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In post-Sept. 11 world, threat of Iraqi weapons had to be defused
The Kansas City Star ^ | June 9, 2003 | E. Thomas McClanahan

Posted on 06/10/2003 3:12:22 PM PDT by RAT Patrol







Posted on Tue, Jun. 10, 2003


In post-Sept. 11 world, threat of Iraqi weapons had to be defused


The Kansas City Star

So now we're told President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, not to mention a host of officials in both governments, hyped the threat posed by Saddam Hussein.

It's instructive to turn back the clock a bit. Last year about this time, the hysteria du jour was a CBS report saying Bush had been told -- before Sept. 11 -- that al-Qaida planned to hijack several airliners.

He wasn't told the terrorists intended to fly the planes into buildings, but that didn't do much to curb the ensuing rush to judgment. The New York Post ran a headline saying, "Bush knew." The president, in other words, supposedly knew about Sept. 11 and didn't take the necessary steps.

The suggestion was ridiculous, but it illustrates the president's awesome responsibilities. If the nation is revealed as vulnerable, the president is blamed.

Given the shadowy threat posed by terrorism, it's hard to fault the administration for acting on evidence less compelling than, say, what's required in American courts.

As the diplomatic offensive against Iraq intensified last year, here's what we knew:

• Hussein had used chemical weapons in his war against Iran, and he had used them against his own people, killing thousands in the process.

• In 1991, United Nations inspectors were surprised to discover that Hussein's nuclear-weapons program was more advanced than previously believed.

• U.N. inspectors established that Iraq had built up large stockpiles of banned material, including chemical-weapons precursors, growth media, VX chemical agents and artillery rounds for delivering them.

Some of this material was destroyed. But after the inspections regime broke down in 1998, no one outside Iraq knew how much remained in Hussein's hands. No one had any idea what happened to it.

After Sept. 11, Hussein's continued defiance of the United Nations took on new meaning.

Few doubted that if Hussein's chemical weapons material got into the hands of terrorists, they would not hesitate to use it, causing who knows how much suffering and mayhem.

Yes, the notion that Hussein would slip weapons of mass destruction to some al-Qaida operative seemed improbable. But what's more improbable -- Hussein attacking U.S. interests through terrorists or people using box cutters to hijack commercial airliners? In a changed world, old threats must be seen in a new light.

Let's not forget that the Bush administration's case against Hussein wasn't much different from that made by the Clinton administration. Even the French never denied Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. Many other governments arrived at similar conclusions. Last week, U.N. chief weapons inspector Hans Blix didn't say weapons were never there. He said the "long list of proscribed items" remains "unaccounted for..."

Resolution 1441 gave Hussein a "final opportunity" to turn over his banned material or account for it, and he responded with a disclosure statement that revealed little. He was playing for time, as he had in the past. He knew that the troops being deployed on his borders could not be kept in place indefinitely.

Perhaps Hussein did destroy his stockpiles. But if so, the enduring mystery is why he didn't provide hard evidence and prevent the war. And if he destroyed them earlier, why didn't he document their destruction and put an end to U.N. restrictions on Iraqi oil sales?

Sanctions cost Hussein billions in lost revenues. Some believe he refused to cooperate because that would have been seen by his own people as weakness. But it's more likely, given the price he was paying, that he had something to hide.

After Resolution 1441, Hussein's refusal to account for his weapons made war inevitable. Going back to the status quo was never an option; Hussein could always wait until any "containment" strategy broke down. Knowing what we knew, we did the right thing.


To reach E. Thomas McClanahan, call (816) 234-4480 or send e-mail to mcclanahan@kcstar.com.




© 2003 Kansas City Star and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.kansascity.com



TOPICS: Editorial; Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: iraq; liberalhysteria; saddam; september12era; wmd; wmds

1 posted on 06/10/2003 3:12:22 PM PDT by RAT Patrol
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To: RAT Patrol; AdA$tra; jonefab; axel f; rwfromkansas; Free State Four; Steel Eye; alfa6; ALS; ...
Another good column by E. Thomas McClanahan.
2 posted on 06/10/2003 3:14:04 PM PDT by RAT Patrol (Congress can give one American a dollar only by first taking it away from another American. -W.W.)
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To: RAT Patrol; All
-Weapons of Mass Destruction ( or Distorsion or Deception? You decide...)--
3 posted on 06/10/2003 3:27:32 PM PDT by backhoe (The 1990's will be forever remembered as "The Decade of Fraud(s)..."( Oslo, dot-bombs, clintons...))
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To: RAT Patrol
Thanks for the "E. Thomas" ping
4 posted on 06/10/2003 3:50:05 PM PDT by KS Flyover
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To: RAT Patrol
This editorial pretty much makes every point that I think needs to be made, except perhaps one: it is still way too early to conclude that we won't find any significant number of WMDs in the coming weeks or months.
5 posted on 06/10/2003 4:33:44 PM PDT by kesg
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To: RAT Patrol
I've never read an article by McClanahan that wasn't good.

Thanks for posting though since I quit buying the Star about ten years ago, after being a daily reader for most of my adult life, but come across one occasionally in a coffee shop, oil change waiting room, restaurant, etc.

