US officially ends search for banned weapons in Iraq News
US officially ends search for banned weapons in Iraq

[JURIST] The White House announced Wednesday that the US has officially ended its search for biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons in Iraq. White House press secretary Scott McClellan stated that while there is no longer an active search for weapons, "There may be a couple, a few people, that are focused on that," but that "a lot of their mission is focused elsewhere now." The Iraq Survey Group [Wikipedia entry], made up of about 1,200 military and intelligence specialists, spent nearly two years searching for weapons-producing installations, and found no substantial evidence of banned weapons. Chief US weapons inspector Charles Duelfer [CSIS profile] is expected to deliver his final report on the weapons search next month, but McClellan stated that it would be substantially the same as the preliminary findings [report text] from last September. The Washington Post has the initial report here [registration required]. The AP story is available from the Boston Globe here [official website].