David Kay: Little evidence of Iraq WMD weapons

MSNBC ^ | October 2, 2003 | Robert Windram, Andrea Mitchell, Alex Johnson

[brbethke]

On August 4, 2003, workers in China accidentally discovered a cache of mustard gas hidden by the retreating Japanese army in 1945.

The Iraqis have had ten years to hide things. We expected to find everything in six months?

[what's up]

Headlines will all be skewed for the next few days as the media liberals are desperate; they are about to lose CALIFORNIA.

I am convinced this is why the liberal screams have been so fast and furious the last few days. The weekend will be a non-stop lie and shout-fest.

[Dog Gone]

If Iraq didn't have any WMD, they sure tried to act as if they were hiding them. And why did they have all the new chem suits for the troops?

[Peach]

That's right. All Iraq had to do was provide the Security Council with proof of what it did with those weapons.

The Security Council voted unanimously that Iraq did not comply with that request made over many resolutions.

[TrappedInLiberalHell]

How can they keep getting away with this bias? I may be biased politically-speaking in that I choose a side, but I KNOW when a headline misrepresents an event, and I KNOW when it is done deliberately. This wasn't lazy headline writing, it was the media injecting their desired interpretation of the event.

What really worries me is how the ratcheting anger on our side is being matched by that on the left. This isn't bringing the country together, it's pulling us apart. How many years can it continue before something truly devastating happens. I will stop short of saying what I mean by that, because I think it is outside of FR's posting guidelines.

[Peach]

How right you are.

[StriperSniper]

Excuse me, but how is that statement construed as Rumsfeld indicating for the first time that he had serious doubts about the credibility of intelligence reports" ????

In no way. I watched the briefing today and that is not anywhere close to what he said or meant. The gist was "we still don't know".

[Mo1]

The media is no different then the Pinko Liberal Dictator Loving Democrats

[prairiebreeze]

Roosevelt came out after Kay shilling for the anti-war, there wasn't evidence, we shouldn't have pre-empted Dims. CNN then showed another Dim senator. I turned it off. Can't watch them using every second of airtime to cast doubt.

Prairie

[My2Cents]

Another way of saying it is that after 12 years, we finally brought Desert Storm to a victorious conclusion.

[Dog]

How many years can it continue before something truly devastating happens. I will stop short of saying what I mean by that, because I think it is outside of FR's posting guidelines.

I have been thinking the same thing..

[AntiGuv]

Here are the first headlines now going up elsewhere:

Reuters/ABC News: Kay Says No WMD Stocks Found in Iraq

BBC News: 'No Iraq weapons found' - report

New York Times: No Banned Arms Found in Iraq So Far, U.S. Inspector Confirms

[Neets]

Yea, I thought so...I'd wager Andrea and her colleagues didn't score too well on the "comprehension" test.

[Callahan]

The Dims would have preferred we spent 30 tedious, expensive years massed on the Iraqi border playing a pointless game of hide & seek with Saddam. Meanwhile, if the cretin didn't have them already, he'd have time to figure out how to get them. Of course, the Iraqi people continue to suffer under the boot of a vicious criminal. Yes, the alternative of taking Saddam out once and for all, making sure there was no threat, and liberating the Iraqis to improve their lives was a big mistake.

[Egon]

I agree.
Knowing my luck, I'm probably misquoting some Communist but, "A little revolution now and then is a good thing."

Let's hope it's bloodless.

[StriperSniper]

Why isn't the media asking the WH to confirm, deny whatever?

That was the last question at the White House briefing and Scott said he hadn't heard about it but would check on it.

[Digger]

how many times are we going to have to remind these lying b@st@rds that Bush emphatically denied that the threat was imminent, but that if we waited until the threat was imminent, it was too late!?

This is on parallel with the RUSH statement - picking on one minute part of an overall policy. These two have all my support on their issues. Now what are the true Amerucans going to do ? Allow these b@st@rds to get away with this or can we begin the much needed revolution & throw the commies out of this country.

[adam_az]

Subject: Weapons of Mass Destruction.....

