US President George W. Bush on Friday named a commission to investigate the gap between pre-war claims about Iraqi weapons and post-invasion findings, and report back after the November election.
In remarks at the White House, Bush noted that US arms hunters have not found the chemical and biological arsenals at the core of his case for invading Iraq and said: "We are determined to figure out why."
The nine-member commission will "look at America's intelligence capabilities, especially our intelligence about weapons of mass destruction," and report back by March 31, 2005, said the president.
Bush said he had directed federal agencies to cooperate fully with the panel to be led by former Virginia governor and ex-senator Charles Robb, a Democrat, and retired appeals judge Laurence Silberman, a conservative.
He also named Republican Senator John McCain, a frequent critic of the administration who was among the first to call for launching an independent probe into Iraq weapons intelligence, to the commission. (Albawaba.com)
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
