[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 13 (Thursday, February 5, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S613-S614]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
U.S. INTELLIGENCE
Mrs. HUTCHISON. Madam President, we have heard a number of speakers
in the Senate this week. It has been an important week. We have had the
testimony of David Kay, the United Nations inspector who just came back
from Iraq. We had the reaction to his testimony. We had reports from
the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. And today we are going to
have a major speech by the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency,
George Tenet.
It is very important that we put in perspective what is happening and
the steps that should be taken to ensure we are addressing the problems
correctly.
First, Mr. Kay, who is totally credible on the issue of weapons of
mass destruction, made the following statements in his Armed Services
Committee testimony.
Senator McCain asked the question:
[Y]ou agree with the fundamental principle here that what
we did was justified and enhanced the security of the United
States and the world by removing Saddam Hussein from power?
Mr. Kay:
Absolutely.
Senator Kennedy:
Many of us feel that the evidence so far leads only to one
conclusion: That what has happened was more than a failure of
intelligence, it was the result of manipulation of the
intelligence to justify a decision to go to war . . .
Mr. Kay:
All I can say is if you read the total body of intelligence
in the last 12 to 15 years that flowed on Iraq, I quite
frankly think it would be hard to come to a conclusion other
than Iraq was a gathering, serious threat to the world with
regard to weapons of mass destruction.
He went on to say:
I think the world is far safer with the disappearance and
removal of Saddam Hussein. I have said I actually think this
may be one of those cases where it was even more dangerous
than we thought. I think when we have the complete record
you're going to discover that after 1998 it became a regime
that was totally corrupt. Individuals were out for their own
protection. And in a world where we know others are seeking
weapons of mass destruction, the likelihood at some point in
the future of a seller and a buyer meeting up would have made
that a far more dangerous country than even we anticipated
with what may turn out not to be a fully accurate estimate.
Senator McCain:
Saddam Hussein developed and used weapons of mass
destruction; true?
Mr. Kay:
Absolutely.
Senator McCain:
He used them against the Iranians and the Kurds; just yes
or no.
Mr. Kay:
Oh, yes.
Senator McCain:
OK. And U.N. inspectors found enormous quantities of banned
chemical and biological weapons in Iraq in the '90s.
Mr. Kay:
Yes, sir.
Senator McCain:
We know that Saddam Hussein had once a very active nuclear
program.
Mr. Kay:
Yes.
Senator McCain:
And he realized and had ambitions to develop and use
weapons of mass destruction.
Mr. Kay:
Clearly.
Senator McCain:
So the point is, if he were in power today, there is no
doubt that he would harbor ambitions for the development and
use of weapons of mass destruction. Is there any doubt in
your mind?
Mr. Kay:
There's absolutely no doubt. And I think I've said that,
Senator.
So I think, when we look at the testimony of the man who has been on
the ground, who has searched for the weapons of mass destruction, who
knows what all the clues are, who knows what the body of intelligence
was--and he
[[Page S614]]
says it really could have been more dangerous than we even ever
thought--I think we have to assess that in the context of all of the
rhetoric we are hearing about second-guessing a decision that was based
on what we had at the time.
Senator Feinstein said we should relook at our intelligence-gathering
organization. I do not think anyone would disagree with that, including
the President of the United States.
In our first effort to address the issues of the failure that led to
9/11, we all tried to look at the intelligence failures, to look at the
things that did not compute, to look at the communications systems that
did not match up. We tried to put a grid in place in the agency that
was created for homeland security that would allow all of the
intelligence gathering that is done in and for our country to be put
through a grid to warn us when there was an imminent danger.
Let's talk about what the result has been because we have tried to
address those failures. We have prevented potential terrorist acts. We
know we prevented an airliner from being blown up because a very smart
flight attendant saw a man get ready to strike a match and light his
shoe. We know from that experience what to look for in an airline
passenger, and we have refined the system. We have seen flights
canceled because there was a suspicion there might be something going
on. Who knows what was prevented in that instance?
We have seen arrests in very remote parts of our country because of
intelligence gathering. We have not had a terrorist attack on our
country since the time we were attacked on 9/11. We have had attempts,
but we, because we have processes in place from what we have learned,
have thwarted those attempts, including one this week in the United
States Senate.
So, yes, we need to relook at our intelligence gathering. Yes, we are
learning every day. And, yes, the President of the United States has
already said he will have an independent investigation of our
intelligence gathering that led to the invasion of Iraq. He has said he
would do that. The President has also agreed to the extension asked for
by the 9/11 Commission, the bipartisan commission that is looking into
what happened before and during the 9/11 incident. He has said, yes, I
will agree to an extension, because he was asked. The President of the
United States is being open. The President of the United States is
trying to do the right thing to get to the bottom of this because he
has the interests of the United States at heart.
Let's look at some other results. Let's look at the difference in the
hope of the people of Iraq and Afghanistan today. Yes, there are
continuing problems. Yes, it grieves every one of us. Our hearts stop
when we hear there has been another bombing or mishap that has hurt one
of our soldiers or killed one of our soldiers or an Iraqi citizen. Yes,
it hurts.
But do the people of Iraq today have a better chance to live in
freedom and prosperity than they had the entire time they had been
ruled by a despot? Absolutely. Do the people of Afghanistan today have
the hope for a future of freedom more than they had under the Taliban
and the other despots under whom they have been buried for all these
years? Oh, yes. They have a constitution that is getting ready now to
become implemented that actually says women will be equal in that
country.
We have come a long way.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator has used 10 minutes.
Mrs. HUTCHISON. Madam President, I ask the distinguished Senator from
Oklahoma if he would like to extend the time or is he prepared to go to
the highway bill.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.
Mr. INHOFE. Madam President, we are prepared to go back to the bill
at this time.
Mrs. HUTCHISON. Thank you.
Madam President, let me end by saying I hope we will come together
and support the President in his initiatives to get to the bottom of
this issue. The President is looking out for the United States of
America, and we do not need partisan rhetoric on an issue such as this.
We need to come together. That is what we must do.
Thank you, Madam President. I yield the floor, and I yield back the
time that was allocated for morning business.
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