# Bush Administration lying on WMD's- the continuing controversy **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 6, 2003, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-administration-lying-on-wmds-the-continuing-controversy/180158 "2003-06-06T19:43:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![december](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@december](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/december)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-administration-lying-on-wmds-the-continuing-controversy/180158/41 "2003-06-07T22:01:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Alex-NC \* > Here’s a few quotes about WPM’s… Here are some more statements about WMDs (re-posted here at OP’s invitation) [ul][_] [German intelligence service reported in 2001 that Hussein was three years away from being able to build three nuclear weapons](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26671-2003Jun6.html) and that by 2005 Iraq would have a missile with sufficient range to reach Europe.[_] Former CIA director John Deutch testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Sept. 19, 1996, that “we believe that [Hussein] retains an undetermined quantity of chemical and biological agents that he would certainly have the ability to deliver against adversaries by aircraft or artillery or by Scud missile systems.”[_]French President Jacques Chirac declared this past February that there were probably weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and that “we have to find and destroy them.”[_]Al Gore declared last September, presumably based on what he had learned as vice president, that Hussein had “stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country.”[_]In 1998, Bill Clinton described Iraq’s “offensive biological warfare capability, notably 5,000 gallons of botulinum, which causes botulism; 2,000 gallons of anthrax; 25 biological-filled Scud warheads; and 157 aerial bombs.” Clinton accurately reported the view of U.N. weapons inspectors at the time “that Iraq still has stockpiles of chemical and biological munitions, a small force of Scud-type missiles, and the capacity to restart quickly its production program and build many, many more weapons.”[_]Hans Blix reported last January that there was “strong evidence” that Iraq had produced even more anthrax than it had declared “and that at least some of this was retained.” Blix also reported that Iraq possessed 650 kilograms of “bacterial growth media,” enough "to produce . . . 5,000 litres of concentrated anthrax. Blix reported as well that 6,500 “chemical bombs” that Iraq admitted producing still remained unaccounted for. Blix’s team calculated the amount of chemical agent in those bombs at 1,000 tons. [/ul]In short, virtually everyone believed that Saddam had extensive WMD programs. ---
**Author:** ![G-RAY](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d9b06d/32.png) [@G-RAY](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G-RAY)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-administration-lying-on-wmds-the-continuing-controversy/180158/42 "2003-06-07T22:11:05Z")
Gee wiz are you sugesting that (GASP) W lied to the American public? This whole goddamned thing just pisses me off. They lied their freaking asses off to start this war. when I saw Colin Powell get up on stage at the U.N. with his freaking pointer saying" They have weapons here, here, here and here. Se this satellight picture of a truck? well its actually a launcher for a big fuckin rocket and its aimed right at your house." I knew it was all over. Now after all that trash they talked, implying that the U.N. inspecters had their heads up their asses or were actually covering for Saddam. They cant find a single weapon or even any proof that there were weapons. Where is the outrage??? When Clinton got a BJ in the white house you would have thought the whole world had come to an end. Here we have a dipshit who gets us in a war halfway around the world, spends Billions of dollars, kills thousands of people. All for reasons that ARE A BUNCH OF BULLSHIT and nothing … I am hearing more about Martha Stewart. It is just unreal I think Bush and the rest of his assmonkeys shoukld be named war criminals and if they leave us soil should be bunking at the Hauge with Slobodon Milosovich. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-administration-lying-on-wmds-the-continuing-controversy/180158/43 "2003-06-07T22:13:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Desmostylus \* > Sane people, like yoursef, **Brutus** , no doubt focus on the _real_ issues. And what the fuck would they be, exactly? Who’s going to win _American Idol III,_ naturally – because when it comes to Iraqi WMDs, he doesn’t care. :rolleyes: (I _expect_ **Brutus** to have asshat opinions. I’m _bothered_ by the thought that he casts _votes_ based on those asshat opinions…) ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-administration-lying-on-wmds-the-continuing-controversy/180158/44 "2003-06-07T22:25:25Z")
It’s frustrating that we went to war based on lies. It’s a million times more frustrating that there are more **Brutuses** in this country than **elucidators**. I have a feeling there will be nothing at all from this except more excuses and false assurances and more LIES. Argh. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-administration-lying-on-wmds-the-continuing-controversy/180158/45 "2003-06-07T22:32:40Z")
