Kay on Today: "It Was Absolutely Prudent to Go to War Against Saddam" (Remarkable New Info)

The Today Show

[governsleastgovernsbest]

If one reasonably fair-and-balanced Today Show interview is a fluke, could two be a trend?

Back on January 15th, I reported on Katie Couric's interview with Ted Kennedy in which she had been remarkably tough on the senior splasher from Massachusetts regarding his speech on Iraq.

This morning, it was Matt Lauer's turn to offer, dare I say it, a thoroughly fair performance in his interview of former chief US weapons inspector in Iraq David Kay.

From a national security and political perspective, what was much more important than the tone of Lauer's questions was the substance of Kay's remarks. Democrats looking to exploit Kay's earlier remarks to accuse the Bush administration of misleading the American people will come away from this interview bitterly disappointed, their arguments in tatters.

For on every issue down the line, Kay forcefully made the case that the Bush administration acted in good faith, that Saddam was indeed a threat, and that war against him was absolutely justified.

Began Lauer: "Some people have relied on your earlier statement to say that the US misled the American people into war on the basis of a claim that Saddam had WMDs. Do you think the US misled the American people?"

Kay: "It wasn't only the US who came to that conclusion. The French, Germans, and UN all thought Saddam had WMDs."

Lauer: "If you didn't find WMDs, does that mean they never existed, or could they have been moved prior to war?"

Kay: "We looked at that possiblity but we didn't find evidence that there were large stockpiles prior to the war."

Lauer than ran a clip from Pres. Bush's State of the Union Address from one year ago, in which he stated that Saddam had been employing huge resources to develop WMDs and had built up a large stockpile.

Lauer: "Was that inaccurate?"

Kay: "It was inaccurate in terms of the reality we found on the ground now, but it was accurate in terms of the intelligence at the time.

"It was also accurate in the sense that Saddam did spend large sums of money trying to get WMDs but he simply didn't get what he paid for.

"There was lots of corruption in the Iraq WMD development program."

Lauer: "So scientists lied to Saddam, they told him they could develop WMDs, took huge sums of money and didn't deliver?"

Kay: "Right. There was widespread corruption, lots of money wasted. People were concerned about the money, not about working."

Lauer: "But the intent to develop WMDs was there?"

Kay: "Absolutely, Saddam surely wanted to get WMDs and spent a lot of money trying to do so."

Lauer then showed a clip from Colin Powell at the UN saying Saddam had at least 500 tons of WMDs. Again, Kay explained that Powell was not being intentionally misleading and that his statement was based on the best intelligence available at the time.

Added Kay, responding to what some of the Dems are alleging: "To say there must have been pressure from the White House on the intelligence community is wrong. We've also been wrong about Iran and Libya. We clearly need better intelligence."

Lauer then quoted from Kay's earlier interview with Tom Brokaw in which Kay had said that "if anyone was abused (by faulty intelligence) it was the President of the US rather than the other way around."

Kay confirmed the accuracy of that remark.

Lauer: "Is it true that in 2000 and 2001 Saddam was pushing his nuclear progarm?"

Kay: "Yes, he was pushing hard for nuclear and long range missiles. Look, it's clear the man had the intent. He simply wasn't successful."

"He clearly lied to UN and was in material brach."

In a key moment in the interview, Lauer asked: "Based on everything you now know, was it prudent to go to war against Saddam?"

Kay: "It was absolutely prudent to go to war. The system was collapsing, Iraq was a country with desire to develop WMDs, and it was attracting terrorists like flies to honey."

Lauer: "Are your earlier comments being exploited for political reasons?"

"Inevitably yes, but what we have is a national security issue that shouldn't be exploited as a political issue."

Lauer: "Should we continue to search for WMDs as VP Cheney has suggested?

Kay: "Absolutely."

[vaudine]

Bush kept a lot of Clinton CIA in place, esp. leadership. Way past time to clean house.

vaudine

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Hard to say, but it is amusing to see how what the Dems thought was a golden nugget for them has now comprehensively blown up in their face!

[P.O.E.]

What a contrast was the reasoned Kay as opposed to the hysterics from the Dem candidates. I guess "normal" doesn't make headlines.

[Cosmo]

They really are toast . Sadaam's regime looks even more determined, and thus even more dangerous.

[Mo1]

Your welcome thesummerwind

Hey TexKat .. over here .. this thread explains what is happening

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

...what the Dems thought was a golden nugget for them has now comprehensively blown up in their face!

Exactly. A variation on the Trojan horse theme. It worked to perfection.

Sun-Tzu ain't got nothing on GWB.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

...what the Dems thought was a golden nugget for them has now comprehensively blown up in their face!

Exactly. A variation on the Trojan horse theme. It worked to perfection.

Sun-Tzu ain't got nothing on GWB.

[cyncooper]

Well, yesterday reports from freepers were on Imus he was very respectful of President Bush, and I thought he did a good job in this particular interview.

[afropick]

Pres Bush was slammed all thoughout 2002 for not "connecting the dots" with 9/11, He and the administration looked at Iraq and decided that it would be unwise to let that situation get any worse. Iraq failed to prove that they destroyed the weapons and paid the ultimate price for that. Now imagine if you had a choice, no action and 3000 civilians dead or action and 500 military dead. It is a unfortunate choice and Pres Bush did the best he could. The same democrats who through the 70's,80's and 90's cut,cut, and cut our CIA and other intelligence sources now want to play dumb and ask what happened to our intelligence sources.

[cyncooper]

I heard Paula Zahn call this report a blockbuster..no WMD!

I heard that ditz, Laurie Dheu, say on Sunday that the Kay report showed Iraq "never" had WMDs.

[MEG33]

God bless our armed forces and all loved ones who wait at home.

[Travis McGee]

Are drums of precurser chemicals found in NBC bunkers getting nobody's attention?

[thesummerwind]

Well, if Lauer is showing signs of sanity, the trend hasn't reached the Dem presidential candidates yet. Dean, Kerry and the others are still claiming that the Bush administration misled the American people into war.

Really!

Since you started this thread, go here – http://www.geocities.com/darnbi/pieces.htm . Scroll down to Nocturnes and click on Opus 27, Number 2 in D-flat major and give a listen. Beautiful!

[MEG33]

The reporting has been terrible.Thank heavens we are getting the real thing..Kay in person.

[MizSterious]

Thanks so much for taking all this down. Great work!

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Thanks. I went there and listened. As calming as a double dose of Nexium!

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Thanks! By the way, regarding your tag line: of indoctrinating liberal professors you say nothing?

[MizSterious]

LOL--maybe my next tagline will take them into...um...consideration...!

[sweetliberty]

One thing that it seems everyone keeps failing to address is the non-cooperation of Saddam with the UN inspecters to show proof that the KNOWN WMD's has been destroyed. There was never any doubt that they existed at one time and were even declared. So if they're not there and they weren't moved, what happened to them?

[Valin]

Bump and bookmark.
Good job