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CIA Names New Iraq WMD Inspector
The CIA named a new inspector to lead the search for Iraqi weapons of mass destruction Friday, choosing a veteran investigator who has expressed recent skepticism that Saddam Hussein possessed banned weapons that posed an immediate threat. Charles Duelfer, the No. 2 United Nations weapons inspector in Iraq for much of the 1990s, is taking over the task of sorting out Saddamâs weapons program. He said CIA Director George Tenet assured him he wanted one thing: "That is the truth, wherever that lay."The Bush administration has been frustrated in its search for convincing evidence that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction, banned by the United Nations after Iraq invaded Kuwait. No such weapons have been found although the previous inspector, David Kay, said he did find evidence of programs to develop weapons. Duelfer will be taking over the U.S.-led Iraq Survey Group of roughly 1,400 scientists and other experts who are combing through documents, searching facilities and interviewing Iraqis to determine the capabilities of the fallen government. In a conference call with reporters Friday, Duelfer wouldnât offer a timetable for his investigation. Duelfer, 51, will replace Kay, who came home from Iraq for the holidays and never returned. "At a time when our WMD hunt efforts were just beginning, David provided a critical strategic framework that enabled the ISG to focus the hunt for information on Saddamâs WMD programs," Tenet said. Hate to say it, but Saddam pulled a fast one — moved to a just-in-time inventory system and farmed out some of the equipment and work to others (Syria?) Just as Libya, NK, the Paks and Iran split up the nuclear work to avoid being hammered, Saddam did the same with chem/bio. Duelfer said he sees the job as an opportunity to pursue questions unanswered during his seven years tracking Saddamâs weapons program as the top American on the U.N. team enforcing the 1991 cease-fire agreement. Before last yearâs invasion, Duelfer took a hard line, consistently arguing that the Iraqi government posed a significant threat due to Saddamâs dedication to the pursuit of weapons of mass destruction. Since Saddamâs fall last spring, however, Duelfer has grown more skeptical that weapons will be found. In a column published by the Washington Post in October, he said Saddam had long differentiated between actually retaining weapons and maintaining a capability to produce them quickly. The absence of weapons stocks "does not mean Saddam did not pose a WMD threat," Duelfer wrote. "But clearly this is not the immediate threat many assumed before the war," he also said. "The WMD threat appears to have been longer term. Assuming this finding does not change, it will be very important for the Iraq Survey Group to establish when all agents and weapons were eliminated." In the conference call on Friday, Duelfer said his earlier comments were those of an outsider, and his job now is to be an investigator. "My goal is to find out what happened on the ground, what is the status on the Iraqi weapons programs, what was their game plan, what were the goals of the regime," he said. David Albright, a former weapons inspector, said Duelfer had gained respect for his work at the U.N. Special Commission on Iraq. He said there was a perception that Kay was more of an ideologue, convinced the weapons existed. "Having Duelfer go in gives me more confidence that they can wrap this up, and we can have some closure. Duelfer has much more experience as an inspector," Albright said. Hope so, itâd be nice to have an answer that can withstand a challenge. Posted by: Steve White 2004-01-24 |
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