Iraqs alleged WMD werent taken to Syria, Jordan

1/18/2005 1:00:00 PM GMT

An intelligence report on Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction is to be released next month. The theory that the weapons may have been transported to other countries is also addressed in the final report.

American intelligence personnel and U.S. congressional officials have admitted that no hard evidence has been found to support the U.S.'s claims of there being weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, hence invalidating the justification of invading Iraq.

Furthermore, the American administration's public declarations that the weapons may have been smuggled to Jordan, Syria or any other country have not been supported by any proof of evidence.

Intelligence and the Congress officials said they have not seen any information which indicated that WMD's or significant amounts of components and equipment were transferred out of Iraq.

President Bush and top-ranking officials within his administration have used the existence of WMD in Iraq as the main justification for going to war. They then raised the theory that the weapons had been transferred to another country.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld stated time and again, "It's possible that WMD's did exist, but were transferred, in whole or in part, to one or more other countries. We see that theory put forward," a theory backed by Secretary of State Colin Powell and Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz.

However the Iraq Survey Group's chief, Charles Duelfer told a Senate panel last October that it remained unclear whether banned weapons could have been moved from Iraq.

"What I can tell you is that I believe we know a lot of materials left Iraq and went to Syria. There was certainly a lot of traffic across the border points," he said. "But whether in fact in any of these trucks there was WMD-related materials, I cannot say."

An official with the Congress backed Duelfer's statement saying suggestions that weapons or components were sent from Iraq were simply based on speculation stemming from uncorroborated information.