Weapons search team boss to leave

Kay’s Iraq Survey Group was sent to Iraq to locate the weapons that were cited by President George W. Bush and his top advisers as the main justification for invading. ‘‘He is considering whether to end his tenure prior to his completion of the mission, but no final decision has been made,’’ said a US official who asked not to be identified.

In meetings about leaving with senior administration officials, Kay cited personal and family reasons. But several officials suggested there were other factors.

When he took the job in June, officials said, Kay had fully expected to quickly find evidence to back up the administration’s pre-war claims about Iraqi weapons. But in a preliminary report in October, his team found no stockpiles of biological or chemical weapons. ‘‘When he signed up, I don’t think that he envisioned that it would take quite as much time and effort and that the security situation would be quite what it is,’’ a US official said. ‘‘And there is some pressure back here on the home front,’’ the US official added, referring to Kay’s family obligations.

Another factor may be that some of his staff were shifted to the counter-insurgency front. ‘‘So he doesn’t have all of the assets he would like to have. Nobody does,’’ the US official said.

Critics say the administration has undercut the search for weapons and that Kay’s departure would further undermine the effort. Former UN weapons inspector David Albright, now head of the Institute for Science and International Security, said some of the investigators on Kay’s team might say to themselves, ‘‘Kay’s not sticking around. Why should I?’’

Kay, who is directing the weapons search as an adviser to the CIA, met with CIA officials earlier this week and will hold a follow-up meeting, most likely next week, ‘‘to discuss next steps’’ in the hunt for banned arms, an official said.

Officials said he could leave before February, when the Survey Group plans to issue its next interim report. The group planned to submit its final report next fall.

If Kay leaves as expected, one official insisted: ‘‘The search will continue… There’s plenty of work to be done to account for these WMD programmes.’’ —(Reuters)