IRAQ: Weapons of Mass Disappearance - (Where are the WMD? Manipulation to go to War? )

time ^ | Sunday, Jun. 01, 2003 | MICHAEL DUFFY

[Peach]

Whew. Jumping to what conclusions? As for Blix not finding them if we can't - that's a given. I don't have a clue what you're talking about.

[templar]

If Saddam didn't have anything to hide, why didn't he invite the inspector back in with FULL access?

We know what we have been told. We have no idea that we have been told the entire truth, a part of the truth, or outright lies. (If you have "nothing to hide" would you invite the police into your home for a warrantless search? After all, you have nothing to hide and refusing that search should be conosidered evidence of guilt? We don't know the actual circumstances of the alleged refusals)

We have satellite photos of previous use and storage and manufacturing.

Then where are they? I haven't seen any evidence presented yet as to the fact that these so called storage and manufacturing facilities did, in fact, exist or that they were used for WMD's. (or that WMD's had been used by Saddam since GWI) What we seem to have is two trailers with fermenters that could have been used for biological weapons production if there were several other uints involved in the process as well (which, to date, haven't been found or any evidence of their existance found) or which could have been used, by themselves, for any number of other non weapon purposes including the Iraqi claim they were hydrogen producing units for military weather and observation balloons.

All I want is the truth. The proof of that so called truth Bush promoted to gain support for the war: That Iraq had huge quantities of militarily deployabe WMD'd and that they were an imminent danger to us. That we had to get him before he got us. The proof of this will be producing those weapons for the world's open viewing. I will not consider a bunch of stuff that needs to be interpreted as evidence that Saddam might or could have possibly have had the ability to make them as evidence that I wasn't lied to. Geez, a possible garage bathtub operation is hardly a justifiable reason to attack and overthrow a sovereign nation's government. If it was, we could start bombing NYC or LA, or even the homes of numerous freepers, today .

[AntiGuv]

In case you didn't notice, he did invite the UN back in with full access to prove it.. The charge, however, was that Iraq - being the size of California, or whatever - was too large for them to find anything unless they were directly led to them. Since they were never led to anything, the assumption was that something was being hidden. In other words, the burden of proof was on the Iraqis to prove that they had no WMDs, whether that was ever provable is another question altogether..

[wotan]

That's right. You don't have a clue.

[Peach]

Iraq DID NOT offer full access. Well, they offered offered it one day and rescined in the very next day. They constantly manipulated the UN and obstructed the inspectors. Not the work of someone with nothing to hide.

[AntiGuv]

Incidentally, one final point before I leave this issue alone for now. I am not arguing that Iraq has nothing (much less that they never had anything) in terms of WMDs. What I am arguing is that the preponderance of the evidence now strongly suggests that anything they may have was absurdly trivial compared to what they were alleged to have. I believe I have accurately described the prewar public characterization of Iraq's WMD capability; do you now still believe that was an accurate reflection of reality?

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Don't think for a moment that the USA is the pinnacle of honor; America is far from truthful about anything it does.

So you believe that Bush is just reiterating what our prior Esteemed President had to say regading SADDAM?

PROOF of Iraq's WMD (Flashback Clinton speech 1998)

[Austin Willard Wright]

Err....are you using that rapist Bill Clinton to bolster you case that WMD exist in Iraq? If so, not many people regard that liar as credible. Just wondering.

[Austin Willard Wright]

Well said.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Iraq DID NOT offer full access. Well, they offered offered it one day and rescined in the very next day. They constantly manipulated the UN and obstructed the inspectors. Not the work of someone with nothing to hide.

Absolutely right!

[Peach]

Did you see any photos of the labs of WMD? They have been on television quite a few times. The labs didn't look trivial. The tens of thousands of Iraqi citizens who died at the hands of WMD didn't look trivial.

I've yet to read one book about the matter that suggested it wasn't a huge WMD program - one of the largest in the world. Are all the authors lying - since 1980 and to what end?

Do you honestly believe Saddam wouldn't sell WMD to AQ? They want them, he had them. Sold? Who knows - let's hope not.

[edsheppa]

we (US citizens) are not all responsible for this debacle

I accept full responsibility for the liberation of Iraq.

[Buckeroo]

GWBush has done nothing for America but hide behind the mask of 9/11 while trumping up over a trillion dollars in additional national debt for nothing.

OBL must be happy about GWBush's hand wringing taking our freedoms and liberties away. BTW, where is Osama? Why can't GWBush find him?

[Peach]

Buckeroo, you are a lost case. Go back to DU where you belong.

[The Great Satan]

Oh Saddam had WMD alright. He still does, which is why he survived again -- just as he did in 1991. The WMD weren't the real reason we had to go to war -- they were just the reason we had to lie about why we went to war.

Remember...

WMD mean never having to say you're sorry.

[templar]

Did all this just vanish into the desert? Somewhere? Somehow?

Of Course! that's it! A big sandstorm, a GREAT BIG sandstorm, came along and burried all of them just in time to prevent Saddam from using them against us. Someday, in about 2193 or so maybe, another great big sandstorm will blow the sand eslewhere and uncover them. Then we'll have the proof that were were right.

I'm beginning to suspect that maybe I've been had.

[Buckeroo]

I want to correct my earlier post. We do have a coloring book scheme and methods of duct tape to guard our borders. Such joy for over a trillion dollars.

[Buckeroo]

Whats a DU? Doug from Upland?

[templar]

Why can't GWBush find him?

He did. He's (OBL) an ex-CIA employee, you know. Maybe not as ex as we'd like to think.

[Peach]

I don't think Ernest at the Beach was trying to imply the word of Bill Clinton means anything in particular. What I think he was trying to say was that EVEN Clinton, who wasn't particularly strong on foreign policy, knew that Saddam had WMD.

Clinton frequently talked about Iraq's WMD and that is why he got the Iraqi Liberation Act passed by Congress in 1998, so we could rid the world of the biggest WMD program in the planet. He got it passed but then didn't do anything about it which was typical Clinton.