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American Morning
Revelations From Former U.N. Inspector
Aired January 26, 2004 - 07:35 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Former weapons inspector David Kay says the agency failed to see that Iraq was not producing large amounts of chemical and biological weapons. Kay resigned his post with the CIA on Friday. Today's "New York Times" quoting him as saying, "I'm personally convinced that there were not large stockpiles of newly produced weapons of mass destruction."
The revelations from the former U.N. inspector are at odds with claims from the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BOB GRAHAM (D-FL), INTELLIGENCE CHAIRMAN: I certainly got the impression that the rationale was that not only did Saddam Hussein have significant weapons of mass destruction, but that they were on a trigger ready for use and at a time that would be threatening to the security of the people of the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: On the other side of this argument, White House supporters argue that Saddam Hussein's actions before the war helped trigger the military action.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. PAT ROBERTS (R-MS), CHAIRMAN, INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: If, in fact, he didn't have them, why on Earth didn't he let the U.N. inspectors in and avoid the war? That is a real puzzlement to me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Kay, meanwhile, paints a bizarre picture of Saddam toward the end of his regime, telling the times that Saddam Hussein authorized and funded all sorts of fanciful weapons programs that were presented to him by corrupt scientists.
Meanwhile in Iraq today on the ground, U.S. forces searching the Tigris River for two helicopter pilots who crashed over the weekend while searching for another soldier near Mosul.
Michael Holmes tracking the latest there in Baghdad -- Michael, hello.
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Bill.
Yes, it's been quite a few days in Iraq. This latest incident quite bizarre. It appears an accident. And three members of the U.S. 101st Airborne are missing. What you say is right, this happened in Mosul, the Tigris River. There was a joint patrol of U.S. and Iraqi soldiers. They were traveling on the Tigris River. The U.S. boat capsized. Three of the soldiers on board, there were four, three were found pretty quickly. The other one is still missing.
Now, two U.S. helicopters were brought in to look for him and one of those helicopters went down in the river. The two pilots from that helicopter still missing. There's a big search going under way at the moment, Bill, with U.S. troops looking for those three men; also Iraqi police and the fire department are involved in that search, as well. So far no sign -- Bill.
HEMMER: Well, meanwhile, Michael, it has been a bloody weekend. Take us through the incidents that you've been able to track so far over the past three days.
HOLMES: Well, Bill, there's been a lot. Eight U.S. servicemen died over the weekend, if you include Friday. That's when a U.S. helicopter went down. Two soldiers were killed there. And that was thought to be not as a result of hostile fire. There were a number of roadside bombs. There was also an RPG attack on one Humvee. A soldier injured in that on Saturday, died on Sunday.
As I say, a total of eight Americans were killed in Falluja; also, north in Samara. It was a very, very active weekend by the insurgents. Also, several soldiers were wounded. And not to forget, at least five Iraqis died in that period, as well, as a result of those bomb attacks. And some 33, 34 were injured.
So, yes, a bloody weekend -- Bill.
HEMMER: Michael Holmes there live in Baghdad.
Thank you, Michael.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired January 26, 2004 - 07:35 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Former weapons inspector David Kay says the agency failed to see that Iraq was not producing large amounts of chemical and biological weapons. Kay resigned his post with the CIA on Friday. Today's "New York Times" quoting him as saying, "I'm personally convinced that there were not large stockpiles of newly produced weapons of mass destruction."
The revelations from the former U.N. inspector are at odds with claims from the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BOB GRAHAM (D-FL), INTELLIGENCE CHAIRMAN: I certainly got the impression that the rationale was that not only did Saddam Hussein have significant weapons of mass destruction, but that they were on a trigger ready for use and at a time that would be threatening to the security of the people of the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: On the other side of this argument, White House supporters argue that Saddam Hussein's actions before the war helped trigger the military action.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. PAT ROBERTS (R-MS), CHAIRMAN, INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: If, in fact, he didn't have them, why on Earth didn't he let the U.N. inspectors in and avoid the war? That is a real puzzlement to me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Kay, meanwhile, paints a bizarre picture of Saddam toward the end of his regime, telling the times that Saddam Hussein authorized and funded all sorts of fanciful weapons programs that were presented to him by corrupt scientists.
Meanwhile in Iraq today on the ground, U.S. forces searching the Tigris River for two helicopter pilots who crashed over the weekend while searching for another soldier near Mosul.
Michael Holmes tracking the latest there in Baghdad -- Michael, hello.
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Bill.
Yes, it's been quite a few days in Iraq. This latest incident quite bizarre. It appears an accident. And three members of the U.S. 101st Airborne are missing. What you say is right, this happened in Mosul, the Tigris River. There was a joint patrol of U.S. and Iraqi soldiers. They were traveling on the Tigris River. The U.S. boat capsized. Three of the soldiers on board, there were four, three were found pretty quickly. The other one is still missing.
Now, two U.S. helicopters were brought in to look for him and one of those helicopters went down in the river. The two pilots from that helicopter still missing. There's a big search going under way at the moment, Bill, with U.S. troops looking for those three men; also Iraqi police and the fire department are involved in that search, as well. So far no sign -- Bill.
HEMMER: Well, meanwhile, Michael, it has been a bloody weekend. Take us through the incidents that you've been able to track so far over the past three days.
HOLMES: Well, Bill, there's been a lot. Eight U.S. servicemen died over the weekend, if you include Friday. That's when a U.S. helicopter went down. Two soldiers were killed there. And that was thought to be not as a result of hostile fire. There were a number of roadside bombs. There was also an RPG attack on one Humvee. A soldier injured in that on Saturday, died on Sunday.
As I say, a total of eight Americans were killed in Falluja; also, north in Samara. It was a very, very active weekend by the insurgents. Also, several soldiers were wounded. And not to forget, at least five Iraqis died in that period, as well, as a result of those bomb attacks. And some 33, 34 were injured.
So, yes, a bloody weekend -- Bill.
HEMMER: Michael Holmes there live in Baghdad.
Thank you, Michael.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
