THE KAY REPORT REDUX:
What the Mainstream Media Won't Publish

If one reads accounts in the Washington Post or New York Times about what was revealed this past week to Congress by David Kay, the leading U.S. weapons inspector sent to Iraq in search of evidence of Saddam's weapons of mass destruction, one gets the impression that Mr. Kay came away empty-handed.

But according the an editorial in yesterday's New York Post nothing could be further from the truth. Notes the editor, in part:

Did Kay find nuclear-tipped ICBMs on their launch pads?

Of course not.

But evidence of biological, chemical and nuclear programs in various stages of development - from just-getting-started to possibly can-be-deployed-in-a-week?

Yes. And he found massive evidence of big-time coverups by Saddam and his evil elves.

And Kay says he's barely scratched the surface - though, again, what's been found already is impressive enough.

"We have discovered dozens of WMD-related program activities and significant amounts of equipment that Iraq concealed from the United Nations during the inspections that began in late 2002," Kay told Congress Thursday. Including:

* "A clandestine network of laboratories and safehouses . . . that contained equipment . . . suitable for continuing [chemical and biological weapons] research."

* A prison lab, "possibly used in human testing" of biological weapons.

* "Reference strains of biological organisms, one of which can be used to produce biological weapons."

* Hidden documents and equipment, useful for enriching uranium for nukes.

* "UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] not fully declared."

* "Plans and advanced design work for long-range missiles."

* "Clandestine attempts between late 1999 and 2002 to obtain from North Korea technology related to [long-range] ballistic missiles . . . cruise missiles and other prohibited equipment."

There's more - like reports by Iraqi scientists of the development of a production line that "could be switched to produce anthrax in one week if the seed stock were available."

Why hasn't even more been found?

"Iraq's WMD programs spanned more than two decades, involved thousands of people, billions of dollars and were elaborately shielded by deception operations that continued even beyond the end of Operation Iraqi Freedom," said Kay.

He noted that two key scientists were shot after talking to his team. And that chemical weapons might be stored at any of 130 known Iraqi "Ammunition Storage Points."

How many have been inspected? Ten.

Given that many exceed 50 square miles, we'd say that's pretty good work for three months. But much work plainly lies ahead.