Search for Illicit Weapons in Iraq Ends
 

WASHINGTON, Jan. 12 - The top American weapons inspector in Iraq, Charles A. Duelfer, has wrapped up his work there, a step that ends the search for illicit weapons, an intelligence official said Tuesday night.

Mr. Duelfer issued a comprehensive report last fall that acknowledged that Iraq had destroyed its chemical and biological weapons in the early 1990's, years before the American invasion of 2003. But Mr. Duelfer returned to Iraq for further investigations after that report was issued. In an article in its Wednesday issue, The Washington Post reported that he had ended that work in late December.


The intelligence official said that Mr. Duelfer was still likely to issue several small additional statements on his findings, but that none would contradict the central conclusions that Iraq did not possess illicit weapons at the time of the American invasion.

President Bush and his top advisers had described what they said were illicit Iraqi arsenals as the central justification for going to war.

Mr. Duelfer, an adviser to the director of central intelligence, had overseen the work of the Iraq Survey Group, a 1,200-member military organization that carried out the work of searching for weapons, interviewing Iraqi officials and drawing up assessments.

That team remains in Iraq, but the main focus of its work shifted several months ago to efforts to combat the anti-American insurgency there.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/12/politics/12arms.html


They should had hired 12clicks and theking to point them on where to look.

My position on WMD's prior to the invasion of Iraq was posted on this board prior to the invasion...and my position was as follows.

When the inspectors left Iraq in '98 they stated that they had destroyed 95% of Iraq's WMD's/WMD materials. UN Resolution 1441 demanded that Iraq account for the remaining 5%...among other things. Iraq failed to account for the remaining 5%...other than to say (without offering any proof) that they had destroyed the remaining WMD/WMD materials. This is all fact and this is what I had to say about any WMD's. I for one never placed any great import upon Iraq having WMD's and I was never of the opinion WMD's were at the top of the list of reasons for invading Iraq and posted on this board the same.

So...you may want to try 12clicks and exclude me.

Soul Rebel...have you read my post?

Soul_Rebel:

It is unfortunate - tho that is a gross understatement, that the US leadership have wasted time and money continuing to look for WMD when it was also known a while back they never existed - even when reports by their own investigation team and the more informed, namely IAEA, kept telling this is the case.

There is clearly a need to color the canvas with doubt and confusion - this goes back to the charade of lies presented to the UN and the ongoing pathetic propaganda on many subjects.

The bottom line of the balance sheet shows crass sick conduct from stage one and a premeditated decision to invade Iraq, - long before any talk of WMD. At times, the excuses/reasons for the "war" changed in an attempt to fudge the issue even more. Any person with even minimum common sense can see this never was a "valid war" under any pretext.

The result of this amazingly evil and/or just stupid behaviour resulted in the deaths of many 1000's of people and many 1000's more maimed/injured. Add to that still more deaths, malformation and disease over the next few decades in Iraq from the absurd levels of depleted uranium that now exist - this is likely to kill off far more people than were ever killed in Iraq in this "war".

If they care to open their eyes and look harder - the US WMD inspection team would have no problem finding WMD in Iraq. That came from the DU bombs and shells they used to blow the place apart, with of course, surgical precison.

There is no possible way to repay people for the damage caused and damage yet to come. In any rational society the people responsible for this consistant gross neglience would be on trial. Who knows yet, - for every action there is a equal reaction, and this may happen in some way.




PS
Yes, we did notice you have a "position" on this King - that is much as expected, tho does not even matter, - it's irrelevant.

I'm sure SR has read your post.. What do you expect? A response or further discussion? There is no point since this just degenerates into some absurdity about countries and base political crap in a weak attempt to defend the indefensible.

It is not irrelevant to me...when my position/positions are mistated. What is irrelevant to me is you yapping about this or that. Your opinions on any subject that involves the policies of the USA are of zero import...as you do not have input into the decision making process...where as citizens do.

I was away the last 2 days, thanks for the response :)

the term 'snipe hunting' comes to mind.