A former top U.S. weapons hunter has told lawmakers that intelligence information about Iraqi weapons programs was not adequate.
At a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, David Kay called for a fundamental analysis of how U.S. intelligence agencies mistakenly concluded that Iraq had biological, chemical and nuclear weapons.
Mr. Kay resigned his post last week after a six-month search. He declared at today's (Wednesday's) hearing in Washington that, in his words, "we were all wrong." He said his team did not find any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, despite his own belief and that of governments including the United States that they existed.
For months, the Bush administration has been defending itself against allegations that it misled the American public about the threat osed by Iraq under Saddam Hussein, who is now in U.S. custody. Administration officials built a case for the U.S.-led invasion last year by saying there was intelligence that Iraqi weapons programs posed a direct threat to the United States.
Today (Wednesday), Mr. Kay said that while his team found no banned weapons, it did find clear evidence that Saddam Hussein intended to produce and use them, and repeatedly violated international disclosure requirements. He did not rule out the possibility that small stockpiles may be found if the search is allowed to continue.
Information for this report is provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.