The White House retreated on Monday from its once-confident claims that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, and Democrats swiftly sought to turn the about-face into an election-year issue against US President George W. Bush.
The administration's switch came after retired chief US weapons inspector David Kay said he had concluded, after nine months of searching, that former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein did not have stockpiles of forbidden weapons. Asked about Kay's remarks, White House spokesman Scott McClellan refused to repeat oft-stated assertions that prohibited weapons eventually would be found.
McClellan said the inspectors should continue their work "so that they can draw as complete a picture as possible. And then we can learn -- it will help us learn the truth."
Kay, meanwhile, was called to appear at a public hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee today and agreed to attend, a Senate aide said.
Senator John Kerry, seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, said Bush had misled the US.
"When the president of the United States looks at you and tells you something, there should be some trust," Kerry said from the campaign trail in Keene, New Hampshire. "He's broken every one of those promises."
Howard Dean, another Democratic candidate, said, "The White House has not been candid with the American people about virtually anything with the Iraq war."
The US war against terrorism is Bush's strongest suit against Democrats, and his handling of Iraq has the approval of more than half of Americans questioned in polls. Analysts said it was doubtful the weapons issue would hurt Bush much.
"It depends on how the Democrats play it," said James Thurber, director of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University. "Basically they're dominating the news as much as the president is these days, and if they continue to criticize the president on this, then it begins to hurt a little bit.
"But basically he is doing so well in the polls at this point, on the economy but also even on the war, that I don't see it as a major hit," Thurber said.
Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has died of pneumonia at the age of 48 while on a trip to Japan, where she contracted influenza during the Lunar New Year holiday, her sister confirmed today through an agent. "Our whole family came to Japan for a trip, and my dearest and most kindhearted sister Barbie Hsu died of influenza-induced pneumonia and unfortunately left us," Hsu's sister and talk show hostess Dee Hsu (徐熙娣) said. "I was grateful to be her sister in this life and that we got to care for and spend time with each other. I will always be grateful to
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