Excerpts from previous updates, by subject

Removed on November 2, 2004

The weapon search

The Iraq Survey Group (ISG) is officially tasked with searching for weapons, interviewing former Iraqi officials, and mining documents for information on prisoners of war, war crimes, and links between the former regime and terrorist organizations. The group originally was composed of approximately 1,400 experts from the United States, Britain and Australia. In April 2004, the Pentagon announced it would send a 1,000-man team to join the group in its hunt. Remaining is the question of who will have the final authority to deem the weapon dossier closed. While the United States has been in charge on the ground, current U.N. resolutions still require the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to verify Iraq's disarmament before sanctions can be lifted.