Disconfirmations Disconfirmed: Saddam Had Nuke Program

American Thinker ^ | July 06, 2008 | Randall Hoven

[neverdem]

The media have been telling us for years that Saddam had no WMD, so "Bush's War": was based on a "lie." And those who believed Saddam did have WMD or WMD programs were delusional or worse.

But today, on July 6, 2008, the Associated Press that:

• Saddam Hussein had a nuclear program
• At the Tuwaitha nuclear complex just south of Baghdad
• Which included 550 metric tons (over 1.2 million pounds) of "yellowcake", or concentrated uranium
• And multiple devices that could be used in a nuclear weapon. 

The AP does not say alleged nuclear program.  It does not add "according to military experts."  It simply says "Saddam Hussein's nuclear program."

That's pretty big news, isn't it?

For about five years now, those of us who thought Saddam Hussein probably had at least WMD programs, if not WMD themselves, have been called not only wrong, but illogical and insane.

One example was an article by Sharon Begley in the Wall Street Journal  titled People Believe a 'Fact' That Fits Their Views Even if It's Clearly False  .  (Her article series is called, without irony, the "Science Journal".)  Ms. Begley reported that "six months after the invasion, one-third of Americans believed WMDs had been found, even though every such tentative claim was discomfirmed [sic]."  She cited psychologists to explain this strange behavior.  They used terms like "world views" and "mental models."

Jim Lobe at CommonDreams.org (Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community)  reported that "Three out of four self-described supporters of President George W. Bush still believe that pre-war Iraq had weapons of mass destruction (WMD) or active programs to produce them."  He went on to quote the director of the polling company as saying

"To support the president and to accept that he took the U.S. to war based on mistaken assumptions likely creates substantial cognitive dissonance and leads Bush supporters to suppress awareness of unsettling information about pre-war Iraq."

These findings on people's beliefs were based on a survey that asked people if they believed Saddam had WMD or WMD programs .  Apparently, Sharon Begley, Jim Lobe and a whole lot of other people not only believed Saddam had no WMD programs, but that anyone who did believe such a thing was clearly illogical or insane.  In fact, the only interesting question to them was what is wrong with our minds.

World views.  Mental models.  Cognitive dissonance.  Suppressed awareness.

Fast forward to today.  Now we hear from the Associated Press that "The last major remnant of Saddam Hussein's nuclear program -- a huge stockpile of concentrated natural uranium -- reached a Canadian port."  That last "remnant" was 550 metric tons of yellowcake uranium.  That is over 1.2 million pounds of yellowcake!  Also, the military had previously withdrawn "four devices for controlled radiation exposure ... that could potentially be used in a weapon."  All this was located at "the former Tuwaitha nuclear complex about 12 miles south of Baghdad."

The AP even reminds us that

"Accusations that Saddam had tried to purchase more yellowcake from the African nation of Niger -- and an article by a former U.S. ambassador refuting the claims -- led to a wide-ranging probe into Washington leaks that reached high into the Bush administration."

By the way, is it illogical or insane to think that Saddam could not possibly obtain yellowcake, and did not even try to, because one former ambassador went to one country in Africa and said he couldn't find it there?  What about after they found over a million pounds of it just south of Baghdad?  Is it now considered reality-based to think Saddam "sought" yellowcake, just as President Bush said in his 2003 State of the Union address ?

Should psychologists study Sharon Begley's brain now that the disconfirmations have been "discomfirmed"?  Should the CIA send Joe Wilson to Canada to monitor the destruction of the yellowcake he could not find in Africa?

[bmwcyle]

There needs to be a law that all liberals have to wear “Iraq was working to build nukes” tattooed on their face.

[neverdem]

It was really weird to hear sense on the ABC news and nonsense on Brinker’s show. The audience *slammed* Brinker’s fill-in. :-)

I heard it too. It was on WABC-AM 77O in NYC at 5PM. I made a comment here.

Check the links from Yahoo and Google News in comment# 1.

[Maverick68]

oooops

[Squantos]

Ta Daaa !

[DFG]

Bump

[SouthTexas]

Look here.

[Rome2000]

Apparently, Sharon Begley, Jim Lobe and a whole lot of other people not only believed Saddam had no WMD programs, but that anyone who did believe such a thing was clearly illogical or insane. In fact, the only interesting question to them was what is wrong with our minds.

Well I guess that would have to apply to our inept Commander In Chief who apparently doesn't have a clue on how to fight a propaganda war.

