Kay Reports Further

Yesterday David Kay gave a telephone intereview to reporters, in which he elaborated on his written report in ways that were, in some respects, quite helpful. The highlights:
1) Iraq paid North Korea $10 million for medium-range missile technology shortly before the war (the report is unclear as to whether this means actual missiles, or something else), but North Korea never delivered because of American pressure. This ties in with other evidence cited in Kay’s report that Iraq was working and making real progress on prohibited missile technology. The problem, of course, is that these weapons are consistent with conventional as well as WMD use.
2) European countries, which Kay says he cannot yet name, assisted Iraq in developing prohibited missiles. It isn’t obvious what the administration is waiting for here. Wouldn’t the present time, when we are trying to get U.N. help in the rebuilding of Iraq, be a good moment to discredit some of the war’s opponents? Or maybe this explains why France seems to be staying out of the way of our current efforts.
3) Kay kept alive the hope that actual WMDs may have been smuggled out of Iraq prior to the war: “‘Multiple reports’ from Iraqis indicate that weapons of mass destruction or related goods were shipped out to Iran, Syria and Jordan, Mr. Kay said. ‘It’s very difficult to confirm that from inside Iraq. We [are] trying to do that.'” Kay noted that two Iraqi scientists who cooperated with his survey group have been shot.