Give Up Delusional Hope of Iraq WMD, Kay Says

July 28, 2004 — By Tabassum Zakaria

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. officials should give up the "delusional hope" that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction so they can move forward with reform, David Kay, who once led the U.S. hunt for banned weapons, said on Wednesday.

"I think it's most important that the president of the United States recognizes that in fact the weapons are not there," Kay told reporters after speaking at The Government Security Expo and Conference.

"It's because until you do that you will not take this fundamental reorganization of the intel community on board," he said. Officials such as acting CIA Director John McLaughlin "hold out the delusional hope that eventually you'll find weapons," Kay said.

Kay stepped down from the CIA-appointed position of chief U.S. weapons hunter in January, and said he did not believe Iraq had banned weapons when the United States invaded.

The United States justified the invasion by saying Baghdad posed a threat because it had biological and chemical weapons and was reviving its nuclear weapons program. No stockpiles of banned weapons have been found.

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