[... This story neither proves nor disproves anything...]
It’s proof enough in my paradigm.
Disconfirmations Disconfirmed: Saddam Had Nuke Program
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2041598/posts
In my mind the Deulfer (sp?) report was all the proof I needed. Plenty of evidence of the facilities, programs and people. The only thing not found were massive stockpiles of ready weapons.
Stockpiles aren’t the point. We know that some stock was spirited across the border to Syria. But Chem/Bio weapons are not the sort of thing that you just fill warehouses with millions of ready weapons. Ever. No world military has ever done so. Even the US or Russia. We’ve had stockpiles, but in reality, they’ve been fairly modest. They have a shelf-life. They’re a real hassle to store and manage.
The plain logistics of handling, storing and securing such weapons are truly nontrivial. Its not the sort of thing you ever really want to have a lot of, on hand, at any one time. Chem/Bio weapons are absolutely in the make-it-as-you-need it category.
There never would have been massive stockpiles in Iraq. It is the facilities, the components, the people with the expertise... And the known willingness to use the weapons and transfer them to terrorists that matters.
From my reading, this report is complete satisfaction of the need to intervene in Iraq on that basis alone.