"Now, look, I didn’t—part of the reason we went into Iraq was—the main reason we went into Iraq at the time was we thought he had weapons of mass destruction. It turns out he didn’t, but he had the capacity to make weapons of mass destruction. But I also talked about the human suffering in Iraq, and I also talked the need to advance a freedom agenda. And so my question—my answer to your question is, is that—imagine a world in which Saddam Hussein was there, stirring up even more trouble in a part of the world that had so much resentment and so much hatred that people came and killed 3,000 of our citizens".

If he wasn't half retarded he would have never said anything remotely like "It turns out they didn't".

The only reason the media have been able to get away with this is because the the administration comes to the propaganda war unarmed.

[smithone]

How do you know that and can you prove it?

[cookcounty]

It's too bad the Strategerist has left the room.

I'd be very interested to know what the Strategerist's opinion is of why Ambassador Zawahi, Iraq's representative on nuclear issues (VERY passionate arguing for Iraq's nuclear armament at the 1995 NPT Conference), went to Niger on what the IAEA called a trade mission?

Looking at Niger's only significant exports, was Zawahi looking for:

A. Cowpeas?
B. Peanuts?
C. Goatskins?
D. Uranium?

I wonder why the Strategerist believes it was probably A, B, or C?

..or why would the IAEA lie about this?

The IAEA was concerned enough that they investigated and interviewed Zawahi about the trip, though at the insistence of the Iraqi government, the interview was monitored by Saddam's agents.

[garjog]

Yellow Cake. Ummm. http://www.kckpl.lib.ks.us/YS/IMAGES/IMG_3729resize.JPG

[VeniVidiVici]

The CIA group that Plame was associated with thought the idea that Hussein was attempting to obtain (more) yellowcake (from Niger) was ridiculous, justified that by arguing that because he already HAD this huge quantity they couldn't see him wanting more.

Exactly. The MSM and their left-wing blowhards continuously said this was a fools errand and that the mission to NIGER, WHICH WILSON SCRWED-UP, found nothing. Not to mention it was stupid to even try.

Funny then nobody (press or Democrats) mentions the Nigerian yellowcake already in country.

And if I remember correctly, when our troops got to Tuwaitha, they found some barrels of (can't remember what) but no nuclear material.

[neverdem]

And stayed tuned because any minute now the MSM will report this.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/05/AR2008070500936.html

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Iraq-Yellowcake-Mission.html?scp=1&sq=yellowcake&st=nyt

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-cake6-2008jul06,0,4296828.story

LA & NY Times & WaPo are using the AP story.

[eleni121]

BUMP

[Cindy]

Smiling at you...not surprising.

[P.O.E.]

Soon as Barak gets in office, the news on Iraq will get very positive.

Remember when Bill Clinton took office, about a month in he said something to the effect they “just discovered” a revenue shortfall and had to raise taxes. They’ll pull the same shenanigans regarding Iraq, and I wouldn’t be surprised, Iran.

[Gondring]

Thanks....that’s what I keep thinking. If it’s all pre-1991 and the same stuff we already knew existed, what’s the big hoopdedoo?

There is no hoopdedoo, except perhaps Neocons' last hurrah, trying to resurrect their failed big-government ideology once again, using warmed-over minor stories.

[Jo Nuvark]

[... Liberals are too expensive to keep. They are
a pox upon any free nation’s very life...]

Can we start by getting rid of Wilson and Plame?

[cookcounty]

OK, Gondring, maybe you can cover for Strategerist.

Let me repeat the unanswered question:

I'd be very interested to know what the Strategerist's opinion is of why Ambassador Zawahi, Iraq's representative on nuclear issues (VERY passionate arguing for Iraq's nuclear armament at the 1995 NPT Conference), went to Niger on what the IAEA called a "trade mission"?

Looking at Niger's only significant exports, was Zawahi looking for:

A. Cowpeas?
B. Peanuts?
C. Goatskins?
D. Uranium?

I wonder why the Strategerist believes it was probably A, B, or C?

..or why would the IAEA lie about this?

The IAEA was concerned enough that they investigated and interviewed Zawahi about the trip, though at the insistence of the Iraqi government, the interview was monitored by Saddam's agents.

...Perhaps the Iraqi's nuke guy was hoping to export fine oil paintings of The Great Hussein to penniless Nigerien goatherders?

[ETL]

"This is not remarkable news- I believe this material was from Tuwaitha and the stockpile there dated back to the late 1970’s when Iraq bought Nigerien yellowcake to produce fuel for its Osirak facility - which Israel destroyed in 1979? After DESERT STORM The UN had the Tuwaitha stockpile pretty much under its observation, if not outright control."-silverleaf, 7/5/08

What kind of control did the UN have after UNSCOM inspectors were removed from Iraq in 1998?

I don't know. That's an excellent question. Here again is a link to yesterday's thread on the subject. Some people there seemed to know quite a bit about it:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2041287/posts