Waiting for United Nations inspectors to search Iraq for weapons of mass destruction is “madness,” according to R. James Woolsey, a former director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

“To be blunt about it, I think that way lies madness,” he said.

Woolsey went on to say that the number of the U.N. inspectors sent over to Iraq is about 80, almost the size of the Chico police force.

Such a small group can’t hope to find remote hiding places for weapons of mass destruction in a country the size of France, he explained.

With moderator Oliver North, a retired Marine lieutenant colonel and syndicated radio host, standing between them, Jean Kirkpatrick, former ambassador to the United Nations, and Woolsey took turns answering questions about foreign policy during the Bakersfield Business Conference Oct. 12.

Kirkpatrick, who served as a cabinet menber for former President Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1985, also talked about the limitations the United Natoins has in conjunction with dealing with potential threats like Saddam Hussein.

“The U.N. is a wonderful forum in which to discuss issues, period,” she said. “I think it is not good at fighting wars and not good at organizing people to fight wars. ”

Other areas discussed by the panel included dealing with the security threats within America, the definition of a victory against terrorism, and which countries will be U.S. allies during the war against terrorism.

“Nothing short of victory will carry the day, so victory must be our goal,” said Kirkpatrick

Woolsey, a partner in a Washington, D.C.-based law firm, has served in various capacities in the U.S. government since 1969.

He called for a total change of the face of the Middle East, citing that democracy could change the landscape of that area like it has in other places in the world, with growth of democratic nations from about 10 in 1917 to about 120 in the last 85 years.

“We have to take the same attitude toward the Middle East and begin to regard it as something other than our gasoline station,” he said.