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Analysis: WMD hunt vital for Blair
By CNN's European Political Editor Robin Oakley
LONDON, England (CNN) -- The hunt for Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, begun by Hans Blix and the U.N. inspectors before the war, is being carried on by coalition forces. It is no longer a matter of urgency militarily. But politically it could not be more important -- at least for UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. When British lawmakers backed military action on March 18, they did so because Blair told them Iraqi weapons represented a threat to international peace and security. Regime change was not the objective of British members of parliament. They authorized sending troops to get rid of the weapons which ministers promised them were the legal justification for war. When asked before the vote whether he still believed Iraq still had weapons of mass destruction, Blair replied: "Yes, we do. There is no doubt at all that over the years Iraq has possessed those weapons. "We are being asked to believe that, having in effect pushed the inspectors out in December 1998, the regime voluntarily gave the weapons up. I have always thought that incredible." No smoking gun?But British MPs who backed the war reluctantly are now asking ever more loudly why no smoking gun has been found. If the weapons were such a threat, say some, why weren't they used in Saddam's defense? Many MPs buried their pre-war doubts when assured that existence of the weapons was confirmed by intelligence that could not be disclosed for fear of prejudicing sources. Now some of them fear they were duped. They want an investigation into the intelligence services. Weapons experts point out that before the war, Bush and Blair talked of weapons not accounted for -- not weapons ready-to-use. Gary Samore, of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said: "My guess is that at the end of the day there are not likely to be large quantities of chemical and biological weapons. "I think much more likely will be the discovery of equipment, documents on research and development, basic materials that could be used to produce weapons at some stage in the future when Iraq felt the coast was clear." One sudden discovery could yet alter the political picture dramatically. But for many British MPs, a war in which thousands died still requires confirmation of the cause for which it was launched. Their suspicions they insist will remain until there is some independently corroborated evidence of weapons of mass destruction.
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