An article about Colin Powell’s address to the UN regarding Iraq and evidence of weapons of mass destruction stated, "Powell also presented declassified satellite pictures as he sought to persuade a mostly skeptical council that Iraq continues to defy disarmament demands. He said photographs were of 15 munitions bunkers and that four of them had active chemical munitions inside.
"Powell said the effort to hide weapons was “part and parcel of a policy of evasion and deception that goes back 12 years.”
Is this evidence believable? If they know where the bunker is, why haven’t they gone in and taken it over? I just don’t see how they can have this arial photograph and not have taken action already. Why didn’t the inspectors actually go in like they do with all other potential sites? Can we believe that this is current information? I don’t know what to think.
I wonder how you can tell all of that from a satellite photo. Is there some new technology that I don’t know about? Is this some type of spectrographic photo that shows chemical munitions? Can it detect all types? Pretty futuristic is you ask me.
If satelites can identify what brand of cigarettes by looking at a pack on the ground, I don’t find it outragous to think that they could identify a chemical weapon vs a regular weapon.
Could they also identify that same pack of cigarettes if were in say a paper bag, a corrugated box, a metal container, in a basement, in the trunk of a car?
Did you actually watch the presentation? Did you miss the close ups of these buildings, complete with close-ups and explanations regarding trucks, personell, building structure and it’s purpose. Did you not believe the photo’s showing these buildings being cleared put a couple of days BEFORE the inspectors arrived?
I thought the evidence was absolutely convincing that Iraq is in violation of the UN resolution and that it is now time for someone to do something about it.
Call it circumstantial if you want…believe the word of Hussein over that of Powell. It will take an actual first strike by Hussein for some people to recognize the seriousness of letting him continue.
and…if the UN does not take ACTION now, it has shown it’s hand to have simply been a bluff. It’s influence will be dismissed as such.
I watched Powell’s presentation found the evidence convincing. I fully believe that Iraq has large stores of chemical and biological weapons and an active nuclear program. They have not cooperated with the inspectors; rather they have actively undermined the inspections. They have helped various terrorists, including members of al Qaeda.
Of those who watched Powell’s full presentation, does any of you still doubt that Saddam is hiding large amounts of WMDs? Do you doubt that he continues to pursue nuclear weapons? Do you doubt the contacts between Powell and al Qaeda?
I did not watch the presentation, but I did read the full transcript of it.
To answer your questions…
I believe that Powell presented credible evidence that Iraq maintains stockpiled chemical and biological weapons, as well as the ability to produce more.
He presented a strong, though not conclusive, case that Iraq is trying to produce nuclear weapons. They do not seem to have yet succeeded in doing so.
His case for a strong connection between Iraq and Al Qaida was weak at best. There was little substantive evidence to show that a partnership or strong linkage has developed between the two. Some connection is somewhat of a given, but I remain doubtful of a strong connection.
In my final analysis, Powell presented a compelling case today. Some of his evidence is circumstantial, and some of it is weak, but the weight of it as a whole bears heavily against Iraq. While some of my doubts remain, and I still wonder about the wisest possible course of action, many of the doubts I had previously about Iraq’s capabilities have been answered. Powell’s presentation went a long way towards convincing me.
I watched the whole presentation, and still have doubts. In regard to the just bioweapons claims: Powells pix of mobile bioweapons facilities looked like something a talented highschooler could produce. Labeled objects included:[ul]
[li]Fermentor (looks to be ~200 L)[/li][li]control panel[/li][li]spray drier[/li][li]bottling machine[/li][/ul]
These complex and bulky essentials were missing:[ul]
[li]gas supplies, outgas handling facilities.[/li][li]still/water conditioning units[/li][li]high volume steam sources and lines[/li][li]autoclaves sinks, ovens and cleaning stations[/li][li]culture prep and storage spaces[/li][li]media prep room[/li][li]-80 or N[sub]2[[/sub] freezers.[/li]piping/pumps or containers for moving media/bugs between the trucks[/ul]
The fact is that the U.S as an entity is directly and indirectly linked to the deaths of millions.
If it’s data you need, try WHO, Unicef etc. The numbers are there.
Checkout also recent world history, where it’s hard not to conclude that U.S. foreign policy was instrumental in incidents of genocide.
Why is this so?
Because you meddle, and it appears that you have this idea that you have a God given right to rule the universe …
Get with the program people … killing is not cool … listen to the voices of reason from within your own population.
Thanks for that important tip there, Panji Kidul. What do you propose be done in the world? Should the US just “take its toys and go home”? If so, then what about the various folks who will use that as an opportunity to make war on their fellow man? Should we just let that happen? What about folks like Saddam who seem to take a preverse delight in killing their own people? How should they be stopped? Sanctions haven’t worked (haven’t worked against Castro in Cuba either, so one wonders why the US continues the futility of having them) and Saddam doesn’t appear to be interested in complying with the UN inspectors. If you’re going to post an anti-war stance in regards to folks like Saddam, then post an alternative solution as well, rather than simply saying, “War is evil and we shouldn’t do it!” War is evil, but sometimes it’s the lesser of two evils. (A quick study of European history from 1939-1945 such teach you that.)
Well, there’s a hundred plus inspectors. I find it a little difficult to believe that the inspector intinerary was leaked and the Iraqi’s cleared all the sites in the nick of time. Did I miss where all of the sites were cleared before the weapons inspectors were allowed back into Iraq? I’m unclear on that point. Specifically, were there inspectors in Iraq before these sites were cleared out?
FWIW, I didn’t see the broadcast but did read the transcript.
A lot of anti war people like me do not doubt Saddam is an evil bastard with WMD’s. We reject the leap of logic that says war is the only option. So the presentation makes no difference. And when Powell lies about the UK ricin case, his claims having been rejected by UK security sources and contradicted by news reports at the time of the arrests which stated that the ricin was manufactured in the flat from castr beans in a crude process, then we are even less likely to leap to the desired conclusions.