They breed like rabbits, you know… ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-administration-lying-on-wmds-the-continuing-controversy/180158/46 "2003-06-07T22:53:49Z")
> [@](#): > > It’s a million times more frustrating that there are more Brutuses in this country than elucidators. I disagree. Elucidator is just a Brutus that swings in the other political direction and has greater ability for prose. ---
**Author:** ![december](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@december](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/december)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-administration-lying-on-wmds-the-continuing-controversy/180158/47 "2003-06-07T22:54:42Z")
At one point, Bush needed to find massive amounts of WMDs to satisfy his critics. But, look at the extreme comments on this thread. They are typical of what his critics are saying. Bush has succeeding in moving the goal line. Now, the US only has to find a few WMDs to make his critics wrong. You have been outsmarted by Bush. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-administration-lying-on-wmds-the-continuing-controversy/180158/48 "2003-06-07T22:57:04Z")
fuck you **december** - we invaded another nation, spent money we don’t have to do so, killed many people, put our own soldiers at risk, lost many of them, and they continue to die, this isn’t a fucking ‘we gotcha’ game. ---
**Author:** ![Brutus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Brutus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brutus)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-administration-lying-on-wmds-the-continuing-controversy/180158/49 "2003-06-07T23:20:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Binarydrone \* > \*\ ***Brutus** , as you seem to have some strong opinions on this matter, I would invite you to answer a series of questions. > [ul] > [li]Do you remember that “massive stockpiles” of WMD that were a imminent threat to the United States was cited by our current administration as the primary reason for invading Iraq?[/li][li]Do you or do you not recognize that there is mounting evidence that indicates that this was not the case?[/li][li]Do you believe that the President is telling the truth?[/li][li]How is going to war based either on bad intelligence or on falsehood a non-issue?[/li][/ul] > \*\* 1. I remember, many moons ago, that WMD were cited as _a_reason for removing Saddam and Co. from power. WMD were never high on my list of concerns with Iraq, though. I am more concerned with Pakistani nukes than with Iraqi WMD. 2. Not a concern. I supported the liberation of Iraq for other reasons. 3. Sure. We couldn’t find E.Rudolf for how many years, and he was right here in America. A tub of Anthrax, Rudolf-sized, could be stashed anywhere in Iraq. (I hope that stuff isn’t really stored in tubs). We will find the stuff eventually. (Or find out what happened to it.) 4. Bad intelligence? You mean Saddam wasn’t really a murderous anti-American dictator? ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-administration-lying-on-wmds-the-continuing-controversy/180158/50 "2003-06-07T23:22:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by december \* > At one point, Bush needed to find massive amounts of WMDs to satisfy his critics. But, look at the extreme comments on this thread. They are typical of what his critics are saying. Bush has succeeding in moving the goal line. Now, the US only has to find a few WMDs to make his critics wrong. > > You have been outsmarted by Bush. 😃 What an **apt** statement in the face of the truth coming out about the “evidence” for WMDs. Why, look at that in the distance! It’s **december** kissing his own ass! How the FUCK can you be so smarmy right now? Are you incapable of digesting the information present in this thread and in others regarding WMDs, or are you not going to accept that they might be valid until Bush goes on television to apologize for lying to the world, effectively, about all the supposed evidence they claimed they had? [sub]And this would be why you don’t see me often in GD.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Anemic\_Falstaff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8edcca/32.png) [@Anemic\_Falstaff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anemic_Falstaff)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-administration-lying-on-wmds-the-continuing-controversy/180158/51 "2003-06-07T23:22:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by zuma \* > \*\*All that cite tells me is that 2/3 of americans are extremely concerned about the lack of WOMD. \*\* From said cite: > [@](#): > > In an April 5-6 poll, 58% said the war would be justified even without evidence that Iraq possessed WMD, a 20-point increase. In the current poll, despite continuing controversy over the failure to find the weapons, 56% of Americans continue to take that position. Only about a quarter of Americans are suspending judgment on the war pending the outcome of the search for weapons of mass destruction. Care to share how those two quotes stack? ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-administration-lying-on-wmds-the-continuing-controversy/180158/52 "2003-06-07T23:24:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Brutus \* > Bad intelligence? You mean Saddam wasn’t really a murderous anti-American dictator? You know, I could _swear_ I’d seen “anti-American” as a reason on the List of Reasons to Bomb a Country. Where_ever_ did I put it… ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-administration-lying-on-wmds-the-continuing-controversy/180158/53 "2003-06-07T23:28:27Z")
And when (scu’ me, “if”) we don’t find any WOMD, who will be the winner then? Saddam Hussein? The hundreds of people (including Merikuns) who were killed? The Iraqi citizens who are crying for the “good ole days” because at least they had jobs and cholera-free water? A handful of leftist radicals who care more about the downfall of Bush than anything else in the world? It’s horrible that so many Americans think this is a game. Funny, no one thought it was a game when people were jumping out of skyscrapers a couple of years ago. ---
