Ex-U.S. Arms Hunter Kay Says No Stockpiles in Iraq

Drudge Report ^ | 1-23-04 | Reuters

[MamaLucci]

Ex-U.S. Arms Hunter Kay Says No Stockpiles in Iraq

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - David Kay, who stepped down as leader of the U.S. hunt for weapons of mass destruction, said on Friday he does not believe there were any large stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons in Iraq

"I don't think they existed," Kay told Reuters in a telephone interview. "What everyone was talking about is stockpiles produced after the end of the last (1991) Gulf War (news - web sites) and I don't think there was a large-scale production program in the '90s," he said.

Kay said he believes most of what is going to be found in the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq has been found and that the hunt will become more difficult once America turns over governing the country to the Iraqis.

The United States went to war against Baghdad last year citing a threat from Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. No actual banned arms have been found.

[MamaLucci]

Background on David Kay stepping down. Not good.

[smith288]

My opinion... "Oh well..." It was a way to get rid of the terrorist sypathizer leader Saddam who was overdue for an extreme arse kicking as well as have a central location in the Middle east vital to promoting democracy. Though many Americans wont like my opinion.

[Uncle Miltie]

"What everyone was talking about is stockpiles produced after the end of the last (1991) Gulf War (news - web sites) and I don't think there was a large-scale production program in the '90s," he said.

Suppose:

1) Saddam spent a decade opposing inspections, and obfuscating his capabilites, while producing nothing.
2) Our intelligence agencies interpreted opposition and obfuscation as the existence of an active program, which had probably produced weapons.
3) The intelligence was wrong, though not because they had an axe to grind, it just appeared that Saddam was up to no good, so he probably had WMD. This is possible. Saddam was nuts, and everyone thought he had WMD.

[Recovering_Democrat]

The United States went to war against Baghdad last year citing a threat from Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. No actual banned arms have been found.

Correction:

The United States went to war against Saddam Hussein's regime last year citing his refusal to abide by a host of United Nations resolutions, including Resolution 1441 which demanded he account for his weapons programs. A nascent program and plans for WMDs were found, as were missiles that exceeded the range permitted under the restrictions Saddam Hussein agreed to when his government was spared during the 1991 Gulf War.

[JohnGalt]

It tells us David Kay blew a billion dollars.

[Shermy]

Interesting, but only the only paragraph with quoted remarks speaks of "large" stockpiles. Presumably the vast array of Iranwar era chemical shells. Not bios.

I'd like to see Kay's comments directly.

[Ingtar]

We have not even found all of what Saddam admitted to in his last list, or so I believe.

[MamaLucci]

There is no doubt that Clinton also believed Saddam had WMD. That won't stop the DNC and their willing accomplices in the press from screeching the "Bush lied" mantra from now until the election.

[Pubbie]

The RNC can just run ads of the Tapes of Clinton saying the EXACT same claims of Iraqi WMDs that Bush said.

We've got Clintoon on tape talking about Iraqi WMDs.

This is no major problem for Bush.

[JohnGalt]

Clinton did not believe Saddam had WMDs, he only asked that they provide him with evidence that Iraq had WMDs so he could justify bombing Iraq anytime he needed to distract from problems at home.

Clinton was a sociopath. I don't think its a good strategy to compare Clinton with Bush on any level.

[Pikamax]

I will wait for a full interview, last thing I trust is a phone interview with Reuters.

[CindyDawg]

Yawn. The Dims just don't get it. It's not an issue.

[conserv13]

I think it does make the administration look bad. I don't think anyone lied, but Bush, Cheney, Powell and Rumsfeld swore up and down that Iraq had WMD, so the intelligence was obviously wrong.

The fact is that Saddam was not cooperating with the UN, and that alone was enough in my mind to go in there. After years of his BS, we finally said 'Enough!'

[Loyal Buckeye]

Bottom line: Sadaam had to go and everyone knew it.

[hotpotato]

Exactly. Unfortunately, it won't be sold that way to the gullible members of the public by the democrats in an election year. One of Bush's primary assets, his credibility, is being seriously challenged with some success. The democrats may very well score major points with this report.... unless the republicans conduct a persistent campaign to educate/remind the public.

[FirstPrinciple]

Saddam had to pretend that he had WMD in order to stay in power. If word got out that he didn't, Iranians and the Kurds would have taken him down right away. It was his way to keep himself in power.

[FirstPrinciple]

I agree. But I would much rather see the Kurds or the Iranians take him down as opposed to us.

[txhurl]

The reason we haven't found WMD in the sand is every time we start digging, we find instead hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and have to call the medical examiners.

[hotpotato]

Some group other than the RNC should run those ads. Otherwise, it will make the administration appear defensive and that's when rational-thinking people begin to doubt.