Q Given the comments by Dr. Kay, does the administration continue to believe there are weapons of mass destruction in Iraq?
MR. McCLELLAN: One, let me just say that the decision to remove Saddam Hussein's regime from power was the right decision. Saddam Hussein was a dangerous and gathering threat, and the President made the right decision to remove him from power. America -- well, the world is a safer and better place, and America is more secure because of the actions that we took.
And let me just say in reference to what Dr. Kay said, what we know today only reconfirms that the President made the right decision. Remember that September 11th taught us that it's important to confront gathering threats before it's too late. Saddam Hussein chose continued defiance even when the United Nations gave him one final opportunity to comply, or face serious consequences. He was in material breach of Security Council Resolution 1441.
Q Give that, though, Dr. Kay and now Senator Roberts seemed to indicate the same thing this weekend, and Colin Powell, as well -- they allowed for the possibility there may never have been stockpiles of WMD in Iraq.
MR. McCLELLAN: A couple of things there. One, let's go back to what Dr. Kay said. As Dr. Kay said, Iraq was a very dangerous place. That's why I said what we know today only reconfirms the fact that we made the right decision. What Dr. Kay --
Q Scott, no one is questioning the decision --
MR. McCLELLAN: Let me finish, let me finish, I'm coming to your question. And what Dr. Kay said, based on what he has learned, reconfirms that we made the right decision. It was -- Dr. Kay said that the regime continued to pursue a biological weapon, including the deadly poison ricin. The regime, according to Dr. Kay, continued an active ballistic missile program. And Dr. Kay pointed out that the regime had, "the technology, the ability to produce, and there were terrorist groups passing through the country," from Dr. Kay.
Remember, Iraq was unique. Saddam Hussein's regime had weapons of mass destruction, they used weapons of mass destruction on its neighbors and on his own people, and they failed to account for the weapons and weapons programs, and refused to comply for 12 years and some 17 Security Council resolutions. Again, given the opportunity to come -- given a final opportunity to come clean, Saddam Hussein chose defiance once again.
We know he had the intention, we know he had the capability. And, given his history and given the events of September 11th, we could not afford to rely on the good intentions of Saddam Hussein.
Now, on questions to the intelligence, Dr. Kay pointed out that it's important for the Iraq Survey Group to complete its work so that we have as complete and accurate picture as possible. There were -- obviously, we want to compare the intelligence from before the war with what the Iraq Survey Group learns on the ground. But the first step is to let the Iraq Survey Group finish their work so the intelligence community can have a -- or have as complete a picture as possible.
Q So do you feel misled by the intelligence community, as Kay thinks that the --
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, again, I think I just said that, obviously, we want to compare the intelligence from before the war with what the Iraq Survey Group learns on the ground. That's part of -- but the first step is to come up with as complete and as accurate a picture as possible. That's what the Iraq Survey Group is working to do. That is their mission. And Dr. Kay pointed out that it's important to let them continue their work so that they can finish it.
Q What happens if it doesn't match up?
MR. McCLELLAN: Again, that's why it's important that they complete their work. We need to let them complete their work. But make no mistake about it, the decision that the President made was the right decision. Saddam Hussein was a dangerous and gathering threat. The world is safer and better because of the actions that we took. America is more secure because of the actions that we took. The greatest responsibility this President has is the protection of the American people, and the President acts decisively to meet that responsibility.
Q So you're saying there was no breakdown at all in the intelligence?
MR. McCLELLAN: What I am saying is that the decision that the President made was the right decision. And, obviously, it's important to compare the intelligence before the war with what we learn on the ground through the Iraq Survey Group, and that will come. But -- that will come as we draw as complete a picture as possible, but it's important first for the Iraq Survey Group to complete their mission.
Q Then a review might come after that?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think there already are -- there are already some things that the CIA is doing. But the first step is for the Iraq Survey Group to complete their work.
Q But, Scott, Kay, who, arguably, knows more about this than anybody, says the President is owed an apology by the intelligence community. He thinks they let the President down. What does the President think about how the intelligence community served him on this matter?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, one, I think Dr. Kay said, if you go back and look at his comments, said it's important to let the Iraq Survey Group complete their work, it's important to draw as complete a picture as possible. That's what he said.
And that's why I said that the first step -- I think you're getting ahead of yourself, it's premature at this point. But the first step is to let the Iraq Survey Group complete their work. We want to compare the intelligence before the war with what the Iraq Survey Group learns on the ground. But their mission is ongoing. Their work is ongoing. Dr. Kay worked very hard on -- it was a difficult job and we appreciate all the work that he did. But he pointed out that it's important for the Iraq Survey Group to continue their work.
Q But he also said the President is owed an apology by the intelligence community. What does the President feel about that?
MR. McCLELLAN: I think that I just answered that, by saying that the first step is for the Iraq Survey Group to complete their work. That's what --
Q -- demand an apology?
MR. McCLELLAN: So that we draw as complete a picture as possible. Then we can compare what we knew before the war with what we learn on the ground from the Iraq Survey Group.
I mean, regardless, the decision that we made was the right decision. And what we know today only reconfirms that it was the right decision.
Q Even if there are no weapons found, it still was the right decision?
MR. McCLELLAN: We already know from what Dr. Kay has learned that the decision was the right decision. We knew before the war and what we've learned today only reconfirms that it was the right decision. Again, I go back to what I said a minute ago -- Saddam Hussein's regime was a danger and it was a gathering threat, and we made -- and the President made the right decision to remove him from power.
