American troops made an early morning raid on the town of Ramadi, west of Baghdad - the latest heavy handed attempt to hunt down Iraqis waging a guerrilla war against US forces.



More than 50 American soldiers have been killed since the war officially ended almost two months ago. With one rebel group warning that it would send American bodies home "one by one."



All this as America's Commander in Chief admits for the first time that Iraq's much vaunted weapons of mass destruction may have been removed or looted before the war started.



George Bush:



"Saddam Hussein went to great lengths to hide his weapons from the world, and in the regime's final days, documents and suspected weapons sites were looted and burned. "



Professor Michael Clarke - International Policy Institute:



"If these weapons were looted and dispersed, then that raises the question that they may now be closer to terrorist hands. So if Iraq's programme for WMD was a problem a year ago, the problems now been transferred to the terrorist likelihood of having WMD.



President Bush's statement has also angered former cabinet ministers - who say it's further undermined the case for war.



Robin Cook - Former Leader of the Commons:



"Well frankly it sounds rather desperate. President bush used to tell us that Saddam Hussein was a big threat to the world, and that we had to take pre-emptive action to stop him. Now he's telling us that Saddam's entire arsenal of global weapons could be disposed of in a few days of casual looting. Now if so, it was never much of a threat."



More news on the fate of Saddam Hussein - from his former right hand man Abid Hamid al Tikriti who was arrested earlier this week. Al Tikriti claims Saddam Hussein fled to SYRIA after the US led invasion, but is now back in Iraq. Observers speculate that Al Tikriti may be trying to cut a deal for his former boss.



Haitham Rashid Wihaib - Former Head of Protocol for Saddam Hussein:



"I believe he is negotiating on behalf of Saddam Hussein a surrender for Saddam Hussein that saves the face of Saddam Hussein. And also Saddam Hussein knows very well that sooner or later he will be captured by the Americans. He is not afraid of this, he is afraid of being captured by the Iraqi people."



And more trouble for the Americans on the streets of Baghdad too. Iraq's Shia Muslims welcomed the US invasion. Now they want them to go home - demanding that Iraq should be run by its own people.