Duelfer report undercuts Bush war basis

By: Mohamed Ali

WASHINGTON: Challenging the Bush administration's rationale for invading Iraq, the final report of the chief US arms inspector concludes that Saddam did not vigorously pursue a program to develop weapons of mass destruction after international inspectors left Baghdad in 1998.

This was told by lawmakers and others briefed on the report.

Weapons inspector Charles Duelfer concluded Wednesday that Iraq had no stockpiles of biological and chemical weapons before last year's US-led invasion and its nuclear program had decayed since the 1991 Gulf War, but said he found signs of idle programs that Saddam could have revived if international attention had waned.

Duelfer was providing his findings Wednesday to the Senate Armed Services Committee. His team compiled a 1,500-page report after his predecessor, David Kay, who quit last December, also found no evidence of weapons stockpiles.

The report into the September 11, 2001 attacks has already concluded that Iraq had no part in the terrorist strikes on New York and Washington.

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