U.S. reprisal to be 'annihilation'

Washington Times ^ | 9/09/02 | Joyce Howard Price

[kattracks]

Vice President Richard B. Cheney said yesterday that Saddam Hussein is "actively and aggressively" trying to build a nuclear bomb, and two key senators disclosed that U.S. officials have warned the Iraqi dictator that he and his country face "annihilation" if he deploys a weapon of mass destruction.

[ladyinred]

VP Cheney was just so eloquent on this show this morning. He is so impressive and just oozes with confidence.
There is so much more to this story, and it is coming out in leaps and bounds. I am sure we will know more when the President speaks to the UN.( Not that I feel he should have to.)

[Michael Barnes]

and two key senators disclosed that U.S. officials have warned the Iraqi dictator that he and his country face "annihilation" if he deploys a weapon of mass destruction.

I don't even need to go any farther. PC is so run amuck, the general populace could not stomach wiping out an entire nation; even if it meant for the sake of it's own prosperity. We now live amongst a country of 50% cowards. Where's my proof? Look how many voted for Gore.

Note: I personally don't give two shit's about Iraq. If Iraq's dictator is building WMD "stuff", and Iraq's people wanna survive, better get rid of your dictator folks...Else, I full on support wiping out Iraq, "all of them"...

Why leave any wiggle room for another dictorial regime?

[lawgirl]

W to Saddam: Try any crap with me and I'll turn Iraq into a giant sheet of glass labelled "New Texas".

[B-Cause]

Bump

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[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

Mr. Graham said it has "been conveyed to Baghdad" that using a weapon of mass destruction would result "not only in the annihilation" of Saddam, "but of much of his society."

This looks suspiciously like they are talking about the 'N' word, hopefully this will sober Sadam up, or at least his generals.

[P-Marlowe]

As they say in Texas: Nuke 'em Horns.

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

even if it meant for the sake of it's own prosperity.

We are not talking US prosperity here, we are talking about survival. Remember, what they are saying is if he uses WOMD on anyone, he and his folks get to evaporate. We would be responding to his atrocity.

[andy_card]

This looks suspiciously like they are talking about the 'N' word, hopefully this will sober Sadam up, or at least his generals.

It really doesn't matter what Saddam does, as long as when push comes to shove, we've scared his generals such that should he push the proverbial button, nothing would happen.

[piasa]

I would guess that Hussein has opened up his entire treasury now to obtain whatever materials he needs to finish his nuke- the thing's been built already but needs the material. How hard can it be if you'll pay any price?

Given the language used here, it looks not only like Saddam may get a functional nuke if he gets more time, it looks like we're not so sure he has not already obtained it.

[Mo1]

And todays word is .. "annihilation"

Do ya think they'll understand that??

[Big Guy and Rusty 99]

time for some american jihad on our 'peace loving' muslim 'friends' < /sarcasm >

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

Do ya think they'll understand that??

As Eddy Arnold (?) sang, 'Make the World go Away'.

[Southack]

"I would guess that Hussein has opened up his entire treasury now to obtain whatever materials he needs to finish his nuke- the thing's been built already but needs the material. How hard can it be if you'll pay any price?"

Pretty difficult, actually. NAZI Germany tried to build nukes and failed, as did WW2 Japan. The Soviet Union had to steal the secrets to the bomb from turncoat Americans (Rosenberg's). France and England had to get it from us. China got it from the Soviet Union and gave it to Pakistan. India developed their nukes independently, as did the coalition of Israel, South Africa, and Taiwan.

Refining U235 is a nasty process, and getting Plutonium requires a breeder reactor. Then once you've got it, you still need to know how to work on a metal (Uranium and Plutonium are metals) that is extraordinarily brittle and hot, yet needs to be machined to tolerances more demanding than aircraft parts. How many nations on this planet can even manufacture mere aircraft parts? Not many.

Then once you've got all of that figured out, you've got to have electronics that can withstand intense radiation, and in at least one case, must be extraordinarily well-timed.

Then you have to figure out how to deliver it without dying of radiation sickness (and your delivery vehicle has to have electronics and components that aren't overly impacted by whatever radiation leaks from your "bomb".

Oh, and you have a fixed amount of time to use it, 'les the natural decay (read: half-life) of the uranium, tritium, or plutonium reduces the fissionable mass below the critical mass level, rendering what was once a nuke into a mere dirty bomb (i.e. worthless for everything except creating panic in uninformed societies).

[kattracks]

Mr. Graham said it has "been conveyed to Baghdad" that using a weapon of mass destruction would result "not only in the annihilation" of Saddam, "but of much of his society."

I think this is more of a warning to Saddam's generals, cabinet etc., than it is to Saddam.

[SauronOfMordor]

...and to the lieutenents and sergeants and privates that would have to carry out the orders of such generals, and who have relatives all over Iraq

[DB]

While the difficulties you describe are true, we did so more than 50 years ago. The technological world has changed drastically since then. Add billions of dollars to the equation along with the black market of men and material in the Far East and things get much easier.

[Thumper1960]

Bump up!

[txrangerette]

What about a suitcase nuke? A "dirty
bomb"? Wonder if our warning expressly
covered that, too.

[eno_]

It doesn't matter what the specific threat is. A nuke would kill tens to hundreds of thousands. VX would kill as many. An infectious virus could kill tens of thousands to millions. A massive anthrax attack would kill thousands. We must let Iraq, specifically, and Islam in general, know that it will be they that are erased from the face of the Earth if these weapons are used.

My personal opinion is that the anthrax came from Iraq, and we should have nuked them then.