Report: U.S suspects Iraqi WMD in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley

Drudge via World Tribune ^ | Monday, August 25, 2003

[RoughDobermann]

U.S. intelligence suspects Iraq's weapons of mass destruction have finally been located.

Unfortunately, getting to them will be nearly impossible for the United States and its allies, because the containers with the strategic materials are not in Iraq.

Instead they are located in Lebanon's heavily-fortified Bekaa Valley, swarming with Iranian and Syrian forces, and Hizbullah and ex-Iraqi agents, Geostrategy-Direct.com will report in tomorrow's new weekly edition.

U.S. intelligence first identified a stream of tractor-trailer trucks moving from Iraq to Syria to Lebaon in January 2003. The significance of this sighting did not register on the CIA at the time.

U.S. intelligence sources believe the area contains extended-range Scud-based missiles and parts for chemical and biological warheads.

Mutually-lucrative Iraqi-Syrian arms transactions are nothing new. Firas Tlas, son of Syrian Defense Minister Mustafa Tlas, has been the key to Syria's rogue alliance with Iraq. He and Assad made hundreds of millions of dollars selling weapons, oil and drugs to and from Iraq, according to the May 13, 2003 edition of Geostrategy-Direct.com.

The CIA now believes a multi-million dollar deal between Iraq and Syria provided for the hiding and safekeeping of Saddam's strategic weapons.

Not surprisingly, U.S. inquiries in Beirut and Syria are being met with little substantive response, U.S. officials said.

[Poohbah]

I'm quite sure Hussein existed, from the footage, but I don't remember seeing footage of 30,000 munitions or thousands of tons of WMDs either.

Funny, those figures are what IRAQ admitted to after Gulf War I.

I accept God by faith, everyone else has to supply evidence

And the IRAQIS did so.

So WTF did they do with it?

[cajungirl]

buzz off baby. Conservatives should wonder why we have people undermining the last best hope we have.

[billbears]

After listening to David Kaye recently, even most Democrats have stopped the "where are the WMD" whine. I have read that the Kaye report will be quite astounding. We will all be informed soon I hope.

And if so I will respectfully withdraw some, but not all, of my criticism of the actions in Iraq.

[alpowolf]

In addition to not finding any WMDs, they fail to explain why the WMDs weren't launched within 45 minutes as Blair had claimed they could be, and why Iraq didn't use them on us in all the years that they were supposed to have had them.

I've also never seen or heard a precise definition of the term "weapons of mass destruction". It's a nice vague scary term that means whatever they want it to mean.

[billbears]

And the IRAQIS did so. So WTF did they do with it?

After the first war they did. Even up until the mid 90s if I'm not mistaken. But that was then, this is now.

[RoughDobermann]

I'm quite sure Hussein existed, from the footage, but I don't remember seeing footage of 30,000 munitions or thousands of tons of WMDs either

No. Of course you didn't. Not exactly something you'd expect for old Saddam to take picture of, is it? The FACT is that Iraq has used WMDs before and therefore DID at one point have them. Where did they go? Well, I don't know. But I do know where some of them went...

[RoughDobermann]

I'm quite sure Hussein existed, from the footage, but I don't remember seeing footage of 30,000 munitions or thousands of tons of WMDs either

No. Of course you didn't. Not exactly something you'd expect for old Saddam to take picture of, is it? The FACT is that Iraq has used WMDs before and therefore DID at one point have them. Where did they go? Well, I don't know. But I do know where some of them went...

[CyberAnt]

Hmmmm? Mosaad ..??

[Republican Red]

Is World Tribune reputable?

I thought I'd answer my own question.

Report: U.S. Special Forces May Have Captured Osama Bin Laden [World Tribune, consider the source]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/903821/posts

[CyberAnt]

"The significance of this sighting did not register on the CIA at the time"

I was upset when I first read this, but then I realized this was happening in January of 2003 right before we went to war - and I don't know that we would have had any authority to stop this movement. However, some of the previous UN sanctions, or resolutions (including 1441) might have given us the authority to stop the trucks, if the CIA had realized what was going on. Still .. I'm stunned the CIA didn't pick up on this. Why wouldn't this kind of movement have been a red flat ..?? Hmmmm?

Also .. what I want to know: WHAT DID FRANCE AND GERMANY KNOW ABOUT THIS MOVEMENT OF STUFF - and .. was this the reason for the stall in the UN - to allow this stuff to get moved.

[Donna Lee Nardo]

Thank you for pointing this out. I, for one, appreciate Debka and I always have. Debka is right far more than they are given credit to on this board anyway. I ignore the old mantra about Debka. The NY Slimes and the Boston Globe have a better track record? Doubtfully!

[billbears]

Conservatives should wonder why we have people undermining the last best hope we have.

The 'last best hope'? I just have to ask. What is that supposed to mean? Surely you are not suggesting that this administration is the last best hope for conservatism?

[rwfromkansas]

Bush could personally take you to Saddam's WMD and you still wouldn't believe him.

[JohnnyZ]

Instead they are located in Lebanon's heavily-fortified Bekaa Valley, swarming with Iranian and Syrian forces, and Hizbullah and ex-Iraqi agents

A bomber pilot's dream.

[cajungirl]

Peach, I think we won't have to go after anyone because they are coming after us. They are plotting and waiting and planning as we speak. They blew up that building in India, blew up the UN hotel, they will come and come. And we won't have to preemptively strike altho we should. I don't think they are going away at all.

[Poohbah]

After the first war they did. Even up until the mid 90s if I'm not mistaken. But that was then, this is now.

Then: the Iraqis were required to fully account for their WMDs, and to ensure that they were destroyed under international supervision.

Now: After 12 years of reneging on their word, they got their a$$es whipped. Shiite happens.

They had an affirmative duty to fully account for the WMDs that they had admitted to having. The United States did not have that duty, the IRAQIS did. They did not do so.

[swarthyguy]

Dittoes. They have been right on a number of occasions when what they reported is subsquently reported in a mainstream publication.

The US moving from Sultan AFbase in Saudi to Qatar, for instance.

And today's report in the Guardian citing Osama in Northern Pakistan/Kashmir. The uknowho said so in Sep/Oct 2001.

Many others, too.

[cajungirl]

Peach, I think we won't have to go after anyone because they are coming after us. They are plotting and waiting and planning as we speak. They blew up that building in India, blew up the UN hotel, they will come and come. And we won't have to preemptively strike altho we should. I don't think they are going away at all.