WMDs: Another Dud

Former chief US weapons hunter David Kay has concluded Iraq did not have stockpiles of biological and chemical weapons, which could embarras...

Former chief US weapons hunter David Kay has concluded Iraq did not have stockpiles of biological and chemical weapons, which could embarrass President George W. Bush and offer ammunition to his election-year Democratic rivals.

Undercutting the White House8217;s public rationale for the war on Iraq, Kay told Reuters shortly after stepping down from his post on Friday that he had concluded there were no such stockpiles to be found. 8216;8216;I think we have found probably 85 pc of what we8217;re going to find,8217;8217; said Kay, who returned from Iraq in December and told the CIA he would not be going back.

In his annual State of the Union address on Tuesday, Bush again insisted that former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein had actively pursued dangerous weapons programmes, right up to the start of the US-led invasion in March.

The United Nations8217; top nuclear watchdog said on Saturday it was not surprised at Kay8217;s conclusion. 8216;8216;I am not surprised about this,8217;8217; International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei told Reuters on the sidelines of the Davos World Economic Forum annual meeting.

The CIA announced that former UN weapons inspector Charles Duelfer, who has expressed his own doubts that unconventional weapons would be found, would succeed Kay as Washington8217;s chief arms hunter. Duelfer, 51, a former deputy executive chairman of the UN Special Commission that was responsible for dismantling Iraq8217;s weapons of mass destruction, previously expressed doubts that unconventional weapons would be found.

On Friday, the White House stood firm. 8216;8216;We remain confident that the Iraq Survey Group will uncover the truth about Saddam Hussein8217;s regime, the regime8217;s weapons of destruction programmes,8217;8217; spokesman Scott McClellan said.

But after his new job was announced, Duelfer said he was keeping an open mind and his past comments had been made from the sidelines without benefit of seeing the most current US intelligence reports. 8216;8216;This was a spectator sport for me,8217;8217; he told reporters on a conference call.

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In London, Kay8217;s admission of defeat on the weapons front marked a potential setback.

Blair8217;s office issued a statement shrugging off his comments. 8216;8216;It is important people are patient and we let the Iraq Survey Group do its work,8217;8217; a spokesman said. 8216;8216;There is still more work to be done and we await the findings of that. But our position is unchanged.8217;8217;

Meanwhile, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan told reporters on sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos on Saturday that David Kay8217;s version was credible. 8216;8216;I think his report and what he says should be taken seriously,8217;8217; Annan said. 8212;Reuters