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CNN Sunday Morning

Powell Concedes U.S. May Find No WMDs in Iraq

Aired January 25, 2004 - 08:08   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.


HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: A prominent campaign theme this year is the Iraq war. Specifically, the Bush administration's repeated claims that Saddam Hussein posed an imminent threat to the West. So far, no forbidden weapons have been found in Iraq.
Yesterday, Secretary of State Colin Powell, en route to Georgia, conceded that the U.S. does not know if there are any to be found. That's in stark contrast to statements he made before the war. Powell does not say that he and others were mistaken. Only that "Last year, when I made my presentation, it was based on the best intelligence that we had at the time." And weapons or not, the Bush White House is adamant it did the right thing in Iraq.

CNN's Kathleen Koch is at the White House with reaction now from there.

Good morning to you, Kathleen.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. Of course very, very frank statements from Secretary of State Colin Powell, saying that it's a "open question" as to whether weapons of mass destruction will ever be found in Iraq. Powell, of course, reacting to the Friday interview with former weapons inspector David Kay in which he concluded there were no such stockpiles. Quote -- said Powell, "I think the answer to the question is, I don't know yet."

President Bush, in his State of the Union speech Tuesday night, if you'll recall, said that Kay had uncovered "dozens of weapons of mass destruction-related program activities and significant amounts of equipment Iraq concealed from the United Nations." And the president's spokesman, Scott McClellan, in a Saturday statement released after Powell's remarks said, "The Iraq survey group is ongoing, and it is important that they complete their work. The truth will come out, but we already know that Saddam Hussein's regime was given one final opportunity to comply or face serious consequences, and he chose to continue to be in clear violation of his international obligations."

Today, Kay, the former inspector, is quoted in a British newspaper. "The Sunday Telegraph" is claiming that part of Saddam Hussein's secret weapons program was hidden in Syria. Kay, who resigned last week, said that he had uncovered evidence that unspecified materials had been moved to Syria shortly before the war.

The former inspector said precisely what went and what has happened to it is a major issue that needs to be resolved. And of course many critics, including Democrats, have charged the Bush administration with taking the nation to war in Iraq on flimsy evidence, at best. Many of those critics, Democrats, insisting that the reason no weapons of mass destruction have been found is that they didn't exist at all -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Wondering, due to your report here, we of course have heard the country of Syria many times before. Is there any plan to go and be looking there? What is the next step as far as all of this is concerned?

KOCH: That's a very good question, Heidi. And at this point, what Syria is saying is that it does realize it has a very long, a very porous border with Iraq. And that it, itself, cannot verify what may have come across the border, if anything. So it's a very tough question as to how to proceed now.

COLLINS: All right. Kathleen Koch, thanks so much for that. Live from the White House this morning.

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 25, 2004 - 08:08   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: A prominent campaign theme this year is the Iraq war. Specifically, the Bush administration's repeated claims that Saddam Hussein posed an imminent threat to the West. So far, no forbidden weapons have been found in Iraq.
Yesterday, Secretary of State Colin Powell, en route to Georgia, conceded that the U.S. does not know if there are any to be found. That's in stark contrast to statements he made before the war. Powell does not say that he and others were mistaken. Only that "Last year, when I made my presentation, it was based on the best intelligence that we had at the time." And weapons or not, the Bush White House is adamant it did the right thing in Iraq.

CNN's Kathleen Koch is at the White House with reaction now from there.

Good morning to you, Kathleen.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. Of course very, very frank statements from Secretary of State Colin Powell, saying that it's a "open question" as to whether weapons of mass destruction will ever be found in Iraq. Powell, of course, reacting to the Friday interview with former weapons inspector David Kay in which he concluded there were no such stockpiles. Quote -- said Powell, "I think the answer to the question is, I don't know yet."

President Bush, in his State of the Union speech Tuesday night, if you'll recall, said that Kay had uncovered "dozens of weapons of mass destruction-related program activities and significant amounts of equipment Iraq concealed from the United Nations." And the president's spokesman, Scott McClellan, in a Saturday statement released after Powell's remarks said, "The Iraq survey group is ongoing, and it is important that they complete their work. The truth will come out, but we already know that Saddam Hussein's regime was given one final opportunity to comply or face serious consequences, and he chose to continue to be in clear violation of his international obligations."

Today, Kay, the former inspector, is quoted in a British newspaper. "The Sunday Telegraph" is claiming that part of Saddam Hussein's secret weapons program was hidden in Syria. Kay, who resigned last week, said that he had uncovered evidence that unspecified materials had been moved to Syria shortly before the war.

The former inspector said precisely what went and what has happened to it is a major issue that needs to be resolved. And of course many critics, including Democrats, have charged the Bush administration with taking the nation to war in Iraq on flimsy evidence, at best. Many of those critics, Democrats, insisting that the reason no weapons of mass destruction have been found is that they didn't exist at all -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Wondering, due to your report here, we of course have heard the country of Syria many times before. Is there any plan to go and be looking there? What is the next step as far as all of this is concerned?

KOCH: That's a very good question, Heidi. And at this point, what Syria is saying is that it does realize it has a very long, a very porous border with Iraq. And that it, itself, cannot verify what may have come across the border, if anything. So it's a very tough question as to how to proceed now.

COLLINS: All right. Kathleen Koch, thanks so much for that. Live from the White House this morning.

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