CIA’s final report: No WMD found in Iraq
Recommends freeing detainees held for weapons knowledge
WASHINGTON - 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.
Warnings about Saddam’s experts
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.”
Small team still in place
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.”
© 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7634313/
WAS it a war crime to invade Iraq?
Moderator: Super Moderators
A silent mouth is sweet to hear. cherry those documents showed loose connections to alquaeda. Like I said there is 100% concrete evidence north korea sold weopens to terriosts, so why not invade north korea. In fact there is more evidence that the united states gave aid to the terriosts during the afgahan/russian war then there is to iraq and al qaueda. Cherry, I know its hard to face the realities but our president was lied or he was misled. Both are crimes one of truely unspeakable proportions and one of ignorance.
Cherry Kelly wrote: http://www.newsmax.com/scripts/printer_ ... 2915.shtml
Reprinted from NewsMax.com
Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2005 12:15 p.m. EST
New Documents Reveal Saddam Hid WMD, Was Tied to Al Qaida
Recently discovered Iraqi documents now being translated by U.S. intelligence analysts indicate that Saddam Hussein's government made extensive plans to hide Iraq's weapons of mass destruction before the U.S. invasion in March 2003 - and had deep ties to al Qaida before the 9/11 attacks.
The explosive evidence was discovered among "millions of pages of documents" unearthed by the Iraq Survey Group weapons search team, reports the Weekly Standard's Stephen Hayes.
In the magazine's Nov. 21 issue, Hayes reveals that the document cache now being examined contains "a thick stew of reports and findings from a variety of [Iraqi] intelligence agencies and military units."
Though the Pentagon has so far declined to make the bombshell papers public, Hayes managed to obtain a list of titles on the reports.
Topics headlined in the still embargoed Iraqi documents include:
• Chemical Agent Purchase Orders (Dec. 2001)
• Formulas and information about Iraq's Chemical Weapons Agents
• Locations of Weapons/Ammunition Storage (with map)
• Denial and Deception of WMD and Killing of POWs
• Ricin research and improvement
• Chemical Gear for Fedayeen Saddam
• Memo from the [Iraqi Intelligence Service] to Hide Information from a U.N. Inspection team (1997)
• Iraq Ministry of Defense Calls for Investigation into why documents related to WMD were found by UN inspection team
• Correspondence between various Iraq organizations giving instructions to hide chemicals and equipment
• Correspondence from [Iraqi Intelligence Service] to [the Military Industrial Commission] regarding information gathered by foreign intelligence satellites on WMD (Dec. 2002) • Cleaning chemical suits and how to hide chemicals
• [Iraqi Intelligence Service] plan of what to do during UNSCOM inspections (1996)
Still other reports suggest that Iraq's ties to al Qaida were far deeper than previously known, featuring headlines like:
• Secret Meeting with Taliban Group Member and Iraqi Government (Nov. 2000)
• Document from Uday Hussein regarding Taliban activity
• Possible al Qaeda Terror Members in Iraq
• Iraqi Effort to Cooperate with Saudi Opposition Groups and Individuals
• Iraqi Intel report on Kurdish Activities: Mention of Kurdish Report on al Qaeda - reference to al Qaeda presence in Salman Pak
• [Iraqi Intelligence Service] report on Taliban-Iraq Connections Claims
• Money Transfers from Iraq to Afghanistan
While the document titles sound stunning enough to turn the Iraq war debate on its head, Hayes cautions that it's hard to know for certain until the full text is available.
It's possible, he writes, "that the 'Document from Uday Hussein regarding Taliban activity' was critical of one or another Taliban policies. But it's equally possible, given Uday's known role as a go-between for the Iraqi regime and al Qaeda, that something more nefarious was afoot."
"What was discussed at the 'Secret Meeting with Taliban Group Member and Iraqi Government' in November 2000? It could be something innocuous. Maybe not. But it would be nice to know more."
Hayes also notes that an additional treasure trove of evidence on Saddam Hussein's support for al Qaida may be lost forever.
"When David Kay ran the Iraq Survey Group searching for weapons of mass destruction, he instructed his team to ignore anything not directly related to the regime's WMD efforts," he reports.
"As a consequence, documents describing the regime's training and financing of terrorists were labeled 'No Intelligence Value' and often discarded, according to two sources."
Everybody knows leperchauns are extint 
http://thinkprogress.org/2005/12/01/emb ... -reporter/
hope I cdan put this here! seems like it belongs here.
hope I cdan put this here! seems like it belongs here.
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Jon-Marcus
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well the thing is that the president bush is forgetting one thing and I think alot of people are forgetting this. This is not a brash statement or of arragance. We have the best trained,armed, *kinda fed, they claim the food taste still needs upgrading*, and talented army in the world. And they are having a hard time controlling suppovily 10K terriosts. So something is up. And the terriosts are killing 100's a troops a month, which takes literally millions to invest in one specialists to train. how in the world can the iraqi security forces ever take over the american military. The iraqi neither has the logistics or the intelligence capabilities. They are kicking our butts with home made bombs with a little radio shack jazz. We should be winning. My point is that I dont think the public gets it. How can the iraqi ever take over, if we the best military in the world cant control the country. If the requirement to leave is a trained iraqi force capable of replacing our troops, then we will be there for many many years.
spiritme wrote: http://thinkprogress.org/2005/12/01/emb ... -reporter/
hope I cdan put this here! seems like it belongs here.
Everybody knows leperchauns are extint
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Cherry Kelly
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Bellisima wrote: WAS it a war crime to invade Iraq?
Hell YES.
Hundred and Sixty Billion to remove this guy from power..there just had to be a lot more to it?
Iraq's intention to switch to the Euro Dollar for foreign oil payment after the UN began easing restrictions may have more to do with the premeditated plan than realized.
Clatu
Clatu wrote: Hundred and Sixty Billion to remove this guy from power..there just had to be a lot more to it?
Iraq's intention to switch to the Euro Dollar for foreign oil payment after the UN began easing restrictions may have more to do with the premeditated plan than realized.
Clatu
Is that just the amount America has spent or does it include the whole coalition?
Either way it’s disgusting I too would like to know the real reason for the invasion it’s not just about oil. But I here a little voice in my head say how much will America spend to have another region in the Middle East like Israel in which it can throw it’s weight around the other Arab regions.