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Rockefeller says weapons should been found { May 29 2003 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)    http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2003/05/29/national1746EDT0683.DTL http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2003/05/29/national1746EDT0683.DTL Rockefeller says Iraq's weapons should have been found by now KEN GUGGENHEIM, Associated Press Writer Thursday, May 29, 2003 ©2003 Associated Press (05-29) 14:46 PDT WASHINGTON (AP) -- If Iraq's weapons of mass destruction posed enough of a threat to justify war, they should have been found by now, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee said Thursday. Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia challenged comments by Bush administration officials that the weapons were well-hidden and may not be located soon. "You can't quite say that it's going to take a lot more time if the intelligence community seemed to be in general agreement that WMD was out there," Rockefeller said in an interview. Rockefeller said that if the weapons were so well concealed, the United States should have considered giving U.N. inspectors more time to find them. The Bush administration's main argument for the war was that Iraq possessed chemical and biological weapons and was possibly developing nuclear weapons. Those weapons threatened the region and, if given to terrorists, could be used against the United States, it said. In recent weeks the administration has tried to diminish expectations that weapons will be found soon. Undersecretary of Defense Douglas Feith told a House committee May 15 that it "will take months, and perhaps years," for a complete account of Iraq's weapon programs to emerge. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Thursday, as he has before, that U.S. teams are unlikely to find any weapons of mass destruction unless Iraqis involved in the programs tell the officials where to look. "It's not because they're not there. We do believe they are there," Rumsfeld said in an interview on the Infinity Broadcasting radio network. "We never believed that we or the inspectors would just trip over them." In a speech Tuesday, Rumsfeld joined others who have been saying for a month that Iraq may have destroyed chemical and biological weapons before the war. On Thursday, Rumsfeld said there was "speculation and chatter" among intelligence agencies that such weapons may have been moved to other countries or buried. Iraq also may have developed the capability to quickly make biological or chemical weapons, eliminating the need for storing large amounts of dangerous material, Rumsfeld said. Proof of that, he said, includes the two trailers found in northern Iraq which American intelligence officials say were mobile biological weapons production facilities. Rockefeller said that, based on the intelligence he saw before the war, he was persuaded that Saddam Hussein had chemical and biological weapons. He said it is still possible "something may very well turn up." White House spokesman Ari Fleischer Thursday called the two trailers "proof positive" that Iraq lied about not having mobile labs. But Rockefeller said it's not enough to prove the weapons existed. "In the business of WMD, and proving to the American people your case, you've got to come up with WMD. It's not happened," he said. In a related matter, Rockefeller criticized the FBI response to his request for an investigation into forged documents used by the Bush administration as evidence against Saddam before the war. The documents indicated that Iraq tried to buy uranium from the West African nation of Niger. He said the FBI sent a "bland" letter saying the forgery was not an administration attempt to manipulate public opinion, but offered no specifics. He said an aide told the FBI this was unacceptable and asked for more details. FBI spokesman Bill Carter said the bureau was continuing to look at issues raised by Rockefeller and his staff. "We have not closed the book on this," he said. Rockefeller and Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., this week also requested that the State Department and CIA inspectors general investigate the forgery. Rockefeller said either intelligence agencies hadn't detected the forgery, or they suspected the documents were forged, but may have faced political pressures to rethink that view. "In either case, it's not a very happy outcome," he said. ©2003 Associated Press

tubes uranium weapons-declaration Blair admits weapons may never be found { January 12 2004 } Blair admits wmds may never be found { July 6 2004 } Blair decided regime change april 2002 despite rhetoric { May 2 2005 } Blix accuses fabricating evidence { April 12 2003 } Blix report doubts wmd { June 2 2003 } British doctored wmd dossier { May 29 2003 } Bush declines to back call for intelligence probe Bush jokes about finding wmds Bush says war worth it despite no wmds Bush says weapons will be found Chemical weapons plant created after invasion { August 14 2005 } Children play with uranium tubes Cia condemned for flawed intelligence Cia operative asked to falsify wmd report { December 9 2004 } Classified study doubts weapons in 2002 Documents concerning uranium came from italy { October 25 2005 } Fbi says profit motivated italian uranium forgery Germ trailer evidence rejected { June 7 2003 } GWB_WMD_Memo [pdf] Inspector reports iraq had no WMD Iraq declared al samoud missiles { April 29 2003 } Iraq destroyed wmd 1995 Iraq may have destroyed wmd { May 27 2003 } Kay blames cia for no wmd Kurds help find wmd lab { May 7 2003 } Mccain picked for iraq intelligence probe Might have to be planted New inspections to plant weapons { April 8 2003 } New reports on us planting wmds in iraq No firm evidence banned weapons { April 7 2003 } No reliable evidence of iraqi weapons { June 6 2003 } No reliable information wmd { June 6 2003 } No weapons found in iraq says report No wmd found but { February 14 2003 } No wmds found in iraq { September 24 2003 } Nuclear program materials still buried { June 26 2003 } Officer refused falsify wmd reports Panel assails CIA for failure on iraq weapons { March 29 2005 } Powell says new data may have affected war decision { February 3 2004 } Powell says wmd stocks wont be found Powell says wmd un speech blot on record Presidential report is critical of intelligence agencies Questions on blair intelligence { April 21 2003 } Report says intel on wmd was dead wrong { March 31 2005 } Rockefeller says weapons should been found { May 29 2003 } Saddam had no weapons in 2003 { October 6 2004 } Saddam says wmd excuse for war Scientist says arms kept till war { April 21 2003 } Scientist surrenders says no wmd Search for wmds in iraq ended last month { January 12 2005 } Sen Durbin jan 26 06 on iraq wmds [mp3] Sen Durbin jan 26 06 on iraq wmds Senate panel blames bad iraq intelligence on CIA Senators told iraqi weapons could hit east coast Seniors sources ruled out finding wmds { July 10 2003 } Skepticism on bushs weapons claims grow { May 22 2003 } Smoking gun wmd site just pesticide Task force unable find wmd { May 11 2003 } Team hunting iraq WMD ends its search { January 12 2005 } Test barrels nerve agent Us adds teams hunt { April 27 2003 } Us not inspected iraq nuclear facility { April 25 2003 } US team concludes saddam had no wmd { April 26 2005 } Us withdraws team of weapons hunters { January 8 2004 } Usa and uk lied war pretext Usa will falsify wmd Weapons hunter quits says doubts they exist Wmd intelligence was falisified { February 15 2004 } Wmd proof [jpg] Files Listed: 69

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