By Ron Fournier
The Associated Press

President Bush waves to the crowd at the Lima Army Tank Plant (Associated Press photos) | ZOOM |

LIMA, Ohio - President Bush raised the possibility Thursday that any Iraqi weapons of mass destruction were destroyed before or during the U.S.-led war, suggesting for the first time that coalition troops may come up empty in their search.

Bush, who is expected to mark the end of hostilities soon, defied much of the world to wage war against Saddam Hussein in a bid to rid Iraq of weapons of mass destruction. Iraqi leaders asserted the nation had none, and an intensive search by coalition forces has uncovered no proof so far of chemical or biological weapons or a nuclear weapons program.

"He tried to fool the United Nations and did for 12 years by hiding these weapons. And so it's going to take time to find them," the president said at the Lima Army Tank Plant. "But we know he had them. And whether he destroyed them, moved them or hid them, we're going to find out the truth."

Senior administration officials began this week to scale back expectations that weapons of mass destruction would be found. Bush's spokesman, Ari Fleischer, said Wednesday that success of the search effort depends "not on finding something by bumping into it" but on information provided by Iraqis who might have been involved in such programs.

A senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Bush's remarks were based on information from at least one Iraqi scientist who has led coalition forces to materials used in the production of weapons of mass destruction and who has said some weapons were destroyed before the war, others perhaps afterward.

It is believed that some weapons may have been removed from Iraq, and some probably remain, the official said.

Bush did not say how likely it was that weapons had been destroyed, rather than hidden and perhaps soon to be uncovered.

"One thing's for certain, Saddam Hussein no longer threatens America with weapons of mass destruction," he said.

Bush's remarks came at the end of a politically charged three-city visit to Ohio, one of a dozen or so states that will be closely contested in the 2004 presidential election. Bush hopes to convert his wartime popularity into successes in Congress - particularly with his troubled $726 billion tax-cut economic package.

Bush hoped to pressure Ohio Sen. George Voinovich, a Republican who derailed the White House tax package by refusing to back cuts of more than $350 billion.

Voinovich briefly greeted Bush at the airport in Dayton but he did not attend the president's speeches nor bow to White House demands.

"I think he knows where I'm at," the senator said of Bush.

The president made his disappointment clear.

"Some in Congress say the plan is too big. Well, it seems like to me they might have some explaining to do. If they agree that tax relief creates jobs, then why are they for a little bitty tax relief package?" Bush said.

Democrats said Bush's plan favors the rich and offers low- and middle-income Americans a few hundred dollars in savings.

"For people who need prescription drugs or health insurance, that's a drop in the bucket," Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, D-Ohio, said.

While aides said it was not yet time to declare victory in Iraq, the president nearly jumped the gun.

"We fought a war in Afghanistan, and now we have finished a war," Bush said in North Canton before catching himself and adding, "in the process of finishing a war in Iraq."

Several administration officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they expect commanding Gen. Tommy Franks to declare the hostilities over in a few days, paving the way for a presidential address as early as next week that would wrap up the war.

While visiting the Lima plant, Bush put a positive spin on reports that some Iraqi factions do not welcome U.S. troops and that an Iranian-style theocracy may grow to power.

"In Iraq, there's discussion, debate, protest - all the hallmarks of liberty," Bush said. "The path to freedom may not always be neat and orderly, but it is the right of every person and every nation."