Kay says not his job to assess US' Iraq war weapons claims

WASHINGTON (AFP) Oct 03, 2003
The US expert leading the hunt for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq said Friday it is not his job to assess the veracity of Bush administration claims made in the run up to the war that toppled Saddam Hussein.

"That's really a job for someone else," David Kay told reporters on a telephone conference call.

Kay heads the Iraqi Survey Group hunting for weapons of mass destruction in the the war-torn state.

Asked several times if the administration of US President George W. Bush had exaggerated its intelligence justifications on going to war with Iraq, Kay replied: "I'm just not going to go there."

The president and his cabinet members said before the war that the world faced the danger of a possible nuclear attack if Saddam had remained in power.

The weapons expert, who said Thursday that weapons of mass destruction had yet to be found in Iraq, said his investigation involving over 1,000 staff is likely to completed by April-July of 2004.

Saddam's former regime "engaged in extensive deceptions," Kay said, asking reporters for "time and patience in the answers you really deserve."

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