Iraq News Today

Powell Denies Recent Report He Exaggerated Threat

Secretary of State Colin Powell acknowledged Thursday that he had seen no "smoking gun, concrete evidence" of ties between Saddam Hussein and the al-Qaida terror network, but insisted that Iraq had had dangerous weapons and needed to be disarmed by force.

Three experts at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace said in a report Thursday that the Bush administration systematically misrepresented a weapons threat from Iraq, and U.S. strategy should be revised to eliminate the policy of unilateral preventive war.

"It is unlikely that Iraq could have destroyed, hidden or sent out of the country the hundreds of tons of chemical and biological weapons, dozens of Scud missiles and facilities engaged in the ongoing production of chemical and biological weapons that officials claimed were present without the United States detecting some sign of this activity," said the report by Jessica T. Mathews, Joseph Cirincione and George Perkovich.

It recommended that consideration be given to making the job of CIA director a career post instead of a political appointment.


Mortar Attack Kills 1, Wounds 34

Six mortar rounds exploded about 6:45 p.m. Wednesday at Logistical Base Seitz west of Baghdad, in the so-called Sunni Muslim triangle that is a stronghold of resistance to the U.S. occupation of Iraq, a spokesman said.

Thirty-five soldiers were wounded in the attack, and one of them died overnight, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition said Thursday.

Helicopter Crash Kills 9

A US military helicopter has crashed in Iraq killing all nine people onboard. It is still unclear if the crash was caused by enemy fire or a mechanical fault.

Iraqi top religious leader criticises U.S. handover plans

Iraq's top Shi'ite Muslim cleric says U.S. plans for a handover of power to Iraqis were unfair, with Washington announcing a carrot-and-stick peace drive that involves freeing hundreds of prisoners.

Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani said in a statement on Wednesday that a transitional government in June and elections next year would not "ensure in any way the fair representation of the Iraqi people".