Brokaw interviews the man with the WMD evidence
Tom Brokaw interviews David Kay about his piles of documents that contain evidence of Saddam's WMD program.
"...Brokaw: But there’s no doubt in your mind, I gather, that in fact there was a program and it was substantial.
"Kay: I’ve already seen enough to convince me, but that’s not the standard. I’ve got to have enough evidence to convince everyone of that. And that’s why we’re going through this process.
"Brokaw: There’s a lot of political pressure on, David.
"Kay: You know that’s not what worries me. What worries me is that I know if we can’t explain the WMD program of Iraq, we lose credibility with regard to other states like Iran, Syria, North Korea. I also know I have to worry about where did what was here go? It would be the ultimate national tragedy if in a war to end proliferation, we actually allowed to escape to other states and rogue groups. And thirdly, I strongly believe that we are going to learn lessons that will shape the American intelligence gathering system for a generation ahead off of this. We need to get to the bottom of this so we can draw those lessons."
"...Brokaw: David, before the war, I think that it’s fair to say that the American people were led to believe that the Iraqi program of weapons of mass destruction was going to be easy to find, and that when we did find it, it would be easy to explain. Is that a failure on the part of the intelligence that we had? Or is it a political overstatement?
"Kay: It may well be a success of the Iraqis-for hiding it and dealing with it so it was difficult to find and unmask. I think all of us who have dealt with this program since the war realized what great lengths they went to shield their program. And that’s part of our difficulties. Everything from destroying documents systematically, moving things around. You cannot believe how many cases we have of documents and equipment that are stored in private residences. I mean, no inspection regime was ever geared up for going into private residences. We ourselves - even though we have the power to do it - have great difficulty in doing that."
Tom Brokaw interviews David Kay about his piles of documents that contain evidence of Saddam's WMD program.
"...Brokaw: But there’s no doubt in your mind, I gather, that in fact there was a program and it was substantial.
"Kay: I’ve already seen enough to convince me, but that’s not the standard. I’ve got to have enough evidence to convince everyone of that. And that’s why we’re going through this process.
"Brokaw: There’s a lot of political pressure on, David.
"Kay: You know that’s not what worries me. What worries me is that I know if we can’t explain the WMD program of Iraq, we lose credibility with regard to other states like Iran, Syria, North Korea. I also know I have to worry about where did what was here go? It would be the ultimate national tragedy if in a war to end proliferation, we actually allowed to escape to other states and rogue groups. And thirdly, I strongly believe that we are going to learn lessons that will shape the American intelligence gathering system for a generation ahead off of this. We need to get to the bottom of this so we can draw those lessons."
"...Brokaw: David, before the war, I think that it’s fair to say that the American people were led to believe that the Iraqi program of weapons of mass destruction was going to be easy to find, and that when we did find it, it would be easy to explain. Is that a failure on the part of the intelligence that we had? Or is it a political overstatement?
"Kay: It may well be a success of the Iraqis-for hiding it and dealing with it so it was difficult to find and unmask. I think all of us who have dealt with this program since the war realized what great lengths they went to shield their program. And that’s part of our difficulties. Everything from destroying documents systematically, moving things around. You cannot believe how many cases we have of documents and equipment that are stored in private residences. I mean, no inspection regime was ever geared up for going into private residences. We ourselves - even though we have the power to do it - have great difficulty in doing that."
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