[jazusamo]

Saddam underwent a change in the mid-1990s, developing a delusional sense of his own military genius,

Good article, thanks for the ping.

When a person serves at the pleasure of a man like Saddam Hussein with the Idi Amin syndrome, they're going to tell him what he wants to hear knowing full well if they don't, they won't be around the next day.

[Retain Mike]

To often in the media and on talk show hosts (And even the President) giving validity to the mythology that the war with Iraq was resumed based on Hussein’s possession of weapons of mass destruction. Actually the ceasefire ended and war resumed, because Hussein behaved in material breach of his international obligations as reaffirmed in resolution 1441. Nowhere in the Congressional resolutions of 1991, 1998 and 2002, or in U.N. resolutions 660, 678, 687 and 1441 will you see possession of stockpiles of nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons stated as a reason for confronting him with military action. Behavior in terms of threats, evasion, intimidation, and past use, not possession, was always the key. Once again Hussein failed to give accurate, full, final and complete disclosure to prove the regime had eliminated both programs for, and any remaining inventories of weapons of mass destruction.



None of these resolutions were put together like some middle schooler’s term paper. Each phrase was laboriously parsed, and there could not have been a clearer choice to focus on verbs instead of nouns. In defining the U.N.’s final response, resolutions 687 and 1441 contained as strong, or stronger, language as was used in the resolution requiring the withdrawal of North Korea in 1950 and authorizing U. N. forces to moving into the adjoining country. Everyone on the Security Council and in Congress understood that a further material breach required ending the ceasefire and resuming the war authorized by resolution 678.



This struggle is against adherents to a radical religion bearing little likeness to the Muslim faith. Within this generation those trained in Wahhabi/ Salafi jihadism will earn graduate degrees in chemistry, political science, mechanical engineering, biology, economics and physics. They can then plan and execute repeated cataclysmic attacks against this and other nations that have historically consumed at least 1% of a population. A dictator such as Hussein who headed a totalitarian state of vast wealth with 23 million people always posed a greater terrorist threat, than a bin Laden or Zarqawa, who are pariahs for most countries of the world.



This is no ordinary time and the war must be carried on with the same dedication at home as on the front lines in Iraq. The words countering lies about lies about weapons of mass destruction must also provide the truth that resuming the war in Iraq forced the U. N. into a moment of historical relevance concerning it’s obligations under Article I of its charter enjoining the institution to maintain international peace and security through collective measures to remove threats and suppress aggression.

[Marine_Uncle]

I had downloaded this pdf formated document a few weeks back and carefully read it in full.
What it provides is mostly accurate a verifiable. But. With all the Harmony translations, and things our military found in place during and after the invasion show they did have continued programs to produce wmds, using dual form techniques as well as now surfacing documents that indicate they actually where attempting to resurrect their nuclear program.
To many things have been brought out about things being quickly removed from Iraq to Syria etc..
Iraq is a big place. And we know they had special teams set up to remove "certain questionable materials/hardware", by dumping stuff in rivers, hauling stuff off to remote areas and burying, or simply say punching holes in drums and letting stuff drain into the soil, etc..
So I caution folks from buying into the notion Saddam did not have wmds between the period of Operation Desert Storm and OIFI.

[Prost1]

This book is soon to hit the $1.00 table!

[Donald Rumsfeld Fan]

That no one really knew what was going on was symbolized by the widespread credence in the wartime nonsense spouted by the Iraqi minister of information (mockingly dubbed Baghdad Bob by Western reporters) as he regaled the world with glowing accounts of Iraqi victories; “from the point of view of Iraq’s leaders, Baghdad Bob was largely reporting what they were hearing from the front.” A militia commander confessed to being “absolutely astonished” on encountering an American tank in Baghdad.

[astoundedlib]

Iraq had WmD, or at least biological weapon...nobody remember this?

http://www.phrusa.org/research/chemical_weapons/chemiraqgas2.html

irak's attack on the kurds??