6 posted on 06/10/2003 5:54:29 PM PDT by What Is Ain't
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To: What Is Ain't
I can only read the Kansas City Democrat Star when I'm in the right kind of mood, which is not every day. I do search of McClanahan's columns separately. I get tired of being insulted by the rest of them.
7 posted on 06/10/2003 9:53:01 PM PDT by RAT Patrol (Congress can give one American a dollar only by first taking it away from another American. -W.W.)
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To: RAT Patrol
Great column.

This war was justified for many reasons and WMD was only one of them, but it should be pointed out that just because the knowledge on WMD was uncertain doesnt mean we shouldnt have acted on it. This is the fallacy of the anti-war crowd he punctures: Resolution 1441 wasnt about we proving to the wrold Saddam had weapons, it was saying Iraq was 'guilty until proven innocent' on WMDs and had to come clean. They never did.

IMHO, Iraq has hidden or destroyed whatever stockpiles remain. Either way they are not a military threat anymore as long as the baathists are no more.

8 posted on 06/10/2003 9:59:14 PM PDT by WOSG (We liberated Iraq. Now Let's Free Cuba, North Korea, Iran, China, Tibet, Syria, ...)
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To: kesg
I agree. Great column, and if the "museum looting" turns out to be different than expected, it is *highly possible* the baathists we captured are still holding out... but it's wearing a bit thin to say "wait", as the naysayers *want* to drag down Bush and Blair and those who supported the war. They lost patience 3 days into the war and havent changed their spots.

I would add one more thing that can be said: The tens of thousands of human graves in Iraq, the tens of thousands of victims of Saddam's terror and torture campaigns and genocide are proof that - indeed- Saddam himself was a weapon of mass destruction. And removing him was a rightful action for that reason if no other. So the real question is not where are the WMDs, its "Where is Saddam?"
9 posted on 06/10/2003 10:03:30 PM PDT by WOSG (We liberated Iraq. Now Let's Free Cuba, North Korea, Iran, China, Tibet, Syria, ...)
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To: WOSG
The Bush Doctrine alone justified the war, even without the WMD angle. The fact that we were also liberating a nation of 24 million people is, for me, simply running up the score.

Having said all that, the WMD issue is still important for at least two reasons: (1) to the extent they still exist (or their precursors still exist), we need to find them so that they don't end up in the wrong hands and (2) if we don't find the WMDs or what happened to them, our credibility is going to take a hit the next time we need to rally domestic and international support for a military operation.

10 posted on 06/10/2003 11:18:41 PM PDT by kesg
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To: RAT Patrol
Much obliged for the ping.

Regards

alfa6 ;>}
11 posted on 06/11/2003 3:06:22 AM PDT by alfa6 (GNY Highway's Rules: Improvise; Adapt; Overcome)
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To: RAT Patrol
He is right on. The liberals are trying to create a mountain out of a mole hill. Anything to try and make President Bush look bad. I don't think it's going to work.

The Hutchinson News has been going overboard editorializing about "The Great WMD Lie". I sent the editor an email asking "If there were no WMD, what did Sadamn and Chemical Ali use to kill all the Kurds in the village... No-Pest Strips? Raid?"
12 posted on 06/12/2003 12:16:56 PM PDT by Steel Eye
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To: Steel Eye
ROTFL! You're so funny!!!!!!!

Hey, are you going to come up here and freep the Hildabeast in August?

13 posted on 06/12/2003 12:30:18 PM PDT by RAT Patrol (Congress can give one American a dollar only by first taking it away from another American. -W.W.)
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To: RAT Patrol
>>> Hey, are you going to come up here and freep the Hildabeast in August?

Well... my first thought was "Here's my chance!" but I've since come up with several dozen reasons not to. I guess it depends on whether or not she keeps talking about how President Bush has ruined her and Bill's great economy.

It has been a busy summer so far. (And it's not even summer yet.)
14 posted on 06/12/2003 1:27:53 PM PDT by Steel Eye
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To: RAT Patrol; Amelia; justshe; dighton; Poohbah; section9; DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet; Mo1; All
OMG!!!!!! You mean there's actually a pundit out there who GETS IT?!?!?! Say it ain't so!

Hell, there's even conservative pundits who don't come this close.

Sometimes, those (like the President) who are charged with the responsibility for hundreds of millions of lives can afford NO chances. Someone had to make a descision; post-Black Tuesday, it really WAS the obvious one.

I am sure, however, that Iraq was not the LAST such descision under consideration.

Let the Leftist Losers continue to hoot and squeal...they are only reliving their past orgasms over Viet Nam, Watergate, and Iran-Contra (another correct initiative sadly maligned by those who think Guevara-style Communists are CUTE).

15 posted on 06/12/2003 1:42:55 PM PDT by Long Cut (LS-1's FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
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To: Steel Eye
Please let me know if you decide to come. That would be awesome!
16 posted on 06/12/2003 2:55:34 PM PDT by RAT Patrol (Congress can give one American a dollar only by first taking it away from another American. -W.W.)
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To: RAT Patrol
good post
17 posted on 06/12/2003 2:58:14 PM PDT by votelife (FREE MIGUEL ESTRADA!)
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