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United States: 'Saddam had no weapons of mass destruction'
Sunday Herald ^
| May 4, 2003
| Neil Mackay
Posted on 05/05/2003 3:53:24 PM PDT by Rebecca Silhavy
The Bush administration has admitted that Saddam Hussein probably had no weapons of mass destruction. Senior officials in the Bush administration have admitted that they would be 'amazed' if weapons of mass destruction (WMD) were found in Iraq.
According to administration sources, Saddam shut down and destroyed large parts of his WMD programmes before the invasion of Iraq.
Ironically, the claims came as US President George Bush yesterday repeatedly justified the war as necessary to remove Iraq's chemical and biological arms which posed a direct threat to America.
Bush claimed: 'Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. We will find them.'
The comments from within the administration will add further weight to attacks on the Blair government by Labour backbenchers that there is no 'smoking gun' and that the war against Iraq -- which centred on claims that Saddam was a risk to Britain, America and the Middle East because of unconventional weapons -- was unjustified.
The senior US official added that America never expected to find a huge arsenal, arguing that the administration was more concerned about the ability of Saddam's scientists -- which he labelled the 'nuclear mujahidin' -- to develop WMDs when the crisis passed.
This represents a clearly dramatic shift in the definition of the Bush doctrine's central tenet -- the pre-emptive strike. Previously, according to Washington, a pre-emptive war could be waged against a hostile country with WMDs in order to protect American security.
Now, however, according to the US official, pre-emptive action is justified against a nation which simply has the ability to develop unconventional weapons.
TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: breaking; liberallies; zotmeimtrollish
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To: mhking
There's a
full-text post of a Chicago Trib article that's been live on FR for nine hours. I reported it. Nothing happened. Why don't you report it, Michael? I bet it gets "fixed" inside of 90 seconds.
41
posted on
05/05/2003 4:13:13 PM PDT
by
Timesink
To: piasa; Grampa Dave
Temper, temper, temper!
(pat pat)
42
posted on
05/05/2003 4:14:03 PM PDT
by
Cathryn Crawford
(Winning isn't everything, but losing is nothing.)
To: Question_Assumptions
Why thwart inspections if you have nothing to hide? To appear more powerful than you actually are. You don't have to spend money on weapons that you don't have if everyone thinks you already have them or soon will have them. It may have been a bluff, a gamble which Saddam lost.
43
posted on
05/05/2003 4:14:33 PM PDT
by
Semper
To: Grampa Dave
I can't believe it, they banned this Rebecca, who only posted an article she found.
Leave her alone.
To: Grampa Dave
Trifle with the Viking Kittens at your own risk.
45
posted on
05/05/2003 4:14:54 PM PDT
by
Poohbah
(Crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of their women!)
To: Rebecca Silhavy
Errrr... Does this "senior official" have a name?
46
posted on
05/05/2003 4:15:40 PM PDT
by
Tempest
To: TLBSHOW
Pat pat pat...this is fake as hell.
47
posted on
05/05/2003 4:15:44 PM PDT
by
Cathryn Crawford
(Winning isn't everything, but losing is nothing.)
To: George from New England
I can't believe it, they banned this Rebecca, who only posted an article she found.I can. You didn't read Post #12.
48
posted on
05/05/2003 4:16:00 PM PDT
by
Poohbah
(Crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of their women!)
To: ChefKeith
... and Reno had put a gag order on them.Figures.
49
posted on
05/05/2003 4:16:01 PM PDT
by
templar
To: Grampa Dave
We didn't get to play around with her. The bim's been deleted, but why is the post still here? ZOT! ZOT! ZOT!
50
posted on
05/05/2003 4:16:07 PM PDT
by
Timesink
To: Grampa Dave
Why have nuclear scientists if you don't have a nuke program?
Was Dr. Germ really just a dental hygienist with an unusuallly high security clearance?
Why would the most energy rich country around buy two reactors off of France if not for making nukes?
How did even Blix stumble across shells filled with chemicals, and how come everyone keeps forgetting that?
51
posted on
05/05/2003 4:16:38 PM PDT
by
piasa
(Attitude adjustments offered here free of charge.)
To: Timesink
The bim's been deleted, but why is the post still here? ZOT! ZOT! ZOT!The Admin Mods are using the Hush-a-ZOT! today.
52
posted on
05/05/2003 4:16:50 PM PDT
by
Poohbah
(Crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of their women!)
To: Rebecca Silhavy
53
posted on
05/05/2003 4:18:07 PM PDT
by
amused
(Republicans for Sharpton!)
To: Rebecca Silhavy
Didn't the president say something VERY different over the weekend?
To: IncPen
This is classic GW Rope a Dope. They will let the mediots like the clymers at the Guardian start this stuff. Then some maggot infested fish US wrap will pick it up.
Then, a major Fish Wrap will run the big lie like the looting of the Baghdad Museum.
Then, the shrieking heads will go nuts on Sunday with followup all day Monday by ABCNNBCBS.
Then, on Tuesday, little Tommy Da$$hole and his bitter Troll, the Pelosi, will get up on their elevated shoes and soap boxes and scream/whine/moan that there were no WMDs.
Then, two days later, it will be announced about the countless WMDs we have found and disarmed.
Then, GW will pull his Rope on the Dopes!
To: Grampa Dave
Maybe I should be used to it by now, but the blatant lies by the leftists never cease to amaze me.
FReepers can spot the stuff pretty quick, but can the average bloke in Edinburgh?
56
posted on
05/05/2003 4:21:04 PM PDT
by
k2blader
(Reason is our soul's left hand, Faith her right. - John Donne)
To: Rebecca Silhavy
This is pure BS.
Is/was Saddam Hussein so stupid that, if he didn't have WMD, he still refused to open up his country to full and complete inspections with no reservations, knowing that his Ass was going to be thrown out? Wasn't he aware of the hundreds of thousands of Coalition troops massing on his borders?
Give me a break.
57
posted on
05/05/2003 4:22:23 PM PDT
by
jackbill
To: diamond6
Yep. Did you happen to see post #12? I think that's what did it.
58
posted on
05/05/2003 4:24:07 PM PDT
by
k2blader
(Reason is our soul's left hand, Faith her right. - John Donne)
To: George from New England
I wanted her to stay around for a little fun and games. Have you ever seen a rat being handled by some big dogs. Each one will chew on it just a little and throw it up in the air. The next big dog catches it, chews and throws it up in the air. The process goes on until nothing is left of the rat.
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