The Infamous WMD Search: A View From the Inside - An Interview with Douglas Hanson

W O R L D T H R E A T S . C O M ^ | Ryan Mauro

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Most interesting....the pesticides in the ammo dumps ...raw material.

[The Great RJ]

I always thought the suspicious trucks that were found, that exactly matched the mobile bioweapons labs in Secretary Powell's presentation to the UN, were never seriously followed up. The explanation that these were used for generating hydrogen for weather and barrage balloons was as preposterous as alleging they were ice cream trucks. Particularly suspicious was that when found these trucks had been recently thoroughly scoured with powerful disinfectants.

[GarySpFc]

Bump!

WMD Found

[SierraWasp]

Are you sure you should be putting "Dog" so close to "Dog Gone" in your ping list?

[ChadGore]

Key Quote:

Bottom line is that ultimately we found the mechanisms and materials to regenerate his WMD capability, and this confirms now-retired General Tommy Franks view on Saddam’s WMD. Franks describes it as having a disassembled pistol on the table with the magazine and ammo sitting next to it. All Saddam had to do was assemble it, load it, and then pull the trigger. It was only a matter of time, not the lack of means.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

You trying to get personal? :)

[Mo1]

Bttt

For a later read

[fiftymegaton]

BUMP

[My2Cents]

Just found this thread. It was posted Friday, and while this weekend was dominated by other major news out of Iraq, I'm surprised there hasn't been more discussion on this thread. Mine is only the tenth comment.

I'm wondering....While I believe the whole story of the fate of Saddam's WMDs hasn't been told, I get the impression that most people, including those who support our effort in Iraq, have moved on. We were incessantly told by the Democrats, and their echo chamber in the mainstream media, that "Bush lied!" about the existence and hence the threat of Saddam's WMDs. They claimed that our inability to find "stockpiles" of WMDs in Iraq means that our rationale for going to war to topple Saddam was false. I strongly disagree with the naysayers, whom I believe are engaging in some unrefutted propaganda, but it increasingly appears that their objectives, even though false, are increasingly becoming irrelevant.

While I still think there is a major shoe to drop on the WMD issue, it looks like Saddam divested himself of all of his WMDs in advance of, and because of, our impending invasion. He could have saved himself a lot of grief had he told us this in advance of "Operation Iraqi Freedom."

But seeing those lines at the polling places in Iraq, seeing Iraqis dancing in the streets, seeing tears of joy on the faces of many, I'm inclined to say, "To heck with the WMDs" -- THIS is the reason we liberated Iraq. The biggest threat to this nation and the western world was not Saddam's WMDs, but the despair of people in the Middle East having to live under the jackboot of a fascistic oppressor. It's that hopelessness that has bred terror. Bush is right -- the best guarantee of the security of the US is the spread of freedom into the dark corners of the world.

I suspect there are still some major revelations yet to come regarding Saddam's WMDs. But in the end, they may be secondary to what we witnessed in Iraq this past weekend.

[Peach]

Just FYI:

On FNC the other day they were talking about WMD and Fred Barnes said that Deulfer (sp?) didn't ever say that Iraq didn't have WMD. He said he couldn't find them and they may very well have been shipped to Syria before the war.

He reminded everyone that Powell showed satellite video to the UN of convoys leaving Iraq pre-invasion.

[My2Cents]

My questin is, when will the Administration drive this point home?

[joesbucks]

If I recall, the President pretty much indicated recently that the movement to Syria or other WMD friendly state was also pretty much out of the question.

[Peach]

I don't recall that at all and I listen pretty carefully.

That being said, I don't picture any venue where the president could imply the weapons went to Syria or any other country. The press would be asking for proof and of course, aside from those videos, we have none.

Also, he's moved on. He'd like to find them and we have other sources to do that. But he's not going to let Syria or any other country know that we're hunting for them...in their country(ies).

[Peach]

Never. See my answer above.

[joesbucks]

I havne't found the Bush quote and have to leave for an appointment. However, by way of extension, this one is from Secretary Rice:
Rice: No Evidence Iraq Moved WMD to Syria
By Associated Press - January 9, 2004

WASHINGTON -- The United States has no credible evidence that Iraq moved weapons of mass destruction into Syria early last year before the U.S.-led war that drove Saddam Hussein from power, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice said Friday.

[Peach]

The answer I gave as to why I think the administration is not going to point fingers where the WMD stands. It's a two fold reason and makes perfect sense to me.

[My2Cents]

I recall posting on some recent thread that the most likely explanation for the President not pointing the finger at Syria (and likely not also pointing a finger at Russia for reports of its special forces helping to pack WMDs and related material for transit out of Iraq) is that the US is not prepared for the consequences of "outing" Syria. To make a claim that based upon intelligence (the reputation of which, right now, is in tatters, but that's another issue) we know that Syria received Saddam's WMDs, we'd better be prepared to do something about it. And maybe we've leveled that charge and the corresponding threat to Syria through private channels, rather than publicly. Perhaps we haven't come out with a public pronouncement because we have covert operations going on in Syria, and we don't want to blow that cover. Besides, as with the report of Russian cooperation to spirit away Saddam's WMDs, and as evidenced by Libya's abandonment of its nuclear weapons program (which may have been in cooperation with Saddam), there may be a whole rat's nest of connections between Syria and Saddam's WMD program and stockpile -- a rat's nest we're still in the process of assessing...we pull on one thread, and something else gets revealed.

There have been too many rumors (none of which have been formally rejected by the Administration) that Saddam's WMDs were moved out of Iraq before Operation Iraqi Freedom to indicate that there isn't something too these rumors. We have some tantalizing snippets of information about all of this, but nothing official or definitive. I believe that some day, the truth will out....and Bush will be vindicated. But as I posted earlier in this thread, the best validation for our policy in Iraq is what happened this past weekend. In many regards, all parties have kind of moved beyond the debate over WMDs, which is too bad, but it seems to be the fact.

[My2Cents]

That's an interesting quote from Condi, but the operative term there is "credible evidence." Her statement is a year old, and perhaps by now, we do have credible evidence, or are looking for it. At the very least, her comment doesn't acquit Syria or anyone else from the suspicion that they received WMDs from Saddam. I wouldn't be surprised if, inspite of Condi's comment, we've been looking for credible evidence.

[Peach]

Oh, I agree with you completely. 100%.