I also agree with this. It's too much of a coincidence that two incidents would happen within a small time unless they were coordinated. The Baathists are too paranoid to realize that they can safely let these inspectors see anything, since the only result will be praise from Blix for Iraqi cooperation combined with minimization of what is found. Of course, the alternative, that the man with the notebook was a legitimate defector turned over to the torturers, is too horrible to contemplate.
International, and even domestic, support, for US/UK invasion of Iraq is already past its peak. It will be very dissapointing if President Bush, Tuesday night, gives Blix more time to be snowed and John Derbyshire more time to be right about our fecklessness.
We do, though, have a smoking gun here. The fact that the inspectors turned over an unarmed defector to the Baathists proves that they do not want to determine the truth, but rather to cover-up for Saddam's defenders.
This is the possibility that's had me sitting here shaking my head.
Absolutely. This is very troubling if the AP report is true. We just have to be wary of anything THEY report however. If true, however, GWB should reference this incident right away when talking about the Blix debacle.