Bush may be sitting on Iraqi WMD evidence, FOX analyst says

Jerusalem Post ^ | Jul. 10, 2003 | Erik Schechter

[yonif]

The Bush administration may already have hard evidence of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction that it is not sharing with the public, said Lt.-Gen. (ret.) Thomas McInerney, a military commentator for Fox News.

"The administration is willing to take the heat for now," McInerney yesterday told The Jerusalem Post, "then release the information next August." Doing so would put the Democrats who have been critical of the US president's policy on Iraq at a distinct disadvange in the run-up to the presidential election in November 2004.

Along with TV military commentators Maj.-Gen. (ret.) Paul Vallely and Col. (ret.) Jack Jacobs, McInerney came to Israel on Tuesday for a six-day study mission. The program was organized by the Foreign Ministry, the IDF Spokesman's Office, and the America-Israel Friendship League.

On Wednesday, the three commentators met with Deputy Defense Minister Ze'ev Boim. They are also scheduled to meet top IDF brass and tour the separation fence the goverment is building along the West Bank.

When the evidence of WMDs finally sees light, McInerney predicted that a number of countries, including France and Germany, will finds themselves in an uncomfortable diplomatic position.

"We know that these WMDs traveled through Syria," he said. "We know that a lot of these scientists had French passports."

A year before the Bush Administration planned for war in Iraq, McInerney and fellow Fox News analyst Vallely correctly predicted that the invasion would be an air-centered, technologically networked "war of liberation" that would last less than 30 days.

Both were critical of other ex-military officers such as former Army general Wesley Clark, who is now running for the Democratic presidential nomination who, they say, let political opinions paint a dire picture of the war.

"The credibility of CNN went way down," said Vallely.

Journalists traveling with soldiers were not the problem. McInerney said that, when properly used, embedded reporters proved of great value to commentators back in TV news studios.

"The embeds viewed the war through a straw," said McInerney, "but if you gathered up three or four of those straws, you got a general picture of what was going on."

But if one fails to pool together accounts from embedded reporters, the result is stories of a slowdown in the advance on Baghdad and a shortage of ammunition, neither of which happened. McInerney, Vallely, and Jacobs believe that negative coverage of the occupation stems from liberal circles disappointed with the success of the war.

"You have to remember that there's still leftover irritation from the election," said Jacobs, a Medal of Honor recepient and commentator for NBC. "If George Bush came out in favor of worldwide democracy, they would be against it."

Despite Wednesday night's killing of two American soldiers, one near Tikrit and the other near Baghad, Vallely said the occupation "is not going badly."

He notes buses are running, and students have gone back to school. In addition, oil is flowing, and the electrical and water utilities are being restored.

Nevertheless, all three men contend that an Iraqi interim government should have been established before the invasion a position long-advanced by the US Defense Department.

"But the CIA and State Department argued that you first have to get in-country and identify the players," said McInerney.

That Iraqi resistance exists at all, said Jacobs, is due to the rapid collapse of Saddam Hussein's army during the war. Coalition forces simply did not have the opportunity to hammer all his troops. "We are victims of our own success," he said. Jacobs went on to chide the Bush Administration for showing "insufficient ruthlessness" in rooting out pro-Saddam partisans hiding in the "Sunni triangle" of Tikrit, Baghdad, and Fallujah. Private arms held by the population must be confiscated with greater alacrity.

"It is inconceviable that you have people at a funeral shooting their AK-47s in the air," he said.

Vallely warned that Iraq is just one campaign in a larger American war against terrorism. "The next campaign may be against North Korea, Iran, or Syria," he said.

Commenting on Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, McInerney argued that the US-sponsored road map is a positive development but only as a first step.

"Hope isn't a strategy," the ex-USAF officer said. "You still have to go after the terrorists."

[Pukin Dog]

One thing we know, is that when the Left smells scandal, they always overreach; losing credibility in the process. You have Democrats actually talking impeachment over this, when they have not stopped to consider that Republicans control Congress.

They actually believe that they can hurt Bush through the MEDIA, as though it was a branch of government. Remember Enron? Ooooh, they were so sure they HAD him. Remember BUSH KNEW!? Seen Cynthia McKinney lately? Come on.

[new cruelty]

So relax, people.

You posted to the wrong person.

[Search4Truth]

Your arguement presumes Americans to be stupid. The only response to such a condecending opinion is scorn.

[Cacophonous]

I had dinner the other night with a friend, a lady I used to work with. Her husband is in Iraq now, doing battle damage assessment, and she - a conservative who voted for Bush - is already pissed that her husband may have been sent into harm's way on less than perfect intellgence; she accused President Bush of lying through his teeth. She justified the war to her self for that reason: Hussein's having WMD posed a threat to the US. The other reasons - a war of liberation, Israel, etc., were not cause enough to send in American troops.

