Iraq's hidden weapons did not exist, say reports

Two detailed reports have thrown serious doubt on whether Iraq had any nuclear, chemical or biological weapons, or even the means to make them, at the time when the US cited this as its major reason for going to war.

The first report was released on Thursday by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a think-tank in Washington DC. It cites intelligence information and material uncovered by weapons inspectors to conclude that while Iraq still wanted such weapons, it did not have any, or any means to produce them, in 2002. The one exception was continuing illicit work on long-range missiles.

The second report, in the Washington Post, cites new documentary evidence and testimony from Iraqi scientists showing the same thing. However, this evidence also indicates that Saddam Hussein decided not to prove Iraq's lack of weapons of mass destruction to inspectors, as the UN demanded.