Washington ? Both President Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell contended Friday that a vial of botulinum bacteria found in Iraq is evidence of Saddam Hussein’s weapons intent. But the chief U.S. weapons inspector said the vial had been stored for safekeeping in an Iraqi scientist’s refrigerator since 1993. He offered no evidence it had been used in a weapons program during the past decade.

The security chief of Fallujah II chlorine plant, Mohammed Abid, walks among chlorine canisters in the plant's yard in Mulahimah, Iraq. Once the CIA's best

Inspector David Kay also said American weapons hunters had found no evidence that Iraq has recently tried to import a semi-refined form of uranium from Niger or anywhere else. Bush cited that claim in his State of the Union address, although administration officials later acknowledged it was based on shaky intelligence and should not have been included.

Kay’s search teams did locate documents suggesting another country in Africa — which Kay refused to identify — had offered uranium to Iraq, although it does not appear the deal went through. “We don’t have any evidence it moved beyond what was probably an unsolicited offer,” Kay said.

Kay also said many scientists still were afraid to work with the Americans because of security concerns, noting that two scientists working with U.S. officials had been shot — one fatally — since the war. Officials don’t know who attacked the scientists but believe it is possible they were retribution attacks for working with the Americans.

Kay had reported to Congress on Thursday that his team had so far found no weapons of mass destruction inside Iraq. But Bush said Friday the Iraq war was justified and cited a handful of evidence in particular — including the vial of bacteria — as proof Kay found ample signs Saddam “was a danger to the world.”

“The report states that Saddam Hussein’s regime had a clandestine network of biological laboratories, a live strain of deadly agent botulinum, sophisticated concealment efforts and advanced design work on prohibited longer-range missiles,” Bush told reporters.