So was Benedict Arnold.
OK, I’m confused. Can we actually detect WMDs buried in sand in a matter of hours, by using satellites, or can we not? And can we detect them precisely enough to dig them up and verify that they are in fact WMDs?
I’m perfectly willing to believe an expert like Bughunter, but what he has said so far does not seem to dispose of all Jurph’s objections.
Ravenman said: “weapons that might have been in the country between 1998 (when UN weapons inspectors were kicked out)”
Inspectors were withdrawn, not kicked out. It’s sad how well all that propoganda has worked…
Depends on what you’re referring to by “kicked out.” They weren’t kicked out of Iraq, but they were kicked out of the sites they were supposed to be inspecting, on the (true) pretext that one of the inspectors was working for U.S. intelligence. Having been kicked out of the sites they were supposed to be inspecting, the inspectors were then voluntarily withdrawn from Iraq, as you say.
Fine, nit successfully picked. :rolleyes:
In that post you quoted I was trying to keep things as simple as possible because I was trying to clear up what appears to be a very fundamental misunderstanding that may be the genesis of this whole thread.
You’ve gotta pick your battles…
Note to all posters: Clear all questions, comments and answers with Bromley before submitting them to this board.
I’m terribly sorry. I checked your other posts to see if this was likely to be a tongue-in-cheek series of posts or if your beliefs were that strong and naive. I asked for clarification in my first post.
From your other posts and the lack of clarification, I think it was fair to assume that you are not as naive as this thread makes you out to be. Therefore, this is not a request for information etc…
If I was wrong, I apologise and will gladly answer your questions.
No. The possession by Iraq of chemical weapons is not at issue. The UN inspectors reported that Iraq definitely had them; this was widely published in newspapers worldwide. Were you not aware they were used by Hussein on his own people in N. Iraq? About half a million people and their families know first-hand he had the weapons. After booting the inspectors out of Iraq in the mid-90s, are we expected to believe Hussein then decided to change his mind and comply with UN Security Council resolutions requiring his complete disarmament of illegal weapons, without telling them and without saving any proof whatsoever of the elaborate and time-consuming destruction process?
Is there a reason for supposing that the representatives of the civilized world crafted and then passed, among many others, Res. 1441 (the vote was 15-0), a resolution which specifically required Iraq to disarm and show evidence (proof) of disposal of the WMD, if there were no WMD to dispose of? That would be rather absurd.
Bottom line: The United Nations weapons inspectors and National Security Council, representing experts on international security from 15 countries, put their heads together. They find Hussein to be in possession of WMD and a serious danger to the safety of the free world. Some other people, who lack the same kind of extensive knowledge and access to the intelligence the UN has and who would honestly admit to not being experts in international security issues, disagree and do not see any danger in Hussein’s regime.
Let’s just call it even. I still know of many people, myself included, who feel the threat to peace really does come from those who flout the will of the civilized world, not from those who enforce it. We still trust the President of the United States over the tyrannical head of a homicidal crime family. And we like knowing that we have courageous men and women who are not afraid to defend things like democracy and religious tolerance, along with leadership to empower them, against people who think you and I are Satan.
The factual question of what would be done with such weapons if they should be found has been answered about as well as it is likely to be. Those wishing to debate whether there are any such weapons to be found should proceed to the Great Debates forum.
Deliberately misrepresenting your opinions in order to get a rise out of others is trolling and is grounds for banning. I can’t prove any trolling in this thread, but you can be sure I will be keeping my eyes on Coffeeguy in the future.
bibliophage
moderator GQ