Much Ado About Nothing: The Kay Report
Oct 3, 2003
For immediate release: Friday, October 3, 2003 Contact: John Isaacs (202) 543-4100 ext. 131 Stacie Robinson (202) 543-4100 ext. 105
Washington CIA Special Envoy David Kay confirmed to Congress what has long been suspected: the Iraq Survey Group has yet to find any chemical, biological or nuclear weapons in Iraq. The release of the formal “progress report” on the hunt for Iraq’s weapons programs validates many arguments of Bush Administration critics:
- There was no immediate threat, terrorist or otherwise, from Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction program.
- The absence of weapons in Iraq undermines the Bush Administration’s case for the war.
- The U.S. intelligence community has once again proved less than stellar.
John Isaacs, President of Council for a Livable World, argues, “The threat from Saddam was at best overstated, at worst manufactured, by an Administration fanatically intent on extending a legitimate war against terrorism into Iraq.”
Yet the Bush Administration’s justification for a preemptive war, citing the imminent terrorist threat from weapons of mass destruction inside Iraq, is part of a far more disturbing trend. The Council for a Livable World has been tracking a series of flawed assumptions and misleading statements from the Administration in support of actions in Iraq. The Kay report provides concrete proof that the Bush Administration claims don’t match reality.
“The Kay report is only the most recent evidence of misleading statements from an unapologetic White House.” Asks Isaacs, “In March the Administration presented what it called solid proof of weapons of mass destruction, complete with maps and aerial shots. Why is the President now asking for an additional $600 million in the supplemental spending bill to continue the search for the existence of WMD? Something doesn’t add up.”
Isaacs also argues that Kay’s report is evidence of a troubling trend in the U.S. intelligence community. Claims regarding Iraqi weapons of mass destruction have been made in the past three administrations. A bipartisan Congress voted overwhelmingly to disarm Saddam, based on intelligence estimates.
Isaacs argues, “The U.S. intelligence community is in need of a serious and immediate overhaul. The Kay report is simply the latest in a series of misinformation gaffes. Precious American lives and resources are being lost in what appears to be a wild goose chase for non-existent weapons.”
RSS Feed