No WMD Transfer From Iraq

October 17, 2003

The latest news about Iraqi WMDs show they were not transferred to terrorists such as al Qaeda. Recently, David Kay gave a briefing to US officials in Baghdad as part of his on-going efforts to find WMDs. Kay said he could not find specific proof that Saddam Hussein gave any WMDs to terrorists.

Months ago, the  Bush administration was concerned that Hussein would provide chemical or biological agents or weapons to al Qaeda or other terrorists. This argument was used as additional support for the invasion of Iraq. It appears to be false.

Also, Kay found no evidence of chemical weapons production however, there is some evidence of work to develop a dry storable powder forms of botulinum toxin. No weapons were found.

To make things more interesting, a classified letter from the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence was leaked to the Weekly Standard. It was published a couple days ago. The letter describes intelligence showing an "operational relationship" between Hussein and al Qaeda since 1993. However, the letter's conclusions are speculative because the intelligence used was raw and not analyzed as to its accuracy.

The letter was probably published as a political counterbalance to the expected results of the Kay briefing. Further, The Weekly Standard is a conservative publication with direct ties to Bush and his administration. Draw your own conclusions!

Still, the question remains..... "Where are the WMDs Bush said were there?" 

If they weren't transferred, then they must still be in Iraq. But where? Or were they a big lie created by Hussein to make himself seem more powerful? What about the stockpiles of chemicals and biologicals both the United States and the U.N. believed he had in 1998?