Search for Banned Arms In Iraq Ended Last Month

[vicman]

Search for Banned Arms In Iraq Ended Last Month

Critical September Report to Be Final Word

By Dafna Linzer

Washington Post Staff Writer

Wednesday, January 12, 2005; Page A01

The hunt for biological, chemical and nuclear weapons in Iraq has come to an end nearly two years after President Bush ordered U.S. troops to disarm Saddam Hussein. The top CIA weapons hunter is home, and analysts are back at Langley.

In interviews, officials who served with the Iraq Survey Group (ISG) said the violence in Iraq, coupled with a lack of new information, led them to fold up the effort shortly before Christmas.

Four months after Charles A. Duelfer, who led the weapons hunt in 2004, submitted an interim report to Congress that contradicted nearly every prewar assertion about Iraq made by top Bush administration officials, a senior intelligence official said the findings will stand as the ISG's final conclusions and will be published this spring.

President Bush, Vice President Cheney and other top administration officials asserted before the U.S. invasion in March 2003 that Iraq was reconstituting its nuclear weapons program, had chemical and biological weapons, and maintained links to al Qaeda affiliates to whom it might give such weapons to use against the United States.

Bush has expressed disappointment that no weapons or weapons programs were found, but the White House has been reluctant to call off the hunt, holding out the possibility that weapons were moved out of Iraq before the war or are well hidden somewhere inside the country. But the intelligence official said that possibility is very small.

Duelfer is back in Washington, finishing some addenda to his September report before it is reprinted.

"There's no particular news in them, just some odds and ends," the intelligence official said. The Government Printing Office will publish it in book form, the official said.

The CIA declined to authorize any official involved in the weapons search to speak on the record for this story. The intelligence official offered an authoritative account of the status of the hunt on the condition of anonymity. The agency did confirm that Duelfer is wrapping up his work and will not be replaced in Baghdad.

The ISG, established to search for weapons but now enmeshed in counterinsurgency work, remains under Pentagon command and is being led by Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Joseph McMenamin.

Intelligence officials said there is little left for the ISG to investigate because Duelfer's last report answered as many outstanding questions as possible. The ISG has interviewed every person it could find connected to programs that ended more than 10 years ago, and every suspected site within Iraq has been fully searched, or stripped bare by insurgents and thieves, according to several people involved in the weapons hunt.

Satellite photos show that entire facilities have been dismantled, possibly by scrap dealers who sold off parts and equipment to buyers around the world.

"The September 30 report is really pretty much the picture," the intelligence official said.

"We've talked to so many people that someone would have said something. We received nothing that contradicts the picture we've put forward. It's possible there is a supply someplace, but what is much more likely is that [as time goes by] we will find a greater substantiation of the picture that we've already put forward."

Congress allotted hundreds of millions of dollars for the weapons hunt, and there has been no public accounting of the money. A spokesman for the Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency said the entire budget and the expenditures would remain classified.

Several hundred military translators and document experts will continue to sift through millions of pages of documents on paper and computer media sitting in a storeroom on a U.S. military base in Qatar.

But their work is focused on material that could support possible war crimes charges or shed light on the fate of Capt. Michael Scott Speicher, a Navy pilot who was shot down in an F/A-18 fighter over central Iraq on Jan. 17, 1991, the opening night of the Persian Gulf War. Although he was initially reported as killed in action, Speicher's status was changed to missing after evidence emerged that he had ejected alive from his aircraft.

The work on documents is not connected to weapons of mass destruction, officials said, and a small group of Iraqi scientists still in U.S. military custody are not being held in connection with weapons investigations, either.

Three people involved with the ISG said the weapons teams made several pleas to the Pentagon to release the scientists, who have been interviewed extensively. All three officials specifically mentioned Gen. Amir Saadi, who was a liaison between Hussein's government and U.N. inspectors; Rihab Taha, a biologist nicknamed "Dr. Germ" years ago by U.N. inspectors; her husband, Amir Rashid, the former oil minister; and Huda Amash, a biologist whose extensive dealings with U.N. inspectors earned her the nickname "Mrs. Anthrax."

None of the scientists has been involved in weapons programs since the 1991 Gulf War, the ISG determined more than a year ago, and all have cooperated with investigators despite nearly two years of jail time without charges. U.S. officials previously said they were being held because their denials of ongoing weapons programs were presumed to be lies; now, they say the scientists are being held in connection with the possible war crimes trials of Iraqis.

It has been more than a year since any Iraqi scientist was arrested in connection with weapons of mass destruction. Many of those questioned and cleared have since left Iraq, one senior official said, acknowledging for the first time that the "brain drain" that has long been feared "is well underway."

