Ex-weapons inspector talks
No trace of WMDs were found, David Kay said, but the world is a safer place.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The man who led the CIA's search for banned weapons in Iraq entered the politically charged debate over President Bush's decision to go to war and provided fresh ammunition for Republicans and Democrats alike.
Under questioning by Senate Democrats, David Kay acknowledged Wednesday that he found no evidence that Iraq had chemical or biological stockpiles -- even small ones. He offered doubts about Bush administration claims that trailers and aluminum tubes were intended for weapons of mass destruction. He said U.N. inspections, belittled by the administration, "achieved quite a bit."
But Kay agreed with Republican senators that there is no doubt deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein had ambitions to use such weapons -- that in fact he had used such weapons in the past. Kay said Saddam had secret weapons development programs that violated U.N. resolutions, and that the world is much safer without his government in place.
"I have said I actually think this may be one of those cases where it was even more dangerous than we thought," he told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Resigned his post
Kay, a former chief U.N. nuclear weapons inspector in Iraq, resigned Friday from his position as the CIA's special adviser for the weapons search, citing a decision to reduce resources for the search.
At the hearing and in recent interviews, Kay said he found no evidence that Saddam possessed the banned weapons in recent years. Bush's public rationale for going to war was based mostly on claims that Iraq's stockpile of weapons posed a clear threat to the United States and others.
Questioned by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., Kay said he believed an outside inquiry would be important to see why intelligence failed and how it could be improved.
The White House opposes such an investigation, noting the CIA is conducting its own intelligence review and the weapons hunt has not ended.
Prewar intelligence probe
The Senate Intelligence Committee is also examining prewar intelligence. The chairman, Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., told Kay, "I personally take some umbrage at people who for one reason or another think we need to have an outside investigation before our inquiry is even complete."
That inquiry is nearing completion. But the committee's top Democrat, Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, said in a statement that Kay's testimony shows a need to expand that review. Rockefeller said the inquiry should examine whether the administration manipulated intelligence.
At the hearing, Kay said he does not think analysts were pressured to shape evidence to make the case for war. "I deeply think that is the wrong explanation," Kay said.
"You know, almost in a perverse way, I wish it had been undue influence, because we know how to correct that," he said.
Intelligence failure
Kay described a broad intelligence failure on Iraq. "We were almost all wrong, and I certainly include myself here," he said.
He blamed a lack of human spying inside Iraq and inadequate money for U.S. intelligence agencies. He also said he believes analysts have been asked to read too much into limited data and depended too much on data provided by U.N. inspectors.
Kay said his team wrestled with the question of why Saddam did not try to save himself by proving he no longer had stockpiles of banned weapons. Kay said Saddam likely did not want to appear to be caving in to the United States and the United Nations. He also wanted to use the threat of chemical weapons as leverage against his domestic enemies.