Former chief US weapons inspector David Kay called for an independent investigation into what he called “fundamentally flawed” intelligence over Iraq’s weapons capability. We speak with 27-year career CIA analyst Ray McGovern.

The comments of former chief US weapons inspector David Kay since his resignation last week have become a premiere issue in the debate over the Bush administration’s justification for invading Iraq. The former weapons inspector has also become a major reference point for the Democratic candidates vying for the party’s nomination.

Kay said this week that an independent investigation should be conducted into what he called the flawed intelligence over Iraq’s weapons capability. Kay said the intelligence was “fundamentally flawed but was not deliberately distorted.” Kay’s call came during testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee. The Bush administration dismissed the idea of an independent investigation and said inspections should continue.

The White House has sent National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice on the offensive in a series of interviews with large media outlets. In a significant shift from the administration’s prewar allegations about Saddam Hussein’s possession of weapons of mass destruction, Rice has been saying, “When you are dealing with secretive regimes that want to deceive, you’re never going to be able to be positive.”

• Ray McGovern, 27-year career analyst with the CIA. He is co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity. His latest article is entitled “Nothing To Preempt”
• Tape: White House Press Briefing, January 28, 2004.