**Author:** ![cheddarsnax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@cheddarsnax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cheddarsnax)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-administration-lying-on-wmds-the-continuing-controversy/180158/54 "2003-06-07T23:41:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by december \* > \*\*In short, virtually everyone believed that Saddam had extensive WMD programs. \*\* I wouldn’t use the word “everyone”, december. You only have 6 quotes - not exactly a representative sample of world opinion. In addition, some of those uncited quotes are quite old: > [@](#): > > Former CIA director John Deutch testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Sept. 19, 1996 **1996?** That’s the best you can do? Come on, december, even you must believe that it’s possible that Saddam could have destroyed his WMDs over a seven-year period. > [@](#): > > In 1998, Bill Clinton described Iraq’s "offensive biological warfare capability Oh, 1998 now. Only five years ago. At least the rest of your quotes are from this century. In short, your post is crap. Six quotes doesn’t prove shit. ---
**Author:** ![cheddarsnax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@cheddarsnax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cheddarsnax)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-administration-lying-on-wmds-the-continuing-controversy/180158/55 "2003-06-07T23:43:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by monstro \* > \*\*Funny, no one thought it was a game when people were jumping out of skyscrapers a couple of years ago. \*\* Yeah, it’s a good thing we invaded Iraq, what with their involvement in 9/11 and… …oh. ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-administration-lying-on-wmds-the-continuing-controversy/180158/56 "2003-06-07T23:48:08Z")
But Iraq WAS involved in 9/11. They’re Muslims and they have suspicious mustaches. The proof is clear! ---
**Author:** ![cheddarsnax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@cheddarsnax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cheddarsnax)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-administration-lying-on-wmds-the-continuing-controversy/180158/57 "2003-06-07T23:52:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by GMRyujin \* > \*\*But Iraq WAS involved in 9/11. They’re Muslims and they have suspicious mustaches. The proof is clear! \*\* :smack: Silly me. _Now_ I understand! ---
**Author:** ![december](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@december](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/december)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-administration-lying-on-wmds-the-continuing-controversy/180158/58 "2003-06-08T00:02:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by appletreats \* > In addition, some of those uncited quotes are quite old: > > **1996?** That’s the best you can do? Come on, december, even you must believe that it’s possible that Saddam could have destroyed his WMDs over a seven-year period. > > Oh, 1998 now. Only five years ago. At least the rest of your quotes are from this century. \*\* So, let’s look at the alternative scenario: \*Saddam kept his store of WMDs, as long as the UN inspectors were present, but he secretly destroyed them after the inspectors left in 1998. By keeping the destruction of the weapons secret, Saddam managed to suffer years of sanctions and provoked his eventual overthrow. \* Why would he have done this? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-administration-lying-on-wmds-the-continuing-controversy/180158/59 "2003-06-08T00:13:47Z")
To piss off Clinton and Bush. Or Clinton and Gore. Or Clinton and whoever. Plus there’s that whole “oh, hey, we can’t piss off those guys too much … we don’t have UN backing and we don’t know that they _don’t_ have big-ass bombs and anthrax and such” thing. ---
**Author:** ![cheddarsnax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@cheddarsnax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cheddarsnax)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-administration-lying-on-wmds-the-continuing-controversy/180158/60 "2003-06-08T00:16:25Z")
To add to **iampunha** ’s post… > [@](#): > > Saddam managed to suffer years of sanctions Those sanctions didn’t affect Saddam one bit, and I doubt he gave a shit whether it affected his people. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-administration-lying-on-wmds-the-continuing-controversy/180158.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-administration-lying-on-wmds-the-continuing-controversy/180158.md?page=4)