Weapons hunters find little

WASHINGTON — Chief U.S. weapons searcher David Kay reported Thursday that he has uncovered no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and only limited evidence of secret programs to develop weapons, drawing fresh congressional complaints about the Bush administration’s prewar assertions of a serious threat from Saddam Hussein.

Kay, in a report to Congress, described evidence of a possible small-scale Iraqi biological weapons effort and said searchers had substantial evidence of an Iraqi push to boost the range of its ballistic missiles beyond prohibited ranges.

But his team found only limited evidence of any chemical weapons effort, he said. And there was almost no sign that a significant nuclear weapons project was under way.

Taken together, the findings do not appear to validate the Bush administration’s prewar assertions of widespread and advanced Iraqi weapons programs, critics said.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Thursday "it will be unfortunate" if it turns out that intelligence used to justify the war in Iraq turns out to have been seriously flawed.

Kay said he should know within six to nine months if there is more to be found in Iraq. The administration is asking for $600 million to continue the search, according to congressional officials.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., said of the Bush administration’s justification for going to war: "Did we misread it, or did they mislead us, or did they simply get it wrong? Whatever the answer is, it’s not a good answer."