TONY SNOW: Joining us to determine what the Kay report does and does not say is David Kay (search), the CIA special adviser on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction programs and head of the Iraqi Survey Group.
Mr. Kay, welcome.
DAVID KAY, CHIEF IRAQ WEAPONS INSPECTOR: Happy to be with you, Tony.
SNOW: Let's take a quick look at some of the headlines from this week characterizing your report. I want to get your reaction to them.
Here we see The New York Times: "No Illicit Arms." The Washington Post: "No Banned Weapons." The Los Angeles Times: "No Illicit Iraqi Arms." USA Today: "No Illegal Weapons."
Is that what you found?
KAY: Well, we certainly found that — have not yet found illicit arms. But that's not the only thing the report says.
In fact, I'm sort of amazed at what was powerful information about both their intent and their actual activities that were not known and were hidden from U.N. inspectors seems not to have made it to the press. This is information that, had it been available last year, would have been headline news. (emphasis added - BB)SNOW: One of the things that you found, for instance, is the Mukhabarat, the secret service, in fact had a vigorous weapons program of its own. Tell us about it.
KAY: Well, we have found right now — and we're still finding them — over two dozen laboratories that were hidden in the Iraqi intelligence service, the Mukhabarat, were not declared to the U.N., had prohibited equipment, and carried on activities that should have been declared.
Now, at the minimum, they kept alive Iraq's capability to produce both biological and chemical weapons. We found assassination tools. So we know that, in fact, they had a prohibited intent to them.
SNOW: You also talk about reference strains of biological agents. What does that mean?
KAY: Well, that's one of the most fascinating stories. An Iraqi scientist in 1993 hid in his own refrigerator reference strains for — active strains, actually would've — were still active when we found them — Botulinum toxin, one of the most toxic elements known.
He was also asked to hide others, including anthrax. After a couple of days, he turned them back because he said they were too dangerous; he had small children in the house.
This is typical. We now have three cases in which scientists have come forward with equipment, technology, diagrams, documents and, in this case, actual weapons material, reference strains and Botulinum toxin, that they were told to hide and that the U.N. didn't find.
SNOW: You believe that there are similar strains perhaps throughout Iraq right now?
KAY: We're actively searching for at least one more cache of weapons — of strains that we know exists.
SNOW: This is a cache that had been referred to by a scientist. The first bit of information paid off; you're still looking for the second one?
KAY: Exactly.
SNOW: And the second one is a large cache.
KAY: It's much larger. It contains anthrax, and that's one reason we're actively interested in getting it.
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http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,99043,00.htmlBB