"One way or the other, we are determined to deny Iraq the capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them. That is our bottom line." President Clinton, Feb. 4, 1998

"If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program." President Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998

"Iraq is a long way from [here], but what happens there matters a great deal here. For the risks that the leaders of a rogue state will use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons against us or our allies is the greatest security threat we face." Madeline Albright, Feb 18, 1998

"He will use those weapons of mass destruction again, as he has ten times since 1983." Sandy Berger, Clinton National Security Adviser, Feb, 18, 1998


"[W]e urge you, after consulting with Congress, and consistent with the U.S. Constitution and laws, to take necessary actions (including, if appropriate, air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites) to respond effectively to the threat posed by Iraq's refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs." Letter to President Clinton, signed by Sens. Carl Levin, Tom Daschle, John Kerry, and others Oct. 9, 1998

"Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process." Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D, CA), Dec. 16, 1998

"Hussein has ... chosen to spend his money on building weapons of mass destruction and palaces for his cronies." Madeline Albright, Clinton Secretary of State, Nov. 10, 1999

"There is no doubt that ... Saddam Hussein has reinvigorated his weapons programs. Reports indicate that biological, chemical and nuclear programs continue apace and may be back to pre-Gulf War status. In addition, Saddam continues to redefine delivery systems and is doubtless using the cover of a licit missile program to develop longer-range missiles that will threaten the United States and our allies." Letter to President Bush, Signed by Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL,) and others, Dec 5, 2001

"We begin with the common belief that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a threat to the peace and stability of the region. He has ignored the mandated of the United Nations and is building weapons of mass destruction and the means of delivering them." Sen. Carl Levin (d, MI), Sept. 19, 2002

"We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country." Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002


"Iraq's search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power." Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002

"We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction." Sen. Ted Kennedy (D, MA), Sept. 27, 2002

"The last UN weapons inspectors left Iraq in October of 1998. We are confident that Saddam Hussein retains some stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, and that he has since embarked on a crash course to build up his chemical and biological warfare capabilities. Intelligence reports indicate that he is seeking nuclear weapons..." Sen. Robert Byrd (D, WV), Oct. 3, 2002

"I will be voting to give the President of the United States the authority to use force-- if necessary-- to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security." Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Oct. 9, 2002

"There is unmistakable evidence that Saddam Hussein is working aggressively to develop nuclear weapons and will likely have nuclear weapons within the next five years ... We also should remember we have always underestimated the progress Saddam has made in development of weapons of mass destruction." Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D, WV), Oct 10, 2002

"He has systematically violated, over the course of the past 11 years, every significant UN resolution that has demanded that he disarm and destroy his chemical and biological weapons, and any nuclear capacity. This he has refused to do" Rep. Henry Waxman (D, CA), Oct. 10, 2002

"In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including al Qaeda members ... It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons." Sen. Hillary Clinton (D, NY), Oct 10, 2002

"We are in possession of what I think to be compelling evidence that Saddam Hussein has, and has had for a number of years, a developing capacity for the production and storage of weapons of mass destruction." Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL), Dec. 8, 2002


"[W]ithout question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime ... He presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation ... And now he is miscalculating America's response to his continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction ... So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real ...." Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Jan. 23. 2003

[goodnesswins]

"Kay says he's learned/found much that was not declared from the UN.

They have discovered enough evidence to meet the threshhold of Tony Blair's testimony.

Reliable sources say that Iraq was violating the UN resolutions as late as this year."

[Toskrin]

All the pieces are finally fitting together. Iraq did have stockpiles of chemical weapons. They destroyed them in late 2002, knowing that they could not with one hundred percent certainty hide them from inspectors. Iraq maintained dual-use programs - probably pesticide plants - that would allow them to rapidly reconstitute their weapons supplies after inspectors found nothing.

At the U.N., Colin Powell showed satellite photos of Iraqi trucks that sanitized chemical weapons plants and storage sites. David Kay says that Iraq went to great lengths to conceal their dual-use programs.

Will there be chemical weapons found in Iraq? No, but there will be ample evidence that they were there just before inspectors entered and would have been rapidly produced after inspectors left. This scenario fits both the intelligence that we had prior to invasion and what we are finding now.