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."

[thesummerwind]

Thank you.......... I might have missed this.

Beautiful, this helps greatly!

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Sometimes when Matt or Katie engages in a rare flight of fairness, I wonder if I might be hallucinating. Your confirmation of what I thought I saw is therefore very reassuring. Thanks!

[4CJ]

Maybe a wake up call? I hope.

I do too, but I doubt it. He probably just forgot his meds.

[MEG33]

Ha! I left your name off of #113!Good interview!

[afropick]

This just proves to show when you place heavy restrictions on your foreign intelligence agents, it will be harder and harder to get on the ground real time intelligence. Look at Libya, that is a case us of our intelligence underestimating the WMD programs they have.

[P.O.E.]

I've probably watched a total of 20 minutes of the Today show - ever! Most of them just flipping by on the remote.

Amazing that 5 of those minutes just happened to be the interview with Kay.

[MEG33]

You really got lucky!

[Cosmo]

Fomenting war is , well, fomenting war, even if your real intentions are to hide in a hole when someone calls your bluff.


i'd say the Bush adminstration looks golden right now

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Thanks MEG. You picked up some good additional statements from the interview.

[GraniteStateConservative]

Yeah, I'd already replied to this thread, but thanks for the ping anyway.

[afropick]

Unfortunately the press will slice and dice all of Kay's statement and the same thing will be replayed over and over again. I see why Pres Bush doesnt give much media access. Why do it when most of the important facts will be left on the cutting floor.

[MEG33]

I didn't want you to miss this after the naysayer's thread!...;)

[thesummerwind]

Incredibly great read. This should be on the front page of every newspaper in the country!!!!

Thanks!

[MEG33]

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

[Tribune7]

This is great. The Dems are toast.

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Incredibly great read. This should be on the front page of every newspaper in the country!!!!

I'm sure the NY Times will cover it prominently. [sarcasm off]

[prairiebreeze]

Thanks! According to the FReepers Brokaw was being a horses patoot.

Prairie

[InShanghai]

This just proves to show when you place heavy restrictions on your foreign intelligence agents, it will be harder and harder to get on the ground real time intelligence. Look at Libya, that is a case us of our intelligence underestimating the WMD programs they have.

Your right on the ball with that statement, however I believe that real time humint can be culled over a period of time. Now that we have the requirement, the intel community is probably focusing on getting back into that business.

[Cosmo]

No kidding. Just look at how the "stockpile" issue was treated as if it represented the totality of the claims against Iraq. You'd think, based on the reports of saturday and sunday from the AP and NPP (and even Fox), that Kay just told the world that Sadaam was a harmless little bunny.

Again, I think the Bush administration is looking golden right now.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

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.

Could this be the reason for his "resignation" from his post? To get on the chat circuit and bang the drum for the good guys?