The Iraqis had over two decades to develop these weapons. And hiding them was an essential part of their program.

The weapons do not exist.

We do, after all, have the case of A.Q. Khan, who, for 20 years, sold secrets of nuclear weapons production to countries around the world, ... It took about 18 years before we discovered it and managed to stop it.

real danger [was] not so much that Saddam would pass along the secrets of weapons of mass destruction, but scientists and engineers in their desperate desire to better themselves, to keep their families alive, might well have sold these secrets.

[Kay said the United States was not alone in its prewar interpretation of Iraq's weapons capability. Although other countries' intelligence agencies differed on how serious a threat Iraq was and what course of action to take to mitigate it,] there was very little difference around the world on the issue of 'Does [Saddam] have weapons?' ... ' Yes, he did,' was the consensus.

Sen. Edward Kennedy knows very directly. Senator Kennedy and I talked on several occasions prior to the war that my view was that the best evidence that I had seen was that Iraq indeed had weapons of mass destruction.