Excerpts from previous updates, by subject

Removed on December 7, 2004

The weapon search

The Iraq Survey Group released its final report on the status of Iraq’s mass destruction weapons program on October 6, 2004. Both political parties immediately seized on the report to buttress their election-year claims: the Democrats emphasized the lack of illicit weaponry and the divergence from the administration’s pre-war claims, while the Republicans highlighted Duelfer’s conclusion that sanctions and inspections were not sustainable and that Saddam Hussein had both the capability and the intention to reconstitute his weapon programs as soon as sanctions ended.

Despite the absence of mass destruction weaponry, questions still persist about the fate of the know-how and equipment used in Iraq's banned programs -- and the risk that it may find its way out of Iraq. Scientists and machines may not be the smoking gun most were expecting to find, and they in no way embody the gathering threat described by the Bush administration before the war. But the potential remains for Iraq to become a ready source of dangerous exports. In an interview with Fox News, Duelfer indicated that terrorists have been attempting to recruit Iraqi mass destruction weapon experts and resources for possible future attacks. In particular, the ISG is closely monitoring the solicitation of chemical weapons specialists.