In quotes: Iraq WMD report reaction

Evidence of WMD is proving elusive

The search group in charge of finding evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, led by David Kay, has released an interim report saying none have yet been found.

Its findings sparked reaction from around the world:

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Former UN chief weapons inspector Dr Hans Blix

I don't think there are any surprises. The most important point is that they confirm that they have not found any stocks of weapons of mass destruction of any kind.

They found minor proscribed items and debris - and so did we - and I think they confirmed also that there were research and development activities that were proscribed, which should have been declared.

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UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw

The Kay report makes clear that as of today they've not found specific weapons, but what they have found is dozens and dozens, as they say, of programmes relating to the production of weapons of mass destruction...

You look at what is shown in the Kay report, which for sure shows a degree of continuation of activities which was not declared to or found by the UN inspectors.

What this adds up to, along with the experience we had of the Saddam regime, is a very dangerous regime which for certain did pose the kind of threat that we thought it did, and was plainly in breach of United Nations Security Council resolutions.

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Jay Rockefeller, Democratic vice-president of the US Senate Intelligence Committee

I just think it's extraordinary that a decision was made to go to war and that we were told by our highest policy-makers that there was [an] imminent threat, dangers, national security was at stake, as well as regional security.

And intelligence had been taken and now we find that nothing is available. No weapons of mass destruction, the biological, the chemical, nuclear perhaps least of all. I think we've all known that for a long time.

You just don't make decisions like we do and put our nation's youth at risk based upon something that appears not to have existed.

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Australian Prime Minister John Howard

It's an interim report, I think that should be stressed.

It certainly has already demonstrated a great deal of concealment by the former regime and a clear intention to develop weapons programmes.

I think you have to suspend final judgment until the report has been completed.

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White House spokesman Scott McClellan

This detailed interim report documents how Saddam's regime was in clear violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1441.

While Dr Kay notes it is too early to reach conclusions, we are pleased with the progress being made to uncover the full extent of the regime's WMD programmes, and we look forward to the final report.

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US Senator Pat Roberts, Republican chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee

I'm not pleased by what I heard today, but we should be willing to adopt a wait-and-see attitude - and that's the only alternative we really have.