Alistair has gone, but the stench of spin still lingers

Weapons report justifies war

"UK British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw says a first progress report to the US Congress on the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq justifies the US-led military invasion to oust former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

After the publication of his report, US inspector David Kay said in Washington that no weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq yet, but there is "substantial evidence" that Iraq planned to make chemical and biological arms.

Mr Kay is a US weapons expert who heads the 1,200-strong Iraq Survey Group (ISG) sent to the country after the war that brought down Saddam.

"Kay's report confirms how dangerous and deceitful the regime was, and how the military action was indeed both justified and essential to remove the dangers," Mr Straw said in a statement in London."

Errrrr ... Jack the lad, which "dangerous and deceitful" regimes are we talking about here. Perhaps the ones that mentioned that the sky was due to fall in within 45 minutes? 45 minutes presumably being the time frame in which that Saddam chap could unpack and turn all that nukular material from Niger into chemical arms headed towards Washington, London and Canberra.

Hasn't this 1,200-strong Iraq Survey Group reached the same conclusion the Ambassador for Cuckoo Clocks was already flagging before he was "untimely ripped" from Iraq? Guess it's all in the timing. George, Tony and John needed to get their war on first.

Serious "pants on fire" territory here methinks.