Dead Wrong: Straight Facts on the Country's Most Controversial Cover-Ups (65 page)

Dr. Kelly was questioned intensely regarding reports from within the Government that he was the source of the security leak concerning the West’s exaggerations on the true state of Iraq’s bioweapons capabilities, as a false case to go to war.

As we look at Dr. Kelly’s disappearance, it bears noting that there is no evidence that police or anyone else attempted to track Dr. Kelly’s location after he went missing by use of cell phone technology—or that they even attempted calling his phone number to see if it was turned on. Dr. Kelly had his cell phone with him.
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Cellphone tracking technology was available at the time of his disappearance. If his phone was on, they could have pinpointed the location via triangulation. Even if his phone was turned off, it would have revealed the last reported location, which certainly would have been critical information under the circumstances. Why, nowhere in evidence, is that point even addressed? Even more disturbingly, why, nowhere in evidence, does anyone state that they at least attempted to call him on his cellphone? Are we expected to believe that the police never thought about that point? Isn’t that the first and most logical step that could’ve been taken? Most disturbingly of all, why were these questions never asked? It appears nowhere in the testimony that Kelly’s family tried calling him on his cellphone— or that the police ever asked them if they had—or that the official inquiry ever asked if someone had tried tracking his cellphone or at least calling him on it? That’s a huge red flag, quite preposterous, and a sign that something is dreadfully wrong.

Dr. Kelly had completed 40,000 words of a book which he said would prove that the West had lied about its claims to go to war with Iraq. On the day that he disappeared, MI5 intelligence agents raided his house and seized the computer containing his book. The raid took place thirty minutes
before
his body was found dead in the woods. The book disappeared and no traces of it have ever surfaced.

TIMELINE

Disappearance of Dr. David Kelly

Dr. Kelly is at the center of a firestorm because he has recently been identified as the source (“mole” or “leak”) of highly controversial information. He was immediately hauled before a House of Commons committee and grilled on the matter, then taken to a “safe house” where he was “interviewed” intensely for several days by British Intelligence services. Liaising with the media had been part of Kelly’s job, however, revealing the knowledge that Iraq does not actually possess WMD (weapons of mass destruction) stands in direct opposition to the false claims being made by the U.S. and Great Britain in their fraudulent justification for war.

There are known threats against Dr. Kelly’s life (he is on the Iraqi “hit list”) and he is reportedly under protection of MoD (Ministry of Defence), MI5 (roughly the equivalent of the FBI) and/or MI6 (International Intelligence). In his own words, Dr. Kelly stated he had been “keeping low on MoD advice” which “meant leaving home for a week” but he is “back now.”

•8:30 AM Thursday, July 17, 2003:
Dr. Kelly and his wife wake up at their home in the somewhat remote village of Southmoor, about seven miles southwest of Oxford. Mrs. Kelly describes her husband’s mood this Thursday morning as “tired, subdued, but not depressed”. He has a well- deserved reputation as a workaholic and spends the morning working in his office at home, sending emails and taking phone calls.
Analysis: Dr. Kelly was a Nobel Peace Prize-nominated scientist at the very top of his field; he was a tough professional and had withstood the media storm quite well. His wife, on the other hand, was not at all happy about it, and was feeling the pressure, physically as well as mentally.

•8:45-9:00 AM
Dr. Kelly informs his wife that he has a report to write for MoD (Ministry of Defence). He enters his study to work, as he typically does at home. His office is downstairs off the dining room, near the front door and is lined with many books and papers for the book that he is working on.

•9:00-11:00 AM
Dr. Kelly works in his study. His wife hears the phone ring at several different times, and she knows that he is taking calls related to his weapons inspections. Some of these phone calls are with Royal Air Force Wing Commander John Clark, who speaks with Dr. Kelly several different times this morning. Wing Commander Clark is the head of Counter Proliferation Arms Control for the Ministry of Defence and has been working closely with Dr. Kelly. The two are also friends and have been collaborating on weapons inspection tours of Iraq. Among other work items, Wing Commander Clark confirms Dr. Kelly’s flight plans for the following Friday. The MoD booked the flights for Friday, July 25. Wing Commander Clark (as well as other associates and friends of Dr. Kelly) stated that Dr. Kelly was very much looking forward to the trip, to return to Iraq and continue with his work there. As to the substance of their conversations, Wing Commander Clark later testified that they had discussed precisely that—looking forward to the business of returning to the weapons inspections in Iraq, as well as the media fallout and negative publicity, especially insofar as how Kelly had been handling it all right, but that it had affected his wife, and she had been taking it poorly:
“When I asked him how he was going, he basically said he was holding up all right but it had all come to a head and his wife had taken it really very badly ... he did say his wife had been very upset on the morning of the seventeenth.” Dr. Kelly’s diary revealed that he had indeed made an entry in his diary for this upcoming trip. Obviously, a person planning suicide does not dote on the details of an upcoming trip, spending their time booking flights they won’t be taking. Victim is also on-record several times, confirming his eagerness to get back on the ground in Iraq and continue the work on inspections.

•11:00 AM
Dr. Kelly takes a coffee break, coming out of his study, and sits and drinks his coffee. His wife also gets a cup of coffee, and they exchange a few brief words, but do not drink their coffee together.

