Wednesday, October 06, 2004

Report: No WMD stockpiles in Iraq

Allthough no WMD were found in Iraq, this report DOES conclude Saddam was trying to get sactions lifted so he could stockpile WMD & that he did have labs to manufacture biological weapons.
Based in part on interviews with Saddam, the report from the CIA-led Iraq Survey Group also will conclude that he wanted to acquire weapons of mass destruction because he believed they kept the United States from going all the way to Baghdad during the first Gulf War.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan argued Tuesday that the report's findings support the military action taken by President Bush, even though stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction have not been found.
"I think the report will continue to show that [Saddam] was a gathering threat that needed to be taken seriously, that it was a matter of time before he was going to begin pursuing those weapons of mass destruction," McClellan said.
The report will include names of individuals and countries that did business with the Iraqi regime through the oil-for-food program, both legally and illegally. The senior administration officials would not provide names of those businesses but did say that American, French, Russian and Polish businesses are mentioned.