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Washington DC - While no weapons of mass destruction have been
found in Iraq, former top U.S. weapons inspector David Kay told members
of the Senate that the discovery of large stockpiles of couscous
may have been a sign the former Iraqi leader was preparing for war.
"The presence of huge stockpiles of food discovered in and
around Iraqi military outposts is a definite indicator that Hussein
was planning for some large-scale military offensive," Kay told
the Senate Committee. The large stockpiles of food, known in military
language as MMC or Mobilized Military Cuisine, are one sign of many
that intelligence operatives use to cue in on large-scale operations.
``We have had many surprises,'' Kay told reporters after meeting
in a closed session with the Senate Intelligence Committee. Kay testified
that the discovery of the stockpiled MMC is part of a larger piece
of the puzzle and provided telling insight into the plans of the
deposed Iraqi leader. "Armies travel on their stomachs and whenever
you see a lot of food mobilized around bases, you know that something
is being planned." To the nature of such "plans",
Kay had no comment.
The Bush administration has been criticized recently for the failure
of military inspectors to find large stockpiles of weapons. The threat
from such weapons was cited as the principal justification for invading
Iraq and toppling Saddam last year.
Bush was swift to highlight the news of the MMC during a morning
breakfast with a Washington D.C.-based women's group known as AHAG,
or the Affiliation of Housewives Allied for Good. "I have been
telling the American people we need to stay the course in Iraq. The
stockpiled food is an indicator that Mr. Hussein had evil designs." Bush
went on to cite a 1999 Clinton Administration Intelligence document
that classified large food stockpiles as a "militarily determinant
to war" and were officially classified as weapons of war. He
again stressed that America needs to "act swiftly and decisively" whenever
such telling evidence is found.
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