Witness: UK Expert Believed Iraq Had Few Weapons

[NNN0LHI]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030812/wl_nm/iraq_britain_scientist_dc&cid=574&ncid=1480

LONDON (Reuters) - British expert David Kelly believed Iraq (news - web sites) had few if any weapons of mass destruction, a BBC journalist who interviewed him told an inquiry into the scientist's death Tuesday.

"(Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s weapons) program was small. He couldn't have killed very many people even if everything had gone right for him," reporter Andrew Gilligan, reading notes from his interview with Kelly, told the inquiry.

Another section of Gilligan's notes had Kelly referring to "no usable weapons" in Iraq.

Gilligan, whose BBC report in May accusing the government of "sexing up" the case for war with Iraq helped plunge Prime Minister Tony Blair (news - web sites)'s government into crisis, said Kelly blamed Blair's communications chief Alastair Campbell for transforming a pre-war intelligence dossier on Iraq's weapons.

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[teryang]

1. No kidding

That's why he's dead. He contradicted the official reason for war and publicized it.

[phillybri]

2. Kick

:kick:

[Spentastic]

3. Basically

This guy was THE man.

"No usable weapons"

is slightly different to

"imminent threat" and "capable of deployment in 45 mins"

The worst thing about this. Blair won't be touched. I bet a gazillion pounds.

[NNN0LHI]

4. Strange that one of the last people he contacted was the NYT's...

...Judith Miller (Ahmed Chalabi's mouthpiece) before he was found dead. Sure would like to know what he told her? Thing is, Kelly is dead and Judith Miller is not talking.

Don

[DrBB]

5. Correction: sure would like to know who SHE told

...about that conversation.

[hedda_foil]

6. Different Judith Miller

In one of the UK papers today it mentioned that this Miller is a Brit.

[muriel_volestrangler]

7. Which paper?

All the online references I can find say it's the Judith Miller of the New York Times.

[newyawker99]

8. Hi muriel_volestrangler!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast: