Camp As Sayliyah (Qatar), May 11: Weapons of mass destruction - none of which have been found to date, despite some intensive searches - may still be in the hands of Iraqi special units and could still be used against coalition forces there, the top US military officer said today. Air Force Gen Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said US authorities "are asking ourselves" whether banned weapons may still be in the hands of Iraqi Special Republican Guard units that eluded capture when Saddam Hussein's regime collapsed last month.
"We try to interrogate (prisoners) with that (question) in mind," Myers told reporters. Despite US claims that Saddam possessed weapons of mass destruction, none have been found since American-led forces seized Baghdad and toppled the regime a month ago. The suspected presence of such weapons was the chief reason cited by the Bush administration for waging war.
Many of Saddam's elite units failed to mount a credible resistance, leading to suspicions that some of them may be trying to re-organise. Myers arrived in Qatar, the first stop on a tour of the Gulf. It was his first visit to As Sayliyah, which served as the US military's theatre headquarters, since the war began. He was to travel on to Kuwait later in the day. Bureau Report