Job Discussion Forums

[Ludwig]

"President Bush himself again defended last year's invasion [of Iraq], though he made no reference to the [Duelfer] report".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3722306.stm

It is easy to see why Bush (or, rather, his speech writer) does not seem too overly keen on making mention of the Duelfer report when you take a look at some of its key findings.

"The ISG has not found evidence that Saddam possessed WMD stocks in 2003, but [there is] the possibility that some weapons existed in Iraq, although not of a militarily significant capability."

"There is an extensive, yet fragmentary and circumstantial body of evidence suggesting that Saddam pursued a strategy to maintain a capability to return to WMD after sanctions were lifted... "

"The problem of discerning WMD in Iraq is highlighted by the pre-war misapprehensions of weapons which were not there. Distant technical analysts mistakenly identified evidence and drew incorrect conclusions."

Hitler is oft quoted as saying "The bigger the lie, the more people will believe it".

[XXX]

So what? All of the intel that GW ( and every other world leader had) was that Saddam did have nerve agents and bio weapons. Remember when his sons in law defected? They said he did. Besides, he used them before ( on Iran and his own people). What was going to stop him from using them again? They are quite easy to make using dual purpose technology.
He had all the makings and the know how to get the job done. I suppose you would want him restored to power.

[distiller]

Hans Blix anyone? UN inspectors? They never said Iraq had anything and they were the only ones on the ground. When all you've got is a couple of angry son in laws and international criminals like Chilabi along with some satelitte photos of ice cream trucks to back up the WMB case one might ponder the effectiveness of investing $200 billion, 15,000 Iraqi lives and 1000 American lives. The rest of the world did but George went ahead anyway.

Saddam used chemical weapons in the 80's against the kurds and Iranians. The latest report is that he had none after 1991. By 2003 there were clearly none and there were no facilities or programs to make any.

No one is saying Saddam is a good guy or that we want him back but we can't just go around the world picking off guys we don't like, especially when they are of no threat to us. Especially when the rest of the world strongly disagrees. There are more dangerous countries out there and more repressive and ruthless leaders and regimes. Bush started planning for Iraq on September 12th and it had nothing to do with WMD or freeing anyone.

[Ludwig]

[AsiaTraveller]

XXX gets a grade of X for not knowing facts that are readily available in numerous books, magazines and Internet articles:

XXX mentions Saddam's son-in-law.

Perhaps he means Hussein Kamal (Minister of Industry and Military Industrialization), who defected to Jordan on 7 August 1995 and reported to UNSCOM that Iraq had unilaterally destroyed its entire inventory of biological weapons in the summer of 1991. [Kamal later was persuaded to return to Iraq, where he was executed.]

It seems that immediately after the Gulf War cease-fire in 1991, Kamal had ordered the destruction of all Iraqi chemical and biological weapons � and the makings thereof � and the missiles to deliver them. When such weapons had been used against Kurds in the late 1980s, Saddam was congratulated and rewarded by the Reagan and Bush administrations, including Rummy himself (see distiller's avatar).

Kamal had always claimed that the Iraqis were never able to "weaponize" anthrax and never able to disperse it as a lethal aerosol over the target.

So much for the phony �intel� that GW propagated, that Tony Blair put in his dodgy dossier, and that XXX evidently swallowed and believed.

[justcolleen]

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article6423.htm

I first saw this on the local public television station, several months ago. It tells quite the story, XXX.

Colleen

[kev7161]

Actually, all I heard (when it comes to the statement that intelligence reports fed us the information about WMDs) was coming from Bush, Cheney, et al. How can you believe they are being truthful about this when they have been so untruthful about so many other things?

[giwdulrenol]

Ludwig,

Mock-morality is worse than no morality. It is fraud.

[Chris_Crossley]

[Roger]

Bush, Rummie and that kind of ilk - we needn't be afraid of such despotic demagogues and morons; we need to be afraid of those who re-elect them!
If the American voting public were half as enlightened as the rest of the world the problem would be solved once and for all.

[justcolleen]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A10573-2004Oct6?language=printer

In part:

[XXX]

And I guess you people would LOVE to have Saddam restored to power.

[justcolleen]

[XXX]

Do you have a picture of Fidel or Kim Il Sung or Pol Pot on your wall?

[Aramas]