened to those weapons that could be fired at
45 mins notice?

What happened to that extensive nuclear weapons programme?

Where is Saddam Hussein?

What was the point in this ####ing war?

Mr. Hyde

I'll tell you what the point of the war is. Bush wants to finish what his father started. Now he wants $87 billion to rebuild Iraq. Money we don't have. But our government will steal it from other countries.

Papa Shango

I may be wrong.. but im pretty sure you had quite a different viewpoint at the time of the war... What made you change your mind.

Mr. Hyde

The fact that the Bush Administration led us to believe that Iraq had WMD. Then once the war was basically over, Bush comes out and says "ohhh yeah. By the way America, Saddam had nothing to do with Sept. 11th. Saddam is no longer in power and his sons are dead. So something good did come out of it all. But now he's asking for an insane amount of money to rebuild. I never liked the U.S. government though.

Mr. Millions

[quote:post_uid0="Mr. Hyde"]I never liked the U.S. government though.[/quote:post_uid0]
Are you an American? If so, then why don't you move? Or why don't you do something to try to make some changes? If you're not, what exactly would you do from here? Apparently you could run the country better than the Bush Administration, so I'm very interested in your ideas. Maybe you should write Bush a letter so we can turns things around.

What are you looking at? What? You've never seen a kid in a wheelchair? I'll run you over!

Mr. Hyde

I don't care enough to do anything about it. Bush has already signed the world's death warrant.

Mr. Millions

Well alrighty, maybe if you just keep whining like you were, then Bush will decide that he should repeal said "death warrant." After all, a lot generally gets accomplished when people sit around and complain about something but aren't willing to do anything about it.

What are you looking at? What? You've never seen a kid in a wheelchair? I'll run you over!

Mr. Hyde

Son, plotting to overthrow the government is illegal in this country. I would go to jail for a very long time. Don't lie. I know that's what you were referring to.

Papa Shango

Mr Millions.. are you for or against this war on Iraq?

Mr. Millions

[quote:post_uid0="Papa Shango"]Mr Millions.. are you for or against this war on Iraq?[/quote:post_uid0]
Really, I'm not informed enough to make much of a claim either way. I guess it really depends on what Bush knows, and even what Bush at least thinks he knows. If he has good reason to believe that another country is putting us at risk, then I think it is the job of the government to do what they can to protect us. If it turns out that it's nothing more than a personal vendetta, then I would be very disappointed. So... maybe I'll talk to my girlfriend, she's a Political Science major, and I usually make most of my political decisions based on what she tells me :: Really, politics doesn't grab my interests. But since I'm uniformed, and generally not motivated to do anything, I try not to make political comments.

What are you looking at? What? You've never seen a kid in a wheelchair? I'll run you over!