Republicans say the nation’s intelligence agencies were the problem. Democrats point to the White House, questioning possible pressure put on intelligence analysts and noting Vice President Dick Cheney’s continued assertions that weapons of mass destruction existed.
Asked at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing if an independent investigation was warranted, Kay replied that he believed an outside inquiry would give Congress and the public more confidence. Democrats are sure to make us aware of that point as they call for more and broader inquiries.
Kay said he spent six months looking for the former Iraqi president’s banned weapons and has concluded, based on a “sufficiently intense” effort, that they were not there. Kay said inspectors found no stockpiles — large or small.
“We were almost all wrong, and I certainly include myself here,” he said. “My view was that the best evidence I had seen was that Iraq indeed had weapons of mass destruction.”
Kay blamed a lack of human intelligence 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.
