Search for Iraq Weapons Proves Elusive

By JOHN J. LUMPKIN, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Weapons hunters in Iraq have found what they interpret as evidence of Iraqi preparations to secretly produce chemical and biological weapons, some Pentagon officials say.

But as the postwar weapons hunt enters its sixth month, it remains unclear whether they have found _ or ever will _ any evidence that Iraq had actually made such weapons or whether it simply was prepared to do so.

So far, the Bush administration has not announced anything that would validate the bulk of its prewar assertions about Iraq.

"What we have not yet shown, and what really counts, was that there were major, ongoing programs at the time we invaded Iraq," said Anthony Cordesman, an Iraq expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

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Now contrast this to Mr. Bush's pre-war statement: "We know he has them, we know where they are." Excuse me, but if we knew he had them and we knew where he had them, why can't we find even the slightest bit of evidence to that effect?