[George W. Bush]

Not sure if FReepers loathe McStain or Ritter more. Heh-heh.

that Iraq admitted making 8,500 liters (8.5 tons) of anthrax, which if reduced to powder, could fill a dozen easily portable suitcases

Something about this doesn't sound exactly right.

I always thought when we said nukes, we meant the bombs, not the vast tonnage or even the yellow cake intermediary. And when we say anthrax, we mean weaponized anthrax. And when we speak of nerve gas, it's actual gas that's ready to be used.

In Ritter's remarks, I'm not sure what the exact difference between regular VX and 'weaponized VX' is.

[FairOpinion]

May want to ping your list -- good quotes about knowledge of Iraq's WMD.

[FairOpinion]

The point is that in 1998 Ritter testified about Saddam's WMD and danger to the world (that was before he wante crazy and/or got paid off by Saddam), and all Senators, including Democrats, including Kerry, expressed conviction about Saddam's WMD.

The point about Saddam's nukes is that he had everything, except the actual fissile material, which he could either work on producing himself, or just buy it on the extensive black market.

As for weaponized VX vs. "regular", I think the weaponized VX is when it's actually loaded into shells to be fired, but "regular" VX could be used by terrorists, releasing it in various places.