"A lot of it is because of the kidnapping industry" in Iraq, the official said. The State Department has been trying to implement programs designed to keep Iraqi scientists from seeking weapons-related work in neighboring countries, such as Syria and Iran.

Since March 2003, nearly a dozen people working for or with the weapons hunt have lost their lives to the insurgency. The most recent deaths came in November, when Duelfer's convoy was attacked during a routine mission around Baghdad and two of his bodyguards were killed.

******************

yeah, so maybe saddam stuck all those WMDs up his ass or something since they cant be found. . .

[babystewie]

Like they were there in the first place...... oh thats right we invaded because he was a baddd man.

Clinton lied about a BJ = 0 deaths

Bush lied about Iraq = 10,000k`s...

But he`s the moral leader my @zz

[vicman]

seems to me that the incompetent people at the UN had reached the same conclusion. 1,200 US deaths later, billions of dollars spent, a country in the verge of becoming an extremist Islamic state as soon as the US pulls out . . . they reached the same conclusion. wonderfull. we are in CandyLand!!

[kramadas]

hehehe...I'm sorry, but...hehehe.

But Iraq is much better off right now, as is the world, don't you see??

[kramadas]

dp

[vicman]

i'm waiting for someone to post an op-ed by ann coulter or harvard-educated bill o'reilly saying how this info is false!

[babystewie]

http://www.wtov9.com/news/4075655/detail.html

President George W. Bush used the threat of Iraq's banned weapons as a reason for pre-emptive war.

The chief U.S. weapons hunter is to deliver his final report on the search next month. In his early findings, Charles Duelfer reported in September that Saddam Hussein neither had weapons of mass destruction nor the ability to make them.

Bush insists the invasion of Iraq was justified.

http://www.boston.com/dailynews/012/wash/White_House_says_Iraq_weapons_:.shtml

Chief U.S. weapons hunter Charles Duelfer is to deliver his final report on the search next month. ''It's not going to fundamentally alter the findings of his earlier report,'' McClellan said, referring to preliminary findings from last September. Duelfer reported then that Saddam Hussein not only had no weapons of mass destruction and had not made any since 1991, but that he had no capability of making any either. Bush unapologetically defended his decision to invade Iraq.

http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3993404

It was Saddam Hussein’s alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction – none were ever found – which was given as the principal reason for the invasion of Iraq.

-----------------------------------------

A Look at U.S. Military Deaths in Iraq

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: January 11, 2005

Filed at 10:57 p.m. ET

As of Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2005, at least 1,356 members of the U.S. military

have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an

Associated Press count. At least 1,068 died as a result of hostile action,

the Defense Department said. The figures include three military civilians.

The AP count is one higher than the Defense Department's tally, last updated

at 10 a.m. Tuesday.

The British military has reported 76 deaths; Italy, 19; Poland, 16; Ukraine,

16; Spain, 11; Bulgaria, seven; Slovakia, three; Estonia, Thailand and the

Netherlands, two each; and Denmark, El Salvador, Hungary, Latvia and

Kazakhstan one death each.

Since May 1, 2003, when President Bush declared that major combat operations

in Iraq had ended, 1,218 U.S. military members have died, according to AP's

count. That includes at least 959 deaths resulting from hostile action,

according to the military's numbers.

Since the start of U.S. military operations in Iraq, 10,372 U.S.

servicemembers have been wounded in hostile action, according to a Defense

Department tally released Tuesday.

--

[babystewie]

..

[bigpoppanils]

i'm waiting for someone to post an op-ed by ann coulter or harvard-educated bill o'reilly saying how this info is false!

or worldnetdaily

[vicman]

it wuz the left wing liberals that helped saddam smuggle all of his WMD's out of Iraq!!!

[obby]

[chris817]

I wonder if you would be saying the same if a democrat was in office

[babystewie]

Given that the White House has declared the search for WMDs concluded:

Please explain why are we in Iraq again. Anyone?

<crickets chirping>

Any dittohead Bushbots wanna step up and answer the question?

<crickets chirping>

<crickets chirping>

<crickets chirping>

<crickets chirping>

<crickets chirping>

I thought so.....

[jtk4]

wait you were all excpecting weapons? I mean it was pretty clear after the first 9 or so months there were no weapons. candyland candyland.

[mursa]

.... A big " I told you so " by the world community in general is now put in stone .

[vicman]

way to go tiger!

