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The author of the report (3 October 2003) This is a sidepiece to a longer article, "Kay's misreport". A slightly edited version was published in the Independent on Sunday (5 October 2003). David Kay has staked his professional and his business reputation over the past ten years at least on the case that Iraq was a serious and current threat. He was a frequent pundit on US television shows, making the case for regime change in blunt language. He called Kofi Annan's attempt to broker an effective inspections process in 1998 "worse than useless", claimed in 2002 that Iraq was pursuing its weapons of mass destruction in order to bring about the elimination of the state of Israel, and he said before entering Iraq that the Coalition would find not just a "smoking gun", but a "smoking arsenal." Until October last year, Kay was the Vice-President of a major San Diego-based defence contractor, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), coordinating its homeland security and counterterrorism initiatives. It was whilst he held this role that he claimed that Iraq could launch terrorist attacks on the US mainland. SAIC was in the headlines earlier this year when it was revealed that the US government had contracted it three years ago to produce mobile biological vans, complete with all its parts, for training purposes. SAIC's Corporate Vice President until February was Christopher Ryan Henry, now Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. SAIC's spokesman acknowledged earlier this year that the company is deeply involved in the current war in Iraq. This includes its role in leading a $650 million contract for services and support for the US army. Among other activities, SAIC runs the US-funded radio station in Umm Qasr, "Voice of the New Iraq", and employs a council that provides senior advisors to the US occupation authorities in Baghdad. It is not known if Kay retains financial interests in SAIC. |
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Author: Glen Rangwala Back to the Index
of Writings |
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