Asked by reporters if he would repeat earlier expressions of confidence that the weapons would be found in light of recent statements by the former chief weapons inspector in Iraq, David A. Kay, that Mr. Hussein had gotten rid of them well before the war, Mr. Bush did not answer directly.
“I think it’s very important for us to let the Iraq Survey Group do its work, so we can find out the facts and compare the facts to what was thought,” he said at an appearance with the visiting president of Poland.
Mr. Bush praised Dr. Kay’s work and came to the defense of the Central Intelligence Agency, whose reporting on Iraq’s weapons programs Dr. Kay sharply criticized in interviews over the weekend. “These are unbelievably hard-working, dedicated people who are doing a great job for America,” Mr. Bush said of the intelligence community.
–From the NYT