WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- The former chief U.S. weapons inspector in Iraq told a Senate committee Wednesday questions will always linger about Saddam Hussein's weapons programs.
David Kay told the Senate Armed Services Committee that with 85 percent of the major elements of the Iraqi program known, it is clear to him the regime did not have stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction.
However, failure to establish security in Iraq following the end of the initial invasion allowed Saddam loyalists to cover the tracks of weapons programs. In addition, looting by Iraqis destroyed a lot of the evidence, he added.
"There will always be unresolved ambiguity here," Kay said.
Kay stressed that while no evidence has been found regarding purported stockpiles of biological and chemical weapons, there is evidence of ongoing weapons efforts, a violation of a U.N. resolution requiring Saddam's full cooperation with weapons inspectors.
Kay also noted the fact that he and most others believed Saddam had significant weapons programs was a fundamental failure that underscores problems with U.S. intelligence capabilities.
"It's quite clear we need capabilities that we do not have with regard to intelligence," Kay told reporters before the hearing.
