Posted on 03/19/2003 7:06:32 AM PST by TADSLOS
Washington's false claims
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San Jose, Calif. -- As U.N. weapons inspectors flee Iraq, some are angry at the Bush administration for what they contend was a concerted effort to cut short their work, bad-mouth their efforts and make false claims about evidence of weapons of mass destruction.
Some inspectors are "scandalized" at the way they say President Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell, among others, have "politicized" the inspection process, according to a U.N. official close to the inspectors.
None of the nuclear-related intelligence trumpeted by the administration has held up under scrutiny, inspectors say.
From suspect aluminum tubes to aerial photographs to documents -- revealed to be forgeries -- that claimed to link Iraq to uranium from Niger, inspectors say they chased U.S. leads that went nowhere and wasted valuable time in their efforts to determine the extent of Saddam Hussein's arsenal of weapons banned after the 1991 Gulf War.
Claims crumble
The administration said the Iraqi aluminum tubes were uniquely suited for centrifuges to make bomb-grade uranium. But U.N. officials say the Iraqi explanation -- that the tubes were destined to become artillery rockets -- was more plausible. Moreover, the official close to inspectors said, the U.S. military uses similar tubes for a rocket known as the Hydra 70.
In October, the White House released aerial photos of activity at former Iraqi nuclear facilities. The inspectors, however, found no sign of weapons activity and suggested that Saddam was not likely to reuse known nuclear sites.
In February, the administration said trucks were spotted at facilities shortly before the arrival of inspectors, apparently to haul away and hide banned equipment. But in one case, according to a U.N. official, the trucks were fire engines standing by the building for safety reasons.
In the case of the Niger documents, they appeared genuine at first glance -- accurate nomenclature, the proper stamps -- but further study turned up crude errors, such as words misspelled in French and dates that did not match the day of the week.
Who created the counterfeit documents remains a mystery.
Recent inspection teams have included a new batch of U.S. nuclear scientists from Lawrence Livermore and Los Alamos national laboratories. The U.N. official described these inspectors as arriving as hawks and leaving as doves, after finding Iraq "a ruined country, not a threat to anyone." It is a view radically different from the Bush administration's.
The nuclear inspectors trudged through the Iraqi countryside for months. They found the Iraqi weapons infrastructure, built at great expense in the 1980s, to be in a state of decay.
Remote sites empty
They sought out-of-the-way machine shops or companies where Iraqi scientists might be congregated.
But they found no sign of an organized nuclear weapons program.
At the most, said the U.N. official, there may be "a few guys with paper and pencil and some computer in a back room."
Responding to the U.S. emphasis on underground facilities, the inspectors slugged through the mud beneath a petroleum plant and paid a visit to an irrigation reservoir carved inside of a mountain.
Neither contained anything suspicious.
I'm not buying it. Even a rookie weapons intel analyst can tell the difference between spun aluminum fuel rods and an aluminum rocket housing.
The Hydra 70 Rocket aka 2.75 inch Rocket
Nuclear Fuel Rods
At the most, said the U.N. official, there may be "a few guys with paper and pencil and some computer in a back room."
I can't wait to see the egg impacting in this UN official's face.
That's the problem with inspections. Unless Sadaam cooperates, you're going to find few signs of weapons activity BECAUSE THEY"RE HIDING IT. The inspections were never supposed to have a goal of finding stuff that Sadaam was hiding.
In February, the administration said trucks were spotted at facilities shortly before the arrival of inspectors, apparently to haul away and hide banned equipment. But in one case, according to a U.N. official, the trucks were fire engines standing by the building for safety reasons.
In just ONE case. How many cases were the opposite, where trucks were, in fact, used to haul away equipment? Also, is it impossible that these fire trucks could have been used to haul away equipment? How big are the water tanks on a fire truck and how big is the equipment in question?
In the case of the Niger documents, they appeared genuine at first glance -- accurate nomenclature, the proper stamps -- but further study turned up crude errors, such as words misspelled in French and dates that did not match the day of the week.
So, documents have to be mistake free to be authentic? People who write the French language never make typos? Never accidentally put down the wrong day of the week? That would be amazing if the French language had that effect on the human mind!
That's the problem with inspections. Unless Sadaam cooperates, you're going to find few signs of weapons activity BECAUSE THEY"RE HIDING IT. The inspections were never supposed to have a goal of finding stuff that Sadaam was hiding.
In February, the administration said trucks were spotted at facilities shortly before the arrival of inspectors, apparently to haul away and hide banned equipment. But in one case, according to a U.N. official, the trucks were fire engines standing by the building for safety reasons.
In just ONE case. How many cases were the opposite, where trucks were, in fact, used to haul away equipment? Also, is it impossible that these fire trucks could have been used to haul away equipment? How big are the water tanks on a fire truck and how big is the equipment in question?
In the case of the Niger documents, they appeared genuine at first glance -- accurate nomenclature, the proper stamps -- but further study turned up crude errors, such as words misspelled in French and dates that did not match the day of the week.
So, documents have to be mistake free to be authentic? People who write the French language never make typos? Never accidentally put down the wrong day of the week? That would be amazing if the French language had that effect on the human mind!
And vice versa. Big time.
Besides, who cares how the inspectors feel? Let 'em get therapy to work out their feelings of rejection.
Along with the cheese-eating surrender monkeys. 'Pod
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