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American Morning

Interview With Senator Jack Reed

Aired January 29, 2004 - 07:07   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.


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed was elected to the Senate back in 1996. He sits on the committee that heard testimony from Dr. David Kay yesterday.
He had an opportunity to question David Kay, and some of his questions focused on the administration's preconceived notions, as he put it, on the threat Iraq posed, and also the weapons of mass destruction.

Senator Reed joins us this morning from the Capitol.

Senator, good morning. Thanks for being with us.

SEN. JACK REED (D-RI), ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: Good morning, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: We heard John McCain saying that there should be a call for an independent investigation. David Kay agreed with him. The administration has said let's wait until the work of the Iraqi Survey Group is done. Where do you stand on this? Do you think they should wait until the work is done, or do you think an investigation should begin now?

REED: We can't wait, Soledad. We have pressing international problems like North Korea, and if our intelligence system is broken today, we can't wait to fix it after we conclude what is left of this investigation in Iraq. In fact, Dr. Kay all but indicated that there is very little to be found anymore in Iraq.

So, we have to fix the intelligence system today. We have to begin to investigate today, and not just the intelligence agencies, but how that intelligence was used by the administration.

O'BRIEN: Clearly, it's a debate that is highly politicized. There are many who would say by delving into the inner workings, and maybe inner failings, of the intelligence community, you could potentially reveal a lot of security information to the public that should not be revealed. Do you think that's a fair complaint?

REED: I don't think that's a fair complaint. I think what they're afraid of is revealing the fact that they were using the intelligence not to find the facts, but to justify preconceived notions. And I think what they are concerned about is not divulging sources and methods, but indicating the fact that they weren't probing as decisively and as thoughtfully as they should have before committing American forces.

O'BRIEN: Well, it sounds...

REED: So, I think there is a political agenda here, but that's the political agenda.

O'BRIEN: Forgive me for interrupting you. It sounds like you are blaming the administration when David Kay made it very clear that he felt that actually intelligence should be blamed for failing the administration.

REED: Well, I asked Dr. Kay about his comments that the intelligence agency had abused the president, and he essentially went into a very long discussion about Enron brokers. I think essentially that Dr. Kay, who was very forthright in his conclusions about what was happening in Iraq, just refused to place the blame on anyone other than just the collective intelligence-gathering system.

The administration was responsible for viewing that intelligence, selecting it, probing to see if it was valid, and you can't absolve the administration and simply blame the intelligence agencies.

O'BRIEN: David Kay said essentially we were wrong about pretty much everything. What does the American public take away from this? Every time an alert status is raised, anytime we get any kind of intelligence that's made public, how are we supposed to deal with this information?

REED: Well, it raises very troubling and profound questions about what we know and what we don't know, and particularly when it comes to an evolving crisis, such as North Korea and the continuing threat by terrorists.

So, again, all of this let's wait until we finish searching every square inch of Iraq is totally out of place. We have to get on with a thorough independent analysis of not only our intelligence agencies, but the way that our intelligence is used.

Just last week, Vice President Cheney was claiming that these vans were part of a biological weapons program in Iraq, and that's something Dr. Kay has refuted. So, the administration has to begin to look at themselves and look at the agencies.

O'BRIEN: Senator Jack Reed joining us this morning from Capitol Hill. Thank you, Senator, for being with us.

REED: Thanks, Soledad.

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 29, 2004 - 07:07   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed was elected to the Senate back in 1996. He sits on the committee that heard testimony from Dr. David Kay yesterday.
He had an opportunity to question David Kay, and some of his questions focused on the administration's preconceived notions, as he put it, on the threat Iraq posed, and also the weapons of mass destruction.

Senator Reed joins us this morning from the Capitol.

Senator, good morning. Thanks for being with us.

SEN. JACK REED (D-RI), ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: Good morning, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: We heard John McCain saying that there should be a call for an independent investigation. David Kay agreed with him. The administration has said let's wait until the work of the Iraqi Survey Group is done. Where do you stand on this? Do you think they should wait until the work is done, or do you think an investigation should begin now?

REED: We can't wait, Soledad. We have pressing international problems like North Korea, and if our intelligence system is broken today, we can't wait to fix it after we conclude what is left of this investigation in Iraq. In fact, Dr. Kay all but indicated that there is very little to be found anymore in Iraq.

So, we have to fix the intelligence system today. We have to begin to investigate today, and not just the intelligence agencies, but how that intelligence was used by the administration.

O'BRIEN: Clearly, it's a debate that is highly politicized. There are many who would say by delving into the inner workings, and maybe inner failings, of the intelligence community, you could potentially reveal a lot of security information to the public that should not be revealed. Do you think that's a fair complaint?

REED: I don't think that's a fair complaint. I think what they're afraid of is revealing the fact that they were using the intelligence not to find the facts, but to justify preconceived notions. And I think what they are concerned about is not divulging sources and methods, but indicating the fact that they weren't probing as decisively and as thoughtfully as they should have before committing American forces.

O'BRIEN: Well, it sounds...

REED: So, I think there is a political agenda here, but that's the political agenda.

O'BRIEN: Forgive me for interrupting you. It sounds like you are blaming the administration when David Kay made it very clear that he felt that actually intelligence should be blamed for failing the administration.

REED: Well, I asked Dr. Kay about his comments that the intelligence agency had abused the president, and he essentially went into a very long discussion about Enron brokers. I think essentially that Dr. Kay, who was very forthright in his conclusions about what was happening in Iraq, just refused to place the blame on anyone other than just the collective intelligence-gathering system.

The administration was responsible for viewing that intelligence, selecting it, probing to see if it was valid, and you can't absolve the administration and simply blame the intelligence agencies.

O'BRIEN: David Kay said essentially we were wrong about pretty much everything. What does the American public take away from this? Every time an alert status is raised, anytime we get any kind of intelligence that's made public, how are we supposed to deal with this information?

REED: Well, it raises very troubling and profound questions about what we know and what we don't know, and particularly when it comes to an evolving crisis, such as North Korea and the continuing threat by terrorists.

So, again, all of this let's wait until we finish searching every square inch of Iraq is totally out of place. We have to get on with a thorough independent analysis of not only our intelligence agencies, but the way that our intelligence is used.

Just last week, Vice President Cheney was claiming that these vans were part of a biological weapons program in Iraq, and that's something Dr. Kay has refuted. So, the administration has to begin to look at themselves and look at the agencies.

O'BRIEN: Senator Jack Reed joining us this morning from Capitol Hill. Thank you, Senator, for being with us.

REED: Thanks, Soledad.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.