Herewith, my cross-examination of David Kay, head of the Iraq Study Group (ISG), which is searching for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq:
Q: Mr. Kay, isn't it true that Iraq did not have a chemical weapons (CW) program in 2002?
A: Multiple sources with varied access and reliability have told ISG that Iraq did not have a large, ongoing, centrally controlled CW program after 1991.
Q: And that's because the US and other nations destroyed Iraq's CW capability, isn't that true?
A: Information found to date suggests that Iraq's large-scale capability to develop, produce, and fill new CW munitions was reduced - if not entirely destroyed - during Operations Desert Storm and Desert Fox, 13 years of UN sanctions and UN inspections.
Q: Earlier in this trial, Tony Blair told the jury that Iraq had chemical and biological weapons that could be deployed against "coalition" troops within 45 minutes. That statement wasn't true, was it?
A: We have also acquired information related to Iraq's CW doctrine and Iraq's war plans for OIF, but we have not yet found evidence to confirm pre-war reporting that Iraqi military units were prepared to use CW against Coalition forces.
Q: I noticed that you hedged just there, and said that "we have not yet found evidence to confirm pre-war" reports. Have you found any chemical-equipped munitions?
A: We have multiple reports that Iraq retained CW munitions made prior to 1991, possibly including mustard - a long-lasting chemical agent - but we have to date been unable to locate any such munitions.
Q: Iraqis you interviewed gave a significantly longer time frame than 45 minutes, isn't that true?
A: When Saddam had asked a senior military official in either 2001 or 2002 how long it would take to produce new chemical agent and weapons, he told ISG that after he consulted with CW experts in OMI he responded it would take six months for mustard. Another senior Iraqi chemical weapons expert in responding to a request in mid-2002 from Uday Husayn for CW for the Fedayeen Saddam estimated that it would take two months to produce mustard and two years for Sarin.
Q: Let's turn to biological weapons for a minute. Any luck finding biological weapons (BW)?
A: We have not yet been able to corroborate the existence of a mobile BW production effort.
Q: And the two trailers you found can't be conclusively linked to biological weapons, can they?
A: Investigation into the origin of and intended use for the two trailers found in northern Iraq in April has yielded a number of explanations, including hydrogen, missile propellant, and BW production, but technical limitations would prevent any of these processes from being ideally suited to these trailers.
Q: How about nuclear weapons? Did you find any nuclear weapons?
A: Despite evidence of Saddam's continued ambition to acquire nuclear weapons, to date we have not uncovered evidence that Iraq undertook significant post-1998 steps to actually build nuclear weapons or produce fissile material.
Q: So claims that Iraq posed an "imminent threat" were exaggerated, isn't that true?
A: [W]hatever we find will probably differ from pre-war intelligence.
All questions are mine. All answers are David Kay's, drawn from his October 2, 2003 prepared statement to the House Select Committee on Intelligence, the House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Defense, and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. [link] I have tried to quote fairly so as not to distort the meaning of Kay's statement. Having said that, of course, this is cross-examination, so a little latitude is proper...
Q: Mr. Kay, isn't it true that Iraq did not have a chemical weapons (CW) program in 2002?
A: Multiple sources with varied access and reliability have told ISG that Iraq did not have a large, ongoing, centrally controlled CW program after 1991.
Q: And that's because the US and other nations destroyed Iraq's CW capability, isn't that true?
A: Information found to date suggests that Iraq's large-scale capability to develop, produce, and fill new CW munitions was reduced - if not entirely destroyed - during Operations Desert Storm and Desert Fox, 13 years of UN sanctions and UN inspections.
Q: Earlier in this trial, Tony Blair told the jury that Iraq had chemical and biological weapons that could be deployed against "coalition" troops within 45 minutes. That statement wasn't true, was it?
A: We have also acquired information related to Iraq's CW doctrine and Iraq's war plans for OIF, but we have not yet found evidence to confirm pre-war reporting that Iraqi military units were prepared to use CW against Coalition forces.
Q: I noticed that you hedged just there, and said that "we have not yet found evidence to confirm pre-war" reports. Have you found any chemical-equipped munitions?
A: We have multiple reports that Iraq retained CW munitions made prior to 1991, possibly including mustard - a long-lasting chemical agent - but we have to date been unable to locate any such munitions.
Q: Iraqis you interviewed gave a significantly longer time frame than 45 minutes, isn't that true?
A: When Saddam had asked a senior military official in either 2001 or 2002 how long it would take to produce new chemical agent and weapons, he told ISG that after he consulted with CW experts in OMI he responded it would take six months for mustard. Another senior Iraqi chemical weapons expert in responding to a request in mid-2002 from Uday Husayn for CW for the Fedayeen Saddam estimated that it would take two months to produce mustard and two years for Sarin.
Q: Let's turn to biological weapons for a minute. Any luck finding biological weapons (BW)?
A: We have not yet been able to corroborate the existence of a mobile BW production effort.
Q: And the two trailers you found can't be conclusively linked to biological weapons, can they?
A: Investigation into the origin of and intended use for the two trailers found in northern Iraq in April has yielded a number of explanations, including hydrogen, missile propellant, and BW production, but technical limitations would prevent any of these processes from being ideally suited to these trailers.
Q: How about nuclear weapons? Did you find any nuclear weapons?
A: Despite evidence of Saddam's continued ambition to acquire nuclear weapons, to date we have not uncovered evidence that Iraq undertook significant post-1998 steps to actually build nuclear weapons or produce fissile material.
Q: So claims that Iraq posed an "imminent threat" were exaggerated, isn't that true?
A: [W]hatever we find will probably differ from pre-war intelligence.
All questions are mine. All answers are David Kay's, drawn from his October 2, 2003 prepared statement to the House Select Committee on Intelligence, the House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Defense, and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. [link] I have tried to quote fairly so as not to distort the meaning of Kay's statement. Having said that, of course, this is cross-examination, so a little latitude is proper...
posted by Daniel at 3:51 PM
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