IRAQ: The US Secretary of State, Mr Colin Powell, who made the case to the world that pre-war Iraq had stocks of chemical and biological weapons, said yesterday he now thought these would probably never be found.
"I think it's unlikely that we will find any stockpiles," Mr Powell told lawmakers when asked about the intelligence behind his February 5th, 2003, UN Security Council speech laying out US arguments for the war with Iraq that began six weeks later.
His comments appeared to be his most explicit to date, suggesting that the central argument for President Bush's decision to invade Iraq - the belief it possessed weapons of mass destruction (WMD) - was flawed.
As early as January, Mr Powell said it was an "open question" whether or not such arms would be found and he conceded the possibility Iraq might not have had any when the war began. Mr Bush has often said that even if no such weapons are found he did the right thing in invading Iraq in March 2003 and toppling Saddam Hussein, arguing that the country has been liberated from a brutal dictatorship.
US officials have also said that Iraq was a threat because it possessed and used chemical weapons in the past. Mr Powell made his comments as Mr Charles Duelfer, the leader of the hunt for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, is working on a report about his findings that was expected to be completed in the next few weeks. - (Reuters)