Posted on 04/25/2005 6:48:54 PM PDT by SmithL
WASHINGTON (AP) -- In his final word, the CIA's top weapons inspector in Iraq said Monday that the hunt for weapons of mass destruction has "gone as far as feasible" and has found nothing, closing an investigation into the purported programs of Saddam Hussein that were used to justify the 2003 invasion.
"After more than 18 months, the WMD investigation and debriefing of the WMD-related detainees has been exhausted," wrote Charles Duelfer, head of the Iraq Survey Group, in an addendum to the final report he issued last fall.
"As matters now stand, the WMD investigation has gone as far as feasible."
In 92 pages posted online Monday evening, Duelfer provides a final look at an investigation that occupied over 1,000 military and civilian translators, weapons specialists and other experts at its peak. His latest addenda conclude a roughly 1,500-page report released last fall.
On Monday, Duelfer said there is no purpose in keeping many of the detainees who are in custody because of their knowledge on Iraq's weapons, although he did not provide any details about the current number. A U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the ultimate decision on their release will be made by the Iraqi authorities.
The survey group also provided warnings.
The addenda conclude that Saddam's programs created a pool of experts now available to develop and produce weapons and many will be seeking work. While most will probably turn to the "benign civil sector," the danger remains that "hostile foreign governments, terrorists or insurgents may seek Iraqi expertise."
"Because a single individual can advance certain WMD activities, it remains an important concern," one addendum said.
Another addendum also noted that military forces in Iraq may continue to find small numbers of degraded chemical weapons - most likely misplaced or improperly destroyed before the 1991 Gulf War. In an insurgent's hands, "the use of a single even ineffectual chemical weapon would likely cause more terror than deadlier conventional explosives," another addendum said.
And still another said the survey group found some potential nuclear-related equipment was "missing from heavily damaged and looted sites." Yet, because of the deteriorating security situation in Iraq, the survey group was unable to determine what happened to the equipment, which also had alternate civilian uses.
"Some of it probably has been sold for its scrap value. Other pieces might have been disassembled" and converted into motors or condensers, an addendum said. "Still others could have been taken intact to preserve their function."
Leaving the door to the investigation open just a crack, the U.S. official said a small team still operates under the U.S.-led multinational force in Iraq, although the survey group officially disbanded earlier this month. Those staying on continue to examine documents and follow up on any reports of weapons of mass destruction.
In a statement accompanying the final installment, Duelfer said a surprise discovery would most likely be in the biological weapons area because clues, such as the size of the facilities used to develop them, would be comparatively small.
Among unanswered questions, Duelfer said a group formed to investigate whether WMD-related material was shipped out of Iraq before the invasion wasn't able to reach firm conclusions because the security situation limited and later halted their work. Investigators were focusing on transfers from Iraq to Syria.
No information gleaned from questioning Iraqis supported the possibility, one addendum said. The Iraq Survey Group believes "it was unlikely that an official transfer of WMD material from Iraq to Syria took place. However, ISG was unable to rule out unofficial movement of limited WMD-related materials."
They use the Duelfer report for this and they report only distortions, lies and omissions.
Would not Saddam's "pool of experts" be a critical component of a WMD?
Did these scientists not exist?
This report creates more questions than it answers.
I learned after the media failed to report most of the facts in the Kay report that you have to read it for yourself.
No information gleaned from questioning Iraqis supported the possibility, one addendum said.
The Iraq Survey Group believes "it was unlikely that an official transfer of WMD material from Iraq to Syria took place. However, ISG was unable to rule out unofficial movement of limited WMD-related materials."
My thoughts exactly
Bump. Yet another report that will be discounted simply because it provides factual evidence instead of supporting the misguided delusion of the existence of weapons that were never there.
Anything written by the AP is suspect to me. I will wait for a report from a less bias source.
I'm sure they're really burning the midnight oil on that task. Get real. That's just an attempt to save face so they can claim that they're still working at it. That search is about as legitimate as OJ Simpson trying to find the real killer. The only territory we control over there is that under our soldiers' feet. It's like the Wild West out in the countryside. And the odds are astronomically miniscule that Saddam or anyone, such as the Russians, helped move weapons. But keep chasing those windmills, Don Quixote. Keep hope alive.
I still go back to the day just prior to the invasion when we told Blix he was looking in the wrong places for the weapons and that we knew where they were. So Blix say great, tell me and I'll go there. We suddenly started to tap dance like a 3 year old needing to go to the potty. Or worse yet our shock and awe became shuck and jive.
No one seems to consider the possibility that these "experts" 1) never existed, 2) were so incompetent that Saddam's weapons programs never got off the ground, or 3) were forced into Saddam's services against their will and just stalled for time developing a new treatment for athlete's foot.
But of course. I honestly don't think the administration expected anyone to call them on the bluff. By the time anyone did, it was too late and troops were on the ground. What I really found interesting were the excuses given for Hussein not using these invisible WMDs and stories leading up to the taking of Baghdad. The amount of illegal weapons given as an excuse for the invasion, one would think that troops would practically be tripping over something every few miles at most, heck even a few tractor trailers.
Anyway, most Freepers are politically sophisticated, and they were able to read between the lines of what the President was saying. If libs took the President literally when he talked of WMD, this is further proof that libs are idiots.
Okay, maybe it does not meet the Boy Scout Honor Code. But remember, the ends justifies the means. We got rid of a bad guy, and are now engaged in a noble cause of nation building!
Sadly?!? I don't know which history of this nation of states you've been reading but in most instances when the citizens of the respective states have been reluctant to go to war, in the long run, they've been right and the leaders wrong
Anyway, most Freepers are politically sophisticated, and they were able to read between the lines of what the President was saying. If libs took the President literally when he talked of WMD, this is further proof that libs are idiots.
Oh, sure. I see you signed up in 2004. You must have missed the most ardent ridiculous arguments put forth stating how President Bush couldn't have been wrong about these invisible non-existant WMDs. No, they believed the crap, lock, stock, and barrel
But remember, the ends justifies the means. We got rid of a bad guy, and are now engaged in a noble cause of nation building!
Geesh, Adams' statement just went in one ear and out the other for you didn't it? The framers never intended this nation of states to become nation builders. Throughout our history, except perhaps for after WWII, we weren't into nation building. Even Bush stated that wasn't our business in 2000 while running the first time. I seriously hope your entire statement was meant in sarcasm. Else it signifies the Republican party has completely left all forms of conservatism behind
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