# Still no WMD **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 17, 2003, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/still-no-wmd/169311 "2003-04-17T14:28:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2003, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/still-no-wmd/169311/61 "2003-04-20T01:10:43Z")
> [@](#): > > Its only that it is clear that terrorism, bent on destroying the fabric of American life, must necessarily have Akron at the very top of thier list. If Akron represents the _fabric_ of America, then the terrorist are going by an old copy of _Saturday Night Fever_. Leisure suits are stil _in_, here. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2003, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/still-no-wmd/169311/62 "2003-04-20T14:48:38Z")
And this just in from the hystericly leftist rag, _Time_… [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101030428-444892,00.html](http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101030428-444892,00.html) "However sanguine officials sound in public, in private the pressure is rising. The Pentagon dispatched an entire brigade—3,000 troops—to the search and offered $200,000 bounties for any weapons of mass destruction (WMD) uncovered. Local officers were authorized to make payments of $2,500 on the spot. “The White House is screaming, ‘Find me some WMD,’” says a State Department official, adding that the task is one of many suddenly facing the department. Members of the Administration must feel a new bond with Blix, since they are now the ones arguing that these things take time. " $200,000. Thats the latest bid. But nobody steps forward and says "The nerve gas factory is on the corner of Saddam Street and Qusay Avenue. Make the check to “Hassim Ratout” Keep in mind, the _second_ guy ain’t gonna get squat. If only one hundred people in all of Iraq have such info, 99 of them would be in a flat out foot race to get to the nearest phone. And yet…nothing. And here’s a wrinkle that I hadn’t considered, but damned interesting… "Some officials now question whether huge stockpiles will ever be found: it’s easy to hide a liter of anthrax, but not the factory-size facility needed to produce it. The failure to turn up anything to date raises two possibilities, neither one good, says Joseph Cirincione, chief of the Non-Proliferation Project at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington. “It may be that there aren’t as many weapons as the President said, in which case we have a major intelligence failure, a huge embarrassment for the President and a huge blow to U.S. credibility—and that’s the good news,” he says. “The other option is that there are as many weapons as the President feared, and they’re no longer under anyone’s control.” Now there’s an ironic turn, no? If Saddam disbursed his WMDs as the Americans came rolling in, then they are all over the map now, in the hands of God only knows who! Which, IIRC, was _precisely_ the scenario the war was purported to prevent. ---
**Author:** ![Roland\_Saul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/58f4c7/32.png) [@Roland\_Saul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roland_Saul)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2003, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/still-no-wmd/169311/63 "2003-04-20T16:13:29Z")
Thnaks for the insight guys. In fact I was thinking that DU fit squarely into the category because of it’s radioactive condition. From what I gather, depleted uranium is about 70% as radioactive as reactor-grade. I will cite something to support that percentage if anyone wants, it seems to be accepted by the nuclear community by and large from what I’ve read. It appears to me that HRW and Unicef claim upwards of a quarter million casualties as a direct result of radiation poisoning causing death or disability in the Iraqi population, largely from contact with DU dust from various explosions. I can’t seem to find any real refutation of those numbers, in fact I find a disturbing lack of information about DU exposure in Iraq. I know that there were thousands upon thousands of DU munitons spent, so I’m wondering who knoew, and why the continued silence in the North American media? My thinking is that as long as we’re aware of the effects of DU exposure, and I 'm sure the military and scientific communities are aware, we are using WMD’s just as nasty as if we’d used gas. Our method seems to be more insidious in that there are no newsworthy victims. Whether that is due to the latency period of the sickness, or whehter it’s due to the wilfull denial of what I see as a large-scale and indiscriminate target “demographic”, I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![pantom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/34f0e0/32.png) [@pantom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pantom)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/still-no-wmd/169311/64 "2003-04-21T02:43:34Z")
We may have a winner (NYT story, will self-destruct in a few days): > **[AFTEREFFECTS: PROHIBITED WEAPONS; Illicit Arms Kept Till Eve of War, An Iraqi...](https://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/21/world/aftereffects-prohibited-weapons-illicit-arms-kept-till-eve-war-iraqi-scientist.html)** > > Amercan weapons experts say scientist who claims to have worked in Iraq's chemical weapons program for more than decade has told them that Iraq destroyed chemical and biological weapons and equipment only days before war began; say scientist, who is... ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/still-no-wmd/169311/65 "2003-04-21T03:11:29Z")
Dunno about that one, **pantom**. It may pan out, but it’s not entirely satisfactory at this stage. [http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/content/news/daily/0421iraqchem.html](http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/content/news/daily/0421iraqchem.html) > [@](#): > > A scientist who claims to have worked in Iraq’s chemical weapons program for more than a decade has told an American military team that Iraq destroyed chemical weapons and biological warfare equipment only days before the war began, members of the team said. > > They said the scientist led Americans to a supply of material that proved to be the building blocks of illegal weapons, which he claimed to have buried as evidence of Iraq’s illicit weapons programs. > > The scientist also told American weapons experts that Iraq had secretly sent unconventional weapons and technology to Syria, starting in the mid-1990s, and that more recently Iraq was cooperating with al-Qaida, the military officials said. Sounds like the story is a bit _too_ convenient. If all he has is evidence that he acknowledges he planted himself… ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/still-no-wmd/169311/66 "2003-04-21T03:17:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pantom \* > \*\*We may have a winner (NYT story, will self-destruct in a few days): > > [http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/21/international/worldspecial/21CHEM.html](http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/21/international/worldspecial/21CHEM.html) \*\* > [@](#): > > They said the scientist led Americans to a supply of material that proved to be the building blocks of illegal weapons, which he claimed to have buried as evidence of Iraq’s illicit weapons programs. “Precursors” again ? A few more details as to the identity and quantity of the chemicals would be nice, but apparently will not be forthcoming: > [@](#): > > Those officials asked that details of what chemicals were uncovered be deleted. They said they feared that such information could jeopardize the scientist’s safety by identifying the part of the weapons program where he worked. Going to the scientist’s credibility: > [@](#): > > he has given the Americans information about other unconventional weapons activities, they said, as well as information about Iraqi weapons cooperation with Syria, and with terrorist groups, including Al Qaeda. It was not clear how the scientist knew of such a connection. So far, this looks like yet another molehill. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/still-no-wmd/169311/67 "2003-04-21T19:22:32Z")
Am I the only person skeptical enough to wonder if this guy even exists? I mean, if he’s anything like the Atomic Energy Commission report (“Iraq will have nuclear weapons in six months! Invade now!”), then we may ultimately learn that his name is al-Kover’GeorgesAss… ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/still-no-wmd/169311/68 "2003-04-21T20:00:04Z")
For what it’s worth, the NYT reporter did see and hear the scientist. The NYT is not exactly a right-wing puppet of the current administration, as I’m sure you know. It’s highly unlikely that they would go out on a limb for GWB. In fact, they would probably be ecstatic if they found out something scandalous about him. And while it’s possible that the NYT, like anyone else, could be misled, they do have a good reputation for verifying sources and investigating facts. We’ll see what develops, it would not be the first false alarm if it comes to that, that’s for sure. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/still-no-wmd/169311.md?page=3)