Iraq Had no WMD - Top Weapons Inspector

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A US senate committee has been told by the country's chief arms inspector that Iraq had no stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction. His conclusion is a glaring contradiction of the Bush administration's pre-war assertions which were used to justify the invasion of Iraq. Charles Duelfer led the hunt for banned weapons in Iraq. Responding to questions from the Senate Armed Services Committee he said: "Active nuclear weapons program? No. We found no evidence nor do we judge that there was one.' But Duelfer signalled such weapons were on Saddam Hussein's wish-list. "He clearly had ambitions with respect of weapons of mass destruction. He clearly had a strategy to get off the constraint of the UN sanctions." Duefler's report said Saddam ended Iraq's nuclear program after the first Gulf War and that there was no evidence of efforts to restart it. But the study said the former Iraqi leader intended to rebuild his weapons capabilities once UN sanctions were lifted. Meanwhile out on the re-election campaign trail President Bush said the war was justified nonetheless. **PHOTO CAPTION*** Saddam Hussein, pictured here in July following his capture by US forces. (AFP)

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