FT, The man leading the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq said yesterday his 1,200-strong team had found no illegal arms but an “intent” to produce them at some point.
“We have not found at this point actual weapons,” David Kay said after briefing members of Congress on his three-month investigation. “We have found substantial evidence of an intent of senior level Iraqi officials, including Saddam, to continue production at some future point in time of weapons of mass destruction.”
Saddam Hussein's regime held high-level talks about gaining long-range missile technology from North Korea as recently as October 2000, Mr Kay's interim report states.
The Iraq Survey Group, the US-led team looking for Iraq's WMD, said Iraq and North Korea discussed missile technology, probably related to North Korea's long-range No Dong missile. The missile has a range of 1,300km, which would have provided Baghdad with strike power beyond the 150km limit set by the United Nations. But the new disclosure of Mr Hussein's intent came as part of a broader interim report in which investigators said they needed more time – six to nine months – to complete their study of the weapons programmes. “[It] is far too early to reach any definitive conclusions and, in some areas, we may never reach that goal,” the report says.
Jack Straw, UK foreign secretary, said the ISG “has produced further conclusive and incontrovertible evidence” that Mr Hussein's regime was flouting UN resolutions demanding it disarm.
The White House has refused to confirm a New York Times report that it has requested more than $600m (
