Posted on 08/07/2004 12:29:30 PM PDT by forest
Kerry is again spouting off like a forgotten teakettle boiling over on the stove -- hot air and moisture, but no substance. As with the professional stage magician, Kerry's campaign is based on misdirection, illusion and quick changes.
In January of 2003 Kerry Said: "Without question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime. ... He presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation. ... And now he is miscalculating America's response to his continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction ... So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real..."
That was then. Today, Kerry is liable to say just about anything. Don't like what he says today? Just wait. It will probably change tomorrow.(1)
And what of those WMD we hear so much talk about? Let's see if we can remember a few past truths here and decide for ourselves if America should have gone to war with Iraq.
If WMD are the only criteria for starting a war, we know for sure that Saddam had them. He used them in a war with Iran. He gassed Kurds with them. During the Golf War, Saddam had tons of chemical weapons forward deployed for his generals to use on our army. They were not used and our side destroyed them.
Does anyone honestly believe that Saddam had all of his WMD forward deployed? Of course not. So, if the tons of WMD that we destroyed during the Golf War were, let's say half, where were the rest? Fact is, we do not know, simply because, back then, we did not take over the whole country and mount a serious search.
However, the U.S. did have some intelligence about Saddam's military -- probably quite a lot that was never published. The American voters had a few hints of what was happening, too. For instance, On Feb. 1, 1998, Madeline Albright announced: "We must stop Saddam from ever again jeopardizing the stability and security of his neighbors with weapons of mass destruction."(2) And, just a few days later, on Feb. 17, 1998, President Bill Clinton said: "If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program."(3)
Fast forward now to December of 2001. The World Tribune(4) reported:
"For the first time, Iraq has specifically threatened Israel with retaliation for any U.S.-led campaign against the regime of President Saddam Hussein.
A senior Iraqi diplomat said Saddam has seven million combatants called the Quds Army. The diplomat said Iraq would 'swallow Israel up' if his country is attacked."
"'The Palestinian cause and liberation of Jerusalem as well as campaign against Israel is a fundamental issue for Iraq, just like many other Islamic states,' Iraqi charge d'affaires in Teheran Abdul Sattar Izzeddin Rawi said."
The Tribune also reported: "At the same time, Rawi told the official Iranian news agency IRNA that Saddam has sent three messages to the United States and its European allies. The messages warned against any attack on Baghdad. The diplomat said Kurds in northern Iraq would suffer greatly if they cooperate in any U.S.-led effort to topple Saddam."
Also that December, The Telegraph in England broke more interesting news:
"Uranium [and cyanide] has been found in an al-Qa'eda base outside Kandahar - the first evidence that Osama bin Laden had obtained materials for a nuclear Arsenal . . . ."
During the war in Afghanistan, Bill Gertz reported in The Washington Times that "U.S. intelligence agencies have spotted scores of Iranian intelligence and military personnel deep inside Afghanistan working to destabilize the interim government." . . .
"The Iranians include agents from the Ministry of Intelligence and Security, the Iranian spy service, and Iranian special forces troops from the Revolutionary Guards Corps, said officials familiar with intelligence reports."
Last June, the World Tribune(5) reported where some of Iraq's WMD's were.
"The UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission briefed the Security Council on new findings that could help trace the whereabouts of Saddam's missile and WMD program. The briefing contained satellite photographs that demonstrated the speed with which Saddam dismantled his missile and WMD sites before and during the war. Council members were shown photographs of a ballistic missile site outside Baghdad in May 2003, and then saw a satellite image of the same location in February 2004, in which facilities had disappeared. . . . In April, International Atomic Energy Agency director-general Mohammed El Baradei said material from Iraqi nuclear facilities were being smuggled out of the country."
Last week the USMC published a very interesting report -- complete with very nice photos -- concerning where terrorist and others are finding weapons. United States Marines, it seems, located one stash containing 600,000 TONS of explosives in Iraq! That included mortars, rockets and all sorts of munitions necessary to keep an army of terrorists worldwide well equipped for many years.(6)
Another point is, Iraq is the size of the State of California and there are weapons of many varieties hidden all over the country. Finding them all is not easy.
By deposing Saddam and his government, President Bush decapitated one of terrorism's major financiers and weapons suppliers. Unlike some others, I think of that as a very smart move.
Along with that action, our military made it possible for 50 million people in Afghanistan and Iraq to get a taste of freedom for the first time in their lifetimes.