Don't think liberals and the media won't try to make hay with this. Most military - and their families - tend to be conservative, true, but the support for President Bush can be eroded.

[MJY1288]

"When your opponent tends to shoot themselves in the head, why not give them the ammo to do so?"

A fine example of this just happend this past week, the democrats were going orgasmic over the thought that they had a scandal to fry Bush with, all week long it built up, after everyone of the Dem candidates for POTUS had gone on record condemning President Bush for a 16 word sentence in his SOTU speech, HE PULLED THE RUG OUT FROM UNDER THEM yesterday when George Tenet announced he signed off on the speech, (something BTW everyone those idiots on the left understood to begin with)

So once again their blind hatred for George W. Bush caused them to shoot themselves in the foot

[Pukin Dog]

This may be politically incorrect, but I have known women to be somewhat negative, and incorrect in their assessments at times when their husbands are in harms way.

Ask her again when her husband returns.

[Cacophonous]

See my post #65. My friends - the lady and her husband - are not stupid, and I would not presume they are. She is a mechanical engineer with an MBA and twenty years in the Air Force (some active duty, some civil service) and he's an O-5 currently in the Gulf.

I don't consider them stupid, and I would never look on them with scorn.

[Cacophonous]

He feels the same (according to her; I haven't spokwn with him since he left).

[GraniteStateConservative]

PD wrote exactly what I was about to write. Releasing this next summer after the Dem Convention and before the Olympics-- like 8/6/04-- would be very easy and wouldn't appear politically motivated. 8/6 is not remotely close to November 2, 2004, so no October Surprise nonsense. However, the Dems would have spent their whole convention walking out on a long limb for Bush to saw off.

[PhiKapMom]

Almost makes me want to start screaming at some of the posters on here too! Bad enough we have to put up with the press but now we have the naysayer Freepers that jump on the press bandwagon.

Jim Angle of Fox not to mention Wendall Goller are both getting on my nerves. I don't know what Angle considered the Clinton Administration to be -- guess he would rather have lies all the time then the truth. BTW, he did confirm with that statement that the White House people do not leak. Maybe we should send that info to Doug Thompson!

The President sitting on this information until next August shows how little some people know about this President.

They will release the information on WMD's as soon as all the i's have been dotted and t's crossed. That's the way President Bush works! They will NEVER release this information until they are sure all sources have been protected as well.

Maybe some of these retired military should keep their mouths shut from time to time as well!

[Prodigal Son]

the Bush administration used the existince of WMD as justification for going to war,

Well, he used it as one justification to enter Iraq. Not the only one.

[new cruelty]

is already pissed...

And if and, more likely, when this blows over, she can change tack and accept W into her good graces, until the next time the media or some liberal nutjob waxes poetic about how W has once again lied to the masses.

That said, I truly hope your friend's husband returns safe and sound. I know W's economy has made it impossible, but given his current situation, perhaps he can find another line of work.

[TheDon]

That was my favorite quote from the article. So true.

[Pukin Dog]

The people who are most upset are the Media. They are more upset with Tenet than the Democrats are. The Dems can only call for Tenet's resignation(which they wont get)but the Media has lost their justification for attacking Bush on the subject.

Bush's press people can just deflect everything to Tenet, and Tenet can say: "No Comment, that's classified. Then he can turn around, bend over, and tell the media to kiss his CIA right butt cheek.

[PhiKapMom]

You are right -- President Bush is not going to wait until the election to release the information. Pres Bush puts the good of this Country over any political ambitions and people should know that by now.

Pres Bush does not put his finger in the wind to see which way it is blowing. He makes a decision and sticks with it. If he thinks some sources will be compromised, he won't reveal anything and I find that refreshing!

[McGavin999]

Oh, I think SOME things will start coming out in a few months, and then I think we'll probably capture Saddam in the early part of next year, and we may even capture Bin Laden. I don't think these things are being "timed" I think we're being cautious and thoroughly investigating everything before it's released.

I think some things are being held because there will be war crimes trials in Iraq and those will probably be televised. Even our flaky media won't be able to ignore those trials.

[AntiGuv]

The presumed WMD threat to the United States was the one justification which persuaded the majority of supporters to support the war, regardless of whether GWB used further justifications..

[Prodigal Son]

George W. Bush plays Chess while the democrats and the liberal media are playing checkers

I'd put it more like Dubya plays five card stud while the dems play "go fish".