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MR. McCLELLAN: One, let me just say that the decision to remove Saddam Hussein's regime from power was the right decision. Saddam Hussein was a dangerous and gathering threat, and the President made the right decision to remove him from power. America -- well, the world is a safer and better place, and America is more secure because of the actions that we took.
And let me just say in reference to what Dr. Kay said, what we know today only reconfirms that the President made the right decision. Remember that September 11th taught us that it's important to confront gathering threats before it's too late. Saddam Hussein chose continued defiance even when the United Nations gave him one final opportunity to comply, or face serious consequences. He was in material breach of Security Council Resolution 1441.
Q Give that, though, Dr. Kay and now Senator Roberts seemed to indicate the same thing this weekend, and Colin Powell, as well -- they allowed for the possibility there may never have been stockpiles of WMD in Iraq.
MR. McCLELLAN: A couple of things there. One, let's go back to what Dr. Kay said. As Dr. Kay said, Iraq was a very dangerous place. That's why I said what we know today only reconfirms the fact that we made the right decision. What Dr. Kay --
Q Scott, no one is questioning the decision --
MR. McCLELLAN: Let me finish, let me finish, I'm coming to your question. And what Dr. Kay said, based on what he has learned, reconfirms that we made the right decision. It was -- Dr. Kay said that the regime continued to pursue a biological weapon, including the deadly poison ricin. The regime, according to Dr. Kay, continued an active ballistic missile program. And Dr. Kay pointed out that the regime had, "the technology, the ability to produce, and there were terrorist groups passing through the country," from Dr. Kay.
Remember, Iraq was unique. Saddam Hussein's regime had weapons of mass destruction, they used weapons of mass destruction on its neighbors and on his own people, and they failed to account for the weapons and weapons programs, and refused to comply for 12 years and some 17 Security Council resolutions. Again, given the opportunity to come -- given a final opportunity to come clean, Saddam Hussein chose defiance once again.
We know he had the intention, we know he had the capability. And, given his history and given the events of September 11th, we could not afford to rely on the good intentions of Saddam Hussein.
Now, on questions to the intelligence, Dr. Kay pointed out that it's important for the Iraq Survey Group to complete its work so that we have as complete and accurate picture as possible. There were -- obviously, we want to compare the intelligence from before the war with what the Iraq Survey Group learns on the ground. But the first step is to let the Iraq Survey Group finish their work so the intelligence community can have a -- or have as complete a picture as possible.
Q So do you feel misled by the intelligence community, as Kay thinks that the --
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, again, I think I just said that, obviously, we want to compare the intelligence from before the war with what the Iraq Survey Group learns on the ground. That's part of -- but the first step is to come up with as complete and as accurate a picture as possible. That's what the Iraq Survey Group is working to do. That is their mission. And Dr. Kay pointed out that it's important to let them continue their work so that they can finish it.
Q What happens if it doesn't match up?
MR. McCLELLAN: Again, that's why it's important that they complete their work. We need to let them complete their work. But make no mistake about it, the decision that the President made was the right decision. Saddam Hussein was a dangerous and gathering threat. The world is safer and better because of the actions that we took. America is more secure because of the actions that we took. The greatest responsibility this President has is the protection of the American people, and the President acts decisively to meet that responsibility.
Q So you're saying there was no breakdown at all in the intelligence?
MR. McCLELLAN: What I am saying is that the decision that the President made was the right decision. And, obviously, it's important to compare the intelligence before the war with what we learn on the ground through the Iraq Survey Group, and that will come. But -- that will come as we draw as complete a picture as possible, but it's important first for the Iraq Survey Group to complete their mission.
Q Then a review might come after that?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think there already are -- there are already some things that the CIA is doing. But the first step is for the Iraq Survey Group to complete their work.
Q But, Scott, Kay, who, arguably, knows more about this than anybody, says the President is owed an apology by the intelligence community. He thinks they let the President down. What does the President think about how the intelligence community served him on this matter?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, one, I think Dr. Kay said, if you go back and look at his comments, said it's important to let the Iraq Survey Group complete their work, it's important to draw as complete a picture as possible. That's what he said.
And that's why I said that the first step -- I think you're getting ahead of yourself, it's premature at this point. But the first step is to let the Iraq Survey Group complete their work. We want to compare the intelligence before the war with what the Iraq Survey Group learns on the ground. But their mission is ongoing. Their work is ongoing. Dr. Kay worked very hard on -- it was a difficult job and we appreciate all the work that he did. But he pointed out that it's important for the Iraq Survey Group to continue their work.
Q But he also said the President is owed an apology by the intelligence community. What does the President feel about that?
MR. McCLELLAN: I think that I just answered that, by saying that the first step is for the Iraq Survey Group to complete their work. That's what --
Q -- demand an apology?
MR. McCLELLAN: So that we draw as complete a picture as possible. Then we can compare what we knew before the war with what we learn on the ground from the Iraq Survey Group.
I mean, regardless, the decision that we made was the right decision. And what we know today only reconfirms that it was the right decision.
Q Even if there are no weapons found, it still was the right decision?
MR. McCLELLAN: We already know from what Dr. Kay has learned that the decision was the right decision. We knew before the war and what we've learned today only reconfirms that it was the right decision. Again, I go back to what I said a minute ago -- Saddam Hussein's regime was a danger and it was a gathering threat, and we made -- and the President made the right decision to remove him from power.
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