No Traces Of WMD In Iraq: CIA-led Group

Citing a leaked draft report by the so-called Iraq Survey Group (ISG), the BBC said it would conclude that its inspectors have not even unearthed "minute amounts of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons material".

The experts team, headed by CIA special advisor and former U.N. weapons inspector David Kay, failed to uncover any laboratories involved in deploying WMD or delivery systems for the weapons.

The report, due to be released in October 2003, concludes that it is also highly unlikely Iraq’s alleged WMD were shipped out of Iraq to Syria, a claim propagated by Washington.

A defense source told The Independent Thursday, September 25,: "From what we know, the ISG has not produced a smoking gun."

The ISG report was originally due to be published two weeks ago, but was delayed amid claims that the team had failed to find incriminating evidence, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

On June 11, CIA Director George Tenet announced the appointment of Kay as Special Advisor for Strategy regarding Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Programs.

He added that The Department of Defense’s Iraq Survey Group will provide direct support to the Special Advisor.

The survey group is a largely U.S. operation, although it includes some British and Australian staff.

Its 1,400 personnel are made up of scientists, military and intelligence experts, and its work is shrouded in secrecy.

It was assembled to try to find any traces of Iraq’s alleged WMD after Washington came under fire for failing to produce any of the much-talked-about prohibited weapons.

CIA announced Wednesday Kay’s report will not reach any firm conclusions or rule anything in or out with respect to Iraq’s alleged WMD.

Kay was still receiving information from the field and his report will be only be the "first progress report," CIA spokesman Bill Harlow said in a statement.

"We expect it will reach no firm conclusions, nor will it rule anything in or out," he said.

The former heads of the U.N. disarmament effort, Hans Blix and Rolf Ekeus, have concluded that Iraq probably destroyed its arsenal of chemical and biological weapons after the 1990-1991 Gulf War, but pretended to have them to deter attack.

Blix accused the British government on Thursday, September 18, of "over-interpreted" intelligence on Iraq’s alleged capability of deploying weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes, lashing out at the "culture of spin and hyping" adopted by Downing Street.

On Monday, September 22, Ekeus expressed conviction that Iraq’s strategy after 1991 was to maintain the capability to produce the banned weapons, but not actually produce or stockpile them.

Dashed Hopes

High expectations have surrounded Kay’s report after Washington and London failed to explain what happened to Iraq’s alleged WMD.

Top U.S. administration officials – accused by Democrats of hyping intelligence findings to justify the war – have said they are confident the massive intelligence gathering effort led by Kay would find evidence that Iraq had active programs on the eve of the war.

As recently as Monday, September 23, President George W. Bush said he believed that Saddam buried or dispersed his weapons before the U.S.-led invasion. But he said it would take Kay "a while" to uncover the truth about what happened.

"I firmly believe he had weapons of mass destruction," Bush said in an interview late Monday with the Fox network.

"I know he used them at one time, and I’m confident he had programs that would enable him to have a weapon of mass destruction at his disposal."

Bush said he "told David Kay to go find the truth and to bring back reports based upon his own timetable that are solid reports about what he has found."

Addressing the U.N. General Assembly Tuesday, September 24, Bush said: "We are now interviewing Iraqi citizens and analyzing records of the old regime, to reveal the full extent of its weapons programs and long campaign of deception."

According to The Independent, the ISG report would further weaken "(British Prime Minister Tony) Blair’s already tattered case for going to war."

Blair has begun to play down the prospect that the group will find WMD, predicting it would discover "evidence of programs".

Opposition parties in Britain said the leaked report showed the need for an independent judicial inquiry into the Government’s case for war, said the daily.

Also, the inquiry into the death of government scientist David Kelly, at the center of claims that Britain embellished its case for war, wraps up Thursday, after 22 days of testimony from 74 witnesses, including Blair and his Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon.