Here is something from the Senate testimony:
John Warner: Dr. Kay has stated that, although we have not found evidence of large stockpiles of WMD, or forward-deployed weapons, the ISG group have made the following evidence as a part of their record that will be forthcoming: first, evidence of Saddam Hussein's intent to pursue WMD programs on a large scale; actual ongoing chemical and biological research programs; an active program to use the deadly chemical ricin as a weapon, a program that was interrupted only by the start of the war in March; and evidence of missile programs; and evidence that in all probability they were going to build those weapons to incorporate in the warheads, what we know not for sure, but certainly the possibility of weapons of mass destruction; evidence that Saddam Hussein was attempting to reconstitute his fledgling nuclear program as late as 2001; and, most important, evidence that clearly indicates Saddam Hussein was conducting a wide range of activities in clear contravention of the United Nations resolutions.
As you recently stated, Dr. Kay -- and I quote you -- "It was reasonable to conclude that Iraq posed an imminent threat. What we learned during the inspection made Iraq a more dangerous place potentially than, in fact, we thought it was even before the war," end quote.
WARNER: Further, you said on NBC's "Today Show" on Tuesday that it was, quote, "absolutely prudent for the U.S. to go to war."
Dr. Kay, I concur in those conclusions. I believe a real and growing threat has been eliminated and a coalition of nations acted prudently in the cause of freedom. I'd be interested if you concur in my conclusions.
While some have asserted that the president and his senior advisers may have exaggerated or manipulated prewar intelligence on Iraq's WMD programs, Dr. Kay reached the following conclusion, which I think is different.
As you stated recently, quote, "We have to remember that this view of Iraq (prewar assessment of WMD capabilities) was held during the Clinton administration and did not change in the Bush administration. It is not a political got-you issue. Often estimates are different than reality. The important thing is when they differ to understand why," end quote.
globalresearch.ca
WMD Inspector Says Removing Saddam was Justified
By Bobby Eberle
Talon News
January 29, 2004
WASHINGTON (Talon News) -- In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, former Iraq weapons inspector, Dr. David Kay, said that the actions taken to remove Saddam Hussein from power were justified and enhance the security of the United States.
Dr. Kay's testimony brings renewed attention to the weapons of mass destruction (WMD) issue in Iraq. Kay recently caused a stir in the media when he stated that Iraq did not have WMDs. With his Senate testimony, he was able to clarify some of his previous statements.
When pressed by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) that the case for war in Iraq was more than a failure in intelligence but rather the "result of manipulation of the intelligence to justify a decision to go to war," Kay disagreed.
"All I can say is if you read the total body of intelligence in the last 12 to 15 years that flowed on Iraq, I quite frankly think it would be hard to come to a conclusion other than Iraq was a gathering, serious threat to the world with regard to WMD," Kay responded.
Dr. Kay reiterated the fact that Iraq was "in clear violation" of the terms of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1441, which cited numerous ongoing violations by Iraq of previous U.N. resolutions and which gave Iraq a final opportunity to comply with a full disclosure of its WMD programs.
"We have discovered hundreds of cases, based on both documents, physical evidence and the testimony of Iraqis, of activities that were prohibited under the initial U.N. Resolution 687 and that should have been reported under 1441, with Iraqi testimony that not only did they not tell the U.N. about this, they were instructed not to do it and they hid material," Kay said.
"Iraq was in clear and material violation of 1441," Dr. Kay stated. "They maintained programs and activities, and they certainly had the intentions at a point to resume their program. So there was a lot they wanted to hide because it showed what they were doing that was illegal. I hope we find even more evidence of that."
Despite allegations that intelligence officers were pressured to produce results that would support a case against Iraq, Dr. Kay said that is the "wrong explanation" for the missing WMDS.
"[N]ever -- not in a single case -- was the explanation, 'I was pressured to do this,'" Kay told the committee. "The explanation was, very often, 'The limited data we had led one to reasonably conclude this. I now see that there's another explanation for it.'"
Kay continued, "And each case was different, but the conversations were sufficiently in depth and our relationship was sufficiently frank that I'm convinced that, at least to the analysts I dealt with, I did not come across a single one that felt it had been, in the military term, 'inappropriate command influence' that led them to take that position."
Through a series of questions with Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), Dr. Kay acknowledged that Saddam Hussein had "developed and possessed" WMDs. Kay also noted that these WMDs had been used against both the Kurds in Iraq and the Iranians.
Kay agreed that Saddam Hussein once had a "very active nuclear program" and concurred with Sen. McCain's assessment that Saddam "had ambitions to develop and use weapons of mass destruction."
In a briefing with reporters, White House Spokesman Scott McClellan said that America is more secure with the removal of Saddam Hussein from power.
"It was the right decision then, and we know that it was the right decision today," McClellan said.
McClellan said it was important for the Iraq Survey Group to continue its work and "find the truth" about the WMDs.
"And so they will gather all the facts that they can, and ... they will draw as complete a picture as possible," McClellan said. "And then we can go back and compare what was known before with what we've learned since."
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