Tomorrow's Washington Times features an article by Bill Gertz in which John A. Shaw, the deputy undersecretary of defense for international technology security, says that Russian troops "almost certainly" helped Saddam's men clean the Al Qaqaa site out before the Iraq War started.
We'll have more on this tomorrow. One way or another, it appears clear that the 380 tons of explosives that are now "missing" were moved by Saddam prior to the start of the war. I suppose the point is too obvious to be worth making, but 380 tons is a lot of material--approximately 38 semi-truck loads. Yet it has, apparently, completely disappeared, probably because it was shipped to Syria before the war started. Do you suppose that, whereever the 380 tons are now, there might be a little extra room for some vials of anthrax, sarin, nerve gas, etc.?
DEACON adds: If Shaw's version, as reported by the Washington Times, holds up and (as importantly) gets heard, the consequences for Kerry could be serious. The Senator will have (a) jumped to a conclusion that wasn't supported by the facts, (b) assumed the incompetence of our troops, (c) confirmed President Bush's position that Iraq had weapons worth worrying about, and (d) unleashed evidence that, as Rocket Man notes, suggests that chemical and biological weapons could easily have been moved out of Iraq just before we invaded. In light of the final point, though, what puzzles me is this: if the Defense Department has evidence that the Russians helped clean out Alqaqaa, why haven't we heard about this before now (or did I just miss it). Evidence that Iraqi weapons, any weapons, were moved out of the country by the Russians would have been helpful to the administration long before now. Maybe we learned about it recently, as relations with Russia have improved.
http://powerlineblog.com/archives/008341.php
You could see this one comin' a mile away.
Ashley Wilkes strikes again.
Also, you notice that the left-wing clowns are still spouting the garbage that President Bush claimed a connection between Saddam and 9/11. He never made that statement.
Find me one individual serving on active duty in any branch of the service that has an ounce of respect for Wes Clark. I dare you.
Doesn't matter. He is, essentially, a crank and a crackpot. Not to ever be taken seriously.
Wes Clark attended a Kerry fund raiser with the KLA terrorists after being the military commander of the Kosovo operation, exploiting the military relationship that he had with the Albanians. I have to wonder if this relationship with the terrorists may have played a part in Clark being asked to retire.
The General did nail that, didn't he now? But, what did he say, think I understand, but not entirely sure?
What a doofus. This guy makes Kerry look almost normal. On second thought both of these guys are just idiots.
Sad to see a US General become just another suck boy.
The brave and the bold Mr. "Mary, help!" returns.
I think Wesley should keep that blue dress of his...cause you never know.
Clark is lying, too! W never offered any connection between 9/11 and Saddam, the MSM and decraps did it and blamed Bush. In fact, I recall hearing this President say that there was no connection that he knew of, and that way back before the debates! Clark is a typical sleazy democrap, lying through his hate-filled teeth.
Who the puck is Wesley Clark?
I really do hate to say this about a man who served his country, but Wesley has turned into a real POS.
There is no comparable justification between Kerry's jumping the gun and ASSUMING Bush himself is responsible for something he (Kerry) could not prove vs. Bush not willing to take the word of a madman. The standards are different. For Weasly to equate them demonstrates the shallow desperate nature of himself, as well.
Ever since I heard Bush's statement Today, I was waiting for this sort of line to come back.
If anything, Bush didn't "rush" to action on Iraq. He waited through all the red tape, he tried quite hard to pass the "global test" first.
We actually went to Iraq too *late*, as the original story shows, as we were held up by people like Chirac, Blix and Kerry.