[vicman]

Bush Administration Comments on WMDs

Wed Jan 12, 8:51 PM ET White House - AP

By The Associated Press

Statements by the Bush administration before and after the invasion of Iraq (news - web sites) in March 2003 on Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s weapons programs:

BEFORE THE WAR

"Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction. There is no doubt he is amassing them to use against our friends, against our allies, and against us." — Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites), Aug. 26, 2002.

"The problem here is that there will always be some uncertainty about how quickly he can acquire nuclear weapons. But we don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud." National security adviser Condoleezza Rice (news - web sites), Sept. 8, 2002.

"After 11 years during which we have tried containment, sanctions, inspections, even selected military action, the end result is that Saddam Hussein still has chemical and biological weapons and is increasing his capabilities to make more." — President Bush (news - web sites), Oct. 7, 2002.

"Saddam Hussein is a man who told the world he wouldn't have weapons of mass destruction, but he's got them." — Bush, Nov. 3, 2002.

"The gravity of this moment is matched by the gravity of the threat that Iraq's weapons of mass destruction pose to the world." — Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites), Feb. 5, 2003.

___

AFTER THE WAR

"Although we have not found stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction, we were right to go into Iraq. ... We removed a declared enemy of America who had the capability of producing weapons of mass murder." — Bush, July 12, 2004.

"We got it wrong. We have seen nothing to suggest that he had actual stockpiles." — Powell, Oct. 1, 2004.

"We were all unhappy that the intelligence was not as good as we had thought that it was. But the essential judgment was absolutely right. Saddam Hussein was a threat." — Rice, Oct. 3, 2004.

"It turns out that we have not found weapons of mass destruction. Why the intelligence proved wrong I'm not in a position to say, but the world is a lot better off with Saddam Hussein in jail." — Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Oct. 4, 2004.

"He retained the knowledge, the materials, the means and the intent to produce weapons of mass destruction and he could have passed that knowledge on to our terrorist enemies." — Bush, Oct. 7, 2004.

"Based on what we know today, the president would have taken the same action because this is about protecting the American people." — White House press secretary Scott McClellan, on Wednesday.

[djxeno]

I wonder what good old Rummy is going to say when he is asked about what he said on Meet the Press. "Well we know where they are, they're in Tikrit and the surrounding areas, North, East, West and South."

[obby]

You guys want to spin the wheel again......alright....this is just a reminder. Amazingly, there are still liberals and democrats repeating the "Bush lied about WMDs" mantra. Let's put it to rest once and for all. Before we went to war in Iraq, what did DEMOCRATS say about the connection between Saddam and WMDs?

---------------------------------------------------------

What Democrats said about Weapons of Mass Destruction

"One way or the other, we are determined to deny Iraq the capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them. That is our bottom line."

- President Clinton, Feb. 4, 1998

"If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program."

- President Bill Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998

"We must stop Saddam from ever again jeopardizing the stability and security of his neighbors with weapons of mass destruction."

- Madeline Albright, Feb 1, 1998

"He will use those weapons of mass destruction again, as he has ten times since 1983."

- Sandy Berger, Clinton National Security Adviser, Feb, 18, 1998

"[W]e urge you, after consulting with Congress, and consistent with the U.S. Constitution and laws, to take necessary actions (including, if appropriate, air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites) to respond effectively to the threat posed by Iraq's refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs."

Letter to President Clinton.

- (D) Senators Carl Levin, Tom Daschle, John Kerry, others, Oct. 9, 1998

"Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process."

- Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D, CA), Dec. 16, 1998

"Hussein has ... chosen to spend his money on building weapons of mass destruction and palaces for his cronies."

- Madeline Albright, Clinton Secretary of State, Nov. 10, 1999

"We begin with the common belief that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a threat to the peace and stability of the region. He has ignored the mandate of the United Nations and is building weapons of mass destruction and th! e means of delivering them."

- Sen. Carl Levin (D, MI), Sept. 19, 2002

"We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country."

- Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002

"Iraq's search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power."

- Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002

"We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction."

- Sen. Ted Kennedy (D, MA), Sept. 27, 2002

"The last UN weapons inspectors left Iraq in October of 1998. We are confident that Saddam Hussein retains some stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, and that he has since embarked on a crash course to build up his chemical and biological warfare capabilities. Intelligence reports indicate that he is seeking nuclear weapons..."

- Sen. Robert Byrd (D, WV), Oct. 3, 2002

"I will be voting to give the President of the United States the authority to use force -- if necessary -- to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security."

- Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Oct. 9, 2002

"There is unmistakable evidence that Saddam Hussein is working aggressively to develop nuclear weapons and will likely have nuclear weapons within the next five years ... We also should remember we have always underestimated the progress Saddam has made in development of weapons of mass destruction."

- Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D, WV), Oct 10, 2002

"In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including al Qaeda members ... It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons."

- Sen. Hillary Clinton (D, NY), Oct 10, 2002

"We are in possession of what I think to be compelling evidence that Saddam Hussein has, and has had for a number of years, a developing capacity for the production and storage of weapons of mass destruction."

- Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL), Dec. 8, 2002

"Without question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime ... He presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation ... And now he is miscalculating America's response to his continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction ... So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real..."

- Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Jan. 23. 2003

-------------------------------------------------------------------

But yet it is a "Bush Fault".

Should I post alllllllll the countries that told us he had them? again !!!

Me personally? I don't know where they went but I am sure we will find out!!!!! The WMD issue might sound good when you spin it, but truth be told, THE WORLD, THE U.N., Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Australia, Russia, etc.. ALL WARNED OF THIS WMD threat Iraq posed So, how this WMD intel failure becomes a Bush failure is amusing. Only rabid Bush haters find comfort in that wicked spin which most clear thinking adults know is just poppycock.

Have fun ing guys !

[vicman]

ain't about being democrat or republican. he went to war, others didn't. as a result there is a huge deficit and american lives are being lost. and it is up in the air as to whether iraq will actually be better off after the US leaves, than it was when saddam was in power. a tip: you should get out of south beach a bit more often.

[obby]

Spin Baby Spin. Plz keep it up. For at least another 4 years. I beg of you. PLEASE DO! Get up! Stand up! Scream your little hearts out from the mountain tops. The more you folks keep running in place and just spinning your wheels, the easier you make it for Repz in 2008. It's this precise logic and lack of grasp of the "issues" (in their entirety) which have added the Bush-haters to the latest list of endangered species (aka-liberal democrats). You know you don't want to or are incapable of using perspective and objectively when analyzing the circumstances as they happened. We all know there were severe intel failures. We all know there was extremely suspicious intel intercepts regarding WMD's in Iraq. We all know that WMD's, components, plans and banned weapons were discovered in Iraq. What we never found were the stockpiles (hence Intel reform due to it's failures). Regardless, the true culprit was Saddam and his refusal to comply w/ UN mandated resolutions for over 10yrs. I know all of you geniuses are well aware of these inconvenient facts and might even feel compelled to justify or even defend Saddam and his irrational decisions which led to his demise. So be it. The island you find yourselves on is rapidly sinking into oblivion. You can keep looking back or start looking forward. It's your call. Remember, lot's of things never materialized in this war. We never lost the 10,000 plus soldiers taking Baghdad like most of you claimed and believed. Your WMD argument is one that goes back to the 90's. Ignore it if you wish and keep spinning. Although I must warn you, look @ where your misguided logic has taken you and the direction in which it keeps taking you. Use your noggins and try realizing if you wish to live and fight another day, being tiny complainers squeaking at the feet of Gulliver the giant you're doomed.

Personally,,,I LOVE IT! KEEP IT UP! WHAT A PISSER!

CAN YOU SAY?

H A T E R S!!!!!!!!

(Note the sarcasm: Done so on purpose to illustrate the absurdity and irrelevance of your convenient half truths and emotionally fueled psycho-babble). When you're ready for serious exchanged of ideas, I'M ALL EARS! Until then, YOU'LL GET WHAT YOU GIVE! MIERDA! SUCK ON IT!

[kramadas]

hahahaha...whats worse than someone being wrong, and NOT admitting it is someone who's wrong, but then still tries to paint the others in a bad light! haha..obby, you're lost man. The least you could have done is admiited the massive intel failures, how Bush should have been a lot more careful about plunging this country into a guerrilla war, etc, etc...but what do you do - still blame the DEMS?!?!?

The planning of the Bush admin for this facade of a war was so piss poor that a freshman from West Point could have done a better job!

[kramadas]

When you're ready for serious exchanged of ideas, I'M ALL EARS! Until then, YOU'LL GET WHAT YOU GIVE! MIERDA! SUCK ON IT!

Funny, exactly what applies to you. When you are ready to admit the failures of the admin instead of being a lemming, then come talk to us.

[mursa]

c'mon Obby ..........it doesn't hurt to admit that your pres. fucked up ...no need to take refuge on the excuse of ......" But , but , but some other world leader thought they had WMD's too "

...personal responsibility and accountability should be enforced in this HUGE MISTAKE ....too bad nothing will though .

[vicman]

everything is the Liberals fault. no wmd's-Liberals. deficit-Liberals. 1200 US deaths-Liberals. invading Iraq and fucking up-Liberals. prisoner torture-Liberals.

puleeze.