•11:18 AM Email Sent
Dr. Kelly returns to work in his study. He responds to an email he recently received from Judith Miller of The New York Times. Ms. Miller was the author of Germs: Biological Weapons and America’s Secret War. She has been in contact with Dr. Kelly and was following his very recent and secret testimony before the Intelligence and Security Committee. Her email reads:
“David, I heard from another member of your fan club that things went well for you today. Hope it’s true. J.” Dr. Kelly’s reply was pregnant with serious implication: “Judy, I will wait until the end of the week before judging— many dark actors playing games. Thanks for your support. I appreciate your friendship at this time. Best, David” The fact that Dr. Kelly states he will wait until the end of the week before final judgment is certainly not suggestive of an impending suicide. The implication of “dark actors playing games” would logically seem to be the fact that high-ranking members of the government (Prime Minister Tony Blair, his top aide Alistair Campbell & Defence Minister Geoff Hoon) were perceived by insiders at this time, as using Dr. Kelly in order to discredit the BBC. Ms. Miller’s actions had actually assisted the West in making its fraudulent case for war (in the 2001 anthrax attacks, she was the only journalist to receive a package containing anthrax. After the attack, she began writing material that was very helpful to the White House’s false WMD claims). Yet even Ms. Miller later characterizes the response that she received from Dr. Kelly in an interpretation quite unfavorable to the top echelon of British leadership: “
Based on earlier conversations with Dr. Kelly, the words seemed to refer to people within the Ministry of Defence and Britain’s intelligence agencies with whom he had often sparred over interpretations of intelligence reports.
” Dr. Kelly had reportedly been threatened with criminal prosecution and the loss of his pension if he did not cooperate with the Ministry of Defence inquiry. •

•11:00 AM-12:00 PM Various Emails
In addition to his several communications throughout this morning with Wing Commander Clark and his email to Judith Miller of The New York Times, Dr. Kelly also sends seven other emails, returning correspondence from several colleagues and other well-wishers, in a manner that is typically very upbeat.
He answers an email from Professor Alistair Hay, a colleague, who had stated he was concerned that the Ministry of Defence would “not enable” email contact between he and Dr. Kelly, and that he hoped he was holding up under what must be immense pressure. Dr. Kelly responded: “Dear Alistair, Many thanks for your support. Hopefully it will soon pass and I can get to Baghdad and get on with the real job. Best Wishes, David”
Dr. Kelly responds to a sensitive email—the sender’s name has been redacted for national security—the subject (with only the word “Media” in quotations) is “Media” presentation. The sender states “hope to see you abroad in a few weeks time.” Kelly responds:
“(Recipient’s name redacted for security purposes), Quite a week. If all blows over I will be in Baghdad next Friday (sic). Hope to see you shortly after that. All the best, David” To Ron Manley, who has written “Sorry about your latest run in with the media” and sends his best wishes, Kelly responds: “Ron, Many thanks for your thoughts. It has been difficult. Hopefully it will all blow over by the end of the week and I can travel to Baghdad and get on with the real work. Best wishes, David”
Dr. Kelly was a relatively new and enthusiastic member of the Baha’i faith and, as an example, sends an email to Geeta Kingdon, a fellow Baha’i member:
Kelly’s response references the fact that he has been under sufficient threat that he even had to leave home for a week, possibly at an Intelligence “safe house”:
“Geeta, Many thanks for your thoughts and prayers. It has been a remarkably tough time. Should all blow over by early next week then I will travel to Baghdad a week Friday (sic). I have had to keep a low profile which meant leaving home for a week! Back now. With best wishes and thanks for your support. David”
He also responds to Debra Krikorian’s email, many portions of which have been deleted for security purposes, but she stated that she is “in town” and would like to meet with him when possible. Kelly’s response further confirms his “cloak-and-dagger” intrigue, again indicating that he has been under the protection of the Ministry of Defence for his own security:
“Deb, Many thanks for the email. GKW let me know that you had been trying to contact me but I have been keeping low on MOD advice. If all blows over by the beginning of next week I will get to Baghdad soon. Regards, David”
He responds to an email from colleague Philippe Michel who has stated “We are confident where is the truth and this one must be revealed rapidly”

“Philippe, Many thanks for your email. I know that I have a lot of good friends who are providing support at a difficult time. Hope to see you soon. Regards, David” He also takes the time to respond courteously to colleague Malfrid Braut, who expresses his empathy for the situation Dr. Kelly finds himself in and also wants to send Kelly a draft of a report:
“Malfrid, Thanks. It has been difficult. I hope to get to Baghdad soon to really work. I will then probably be out of email contact but send me whatever you wish and I will respond as soon as I can.
I am sure that Cairo remains absorbing. Best wishes, David” Analysis: The Hutton Inquiry lists the above eight emails (including Miller) as all being sent by Dr. Kelly at exactly 11:18 AM—that doesn’t seem very likely, given their length, thoughtfulness, and the sheer number of them. In any event, as with all his communications this morning, Dr. Kelly sounds very upbeat about returning to Iraq and getting on with “the real work” of weapons inspections even though he has been “laying low” and was away from home for a week due to security precautions implemented by the Ministry of Defence. His correspondence clearly attests to his mood on his final morning. He conducts his affairs in his typical manner: all-business, efficient, professional, polite, and quite obviously not behaving in a suicidal manner.