1. http://www.kerryoniraq.com/
2. http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9802/01/iraq/
3. http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/02/18/iraq.political.analysis/
4. http://216.26.163.62/2001/me_iraq_12_04.html
5. http://216.26.163.62/2004/me_iraq_06_11.html
END
Fact is, we do not know where all Saddam's weapons are, simply because, back then, we did not take over the whole country and mount a serious search.
"Uranium [and cyanide] has been found..."
... speed with which Saddam dismantled his missile and WMD sites.
600,000 TONS destroyed by USMC.
... taste of freedom for the first time in their lifetimes.
...destroyed during the Golf War were...
Golf war? Doug, you can do better than this!
Gulf Golf is my error. I am supposed to catch those. Sorry.
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
How do you know? He is rarely asked the question whether Iraqi WMDs will be found.
I've felt all alone usually with other people in this kind of conversation. Why?
- Saddam was a proven killer, in big numbers.
- Saddam agressively used weapons against others.
- Saddam was known to associate and support terrorist groups.
- Saddam lost the war, but stayed in war under certain conditions that esp. regarded weapons.
- Saddam violated the conditions of his surrender.
- The U.S. had just been directly attacked.
- Saddam continued to violate the conditions of his surrender.
- For months we threatened to invade Iraq. Plenty of time to hide weapons, esp. biological weapons.
What's so hard to see about this?
-- Joe
It is part of his "secret Plan". /SARCASM
An early report from Iraq after our soldiers invaded was that traces of chemicals were found in the river. I don't remember which river but that is where he dumped them. They are gone now.
John Kerry on the April 27, 2004 "Hardball" (Remember: Kerry's advisor is Joseph Wilson who has an inside run on CIA info.)
"...Matthews: If there was an exaggeration of WMD, exaggeration of the danger, exaggeration implicitly of the connection to al Qaeda and 9/11, what's the motive for this, what's the "why?" Why did Bush and Cheney and the ideologues around take us to war? Why do you think they did it?
Kerry: It appears, as they peel away the weapons of mass destruction issue, and--we may yet find them, Chris. Look, I want to make it clear: Who knows if a month from now, you find some weapons. You may. But you certainly didn't find them where they said they were, and you certainly didn't find them in the quantities that they said they were. And they weren't found, and I have talked to some soldiers who have come back who trained against the potential of artillery delivery, because artillery was the way they had previously delivered and it was the only way they knew they could deliver. Now we found nothing that is evidence of that kind of delivery, so the fact is that as you peel it away I think it comes down to this larger ideological and neocon concept of fundamental change in the region and who knows whether there are other motives with respect to Saddam Hussein, but they did it because they thought they could, and because they misjudged exactly what the reaction would be and what they could get away with.
I have a feeling that if Kerry gets elected, we won't have to find them, the bad guys will deliver....
My brother is there for the State Dept. and tells me the golf courses are beautiful, lush and green. Just hard to find!
Besides, I read right over my errors.
Tough room today. . . .
To: andrew7
Did you miss this one?
The search function on this site is very handy!
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/886199/posts
Deadly chemicals are found dumped in river
London Daily Telegraph ^ | 4-5-03 | David Harrison
Posted on 04/05/2003 7:42 PM PST by Prince Charles
Deadly chemicals are found dumped in river
By David Harrison in Nasiriyah
(Filed: 06/04/2003)
Mustard gas and cyanide have been found in river water in the Iraqi city of Nasiriyah, coalition forces said yesterday.
The poisonous substances are believed to have been dumped in the Euphrates either by Iraqi soldiers fleeing from American troops or local factories that produced weapons of mass destruction.
A spokesman for the United States marines, based just outside the city, described the quantities of chemical agents found as "significant" and claimed that it was further evidence that Saddam Hussein has produced weapons of mass destruction.
He said yesterday: "I think this discovery shows what kind of guy is running this country.
"This stuff is just dumped in the Euphrates without any concern for the many people who drink and wash with water from the river."
The poisons were discovered by the marines' scientists who were testing the quality of water taken from the Euphrates before purifying it and distributing it to the residents of Nasiriyah, a city of 250,000 people.
It follows the discovery of hundreds of gas masks and chemical warfare suits at a military base near the city.
53 posted on 05/03/2003 8:08:55 PM PDT by GeorgiaYankee
I remembered that but did not have it to reference.
<BR<
That may have been the article that I read. I could never understand the lefts screaming that there were no WMD, obviously there were.
Anytime, glad to help.
The American public hears their concerted chants and sadly believes every word. They are too lazy to find out the truth for themselves as it's so easy to jump on the blame bandwagon.
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