Hans Blix
'No smoking guns found'
The White House has insisted that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction even though chief UN arms inspector Hans Blix says his teams have not found any 'smoking guns.'
'The problem with guns that are hidden is you can't see their smoke,' spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters, adding: 'We know for a fact that there are weapons there.'
Hans Blix has said a great number of questions remain unanswered about Iraq's arsenal.
He made the comment as he arrived at UN headquarters in New York to brief the Security Council.
He is expected to give more details about what he believes is missing from Iraq's weapons declaration, submitted by Baghdad last month.
However, he said that there was so far no evidence which would provoke the 'serious consequences' threatened by a UN resolution last autumn.
France calling for peaceful solution
French President Chirac has said France will continue to press for a peaceful solution to the Iraqi weapons issue.
Mr Chirac said the use of force against Baghdad would be an admission of failure and the worst of all solutions.
More than three-quarters of French people are opposed to any military action against Iraq, according to an opinion poll published in today's edition of Le Figaro.
Most observers are looking ahead to 27 January, when international inspectors are to report on Iraq's weapons programs, as a possible trigger date for war.
