WMD report sinks Bush's main rationale for war

10.45am




Virtually destroying the Bush administration's main rationale for war against Iraq, the chief US weapons inspector has declared that Saddam Hussein had neither weapons of mass destruction nor programmes to manufacture them at short notice when the US and its allies invaded in March 2003.

In what may be the definitive account of Saddam's pre-war weapons capabilities, Charles Duelfer told the Senate Armed Services Committee he did not believe "militarily significant" WMD were hidden in Iraq.

He also said that Iraq's nuclear programme was nothing compared to what it had been in 1991, at the time of the previous invasion by the US-led forces, and amounted to less even than in 1998, when the United Nations weapons inspectors were withdrawn.

Tony Blair sought to minimise the damning conclusion of Iraq's WMD: Key Findings [PDF]

Herald Feature: Iraq