Which naturally begs the question, why do they have to be secret from the UN at all? What’s the United States afraid of, other than an honest accounting? Or perhaps George W. Bush is so desperate to find some proof of WMDs in Iraq that this secret inspection team is given very loose standards as to what constitutes “evidence”?
Where have you been? It’s not about WMD, it’s about liberating the Iraqi people from domination by Saddam. It has never been about WMD, where did you get that idea?
[sub]Oceania has never been at war with Eastasia
WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH[/sub]
Where is the major environmental disaster? Everybody’s been predicting that the first thing Hussein does would be bomb the oil fields. At least that was sold to Americans (and the world) as Hussein’s personality (hence, he must be taken down blah blah).
Where are the human shields that he would take? 2 months back, any mention of the war would result in the imagery of Hussein and 10 human shields draped around him. Has there been any major event in which masses of Iraqis were taken as hostages by Iraqi soldiers?
[oh, and as a sidenote, where are the we-are-the-oh-so-noble-we-are-driving-into-Baghdad-on-a-bus-to-act-as-human-shields people?]
Besides 2(?) suicide bombings, Hussein has done everything (seemingly) within conventional warfare stipulations. America, on the other hand, has authorised chem warfare. heh. Anyway, back to the OP.
Where are the WMDs you ask? Well, one obvious answer. Occam would definately have been pleased by this. Could it be that…gasP the horror! gasP…Hussein had no WMDs in the first place? Maybe it was what the US govt wanted us to believe.
One argues that IF Saddam Hussein had WMDs or even chemical weapons, he would definately have used them, going by the American judge of his character.
Until now, the Americans have not discovered anything even though they now are in control of the majority of Iraq. That is indeed telling. They have discovered many sites of suspected factories where chemical weapons might have been manufactured, but when they exlaim with an all-so-triumphant cry: “haH! we have go you!”, and all the journalists flock to the scene, it turns out that …oops…that was a red herring. Could it be that the Americans are desperate to produce evidence to back up their claims?
If the Americans are indeed desperate, would they manufacture evidence? OK. Before the pro-war camp jumps right in and say: “well, you have closed your mind to the argument already, by saying that any weapons found are plants”. Well, i am open to the possiblity of the Americans finding real WMDs (Hussein’s secret stash), if you’ll agree that the probibility of US plants are very real too.
FWIW, I wasn’t trying to start a “hate George” thread. I have my own feelings on the topic, but we have plenty of threads of that sort.
I’m more interested in the assertions by some (I can find many cites on this board, but I’m sure everyone has heard this sort of discussion) that the Bush admin has/had evidence of WoMD in Iraq that weren’t being divulged publicly for security reasons.
Isn’t it now time (or really close to the time) for the US to come clean on this evidence? Pay-up or shut-up, so to speak?
If this isn’t the time, is there a more appropriate time? Or do we trust the US to keep this evidence (assuming it exists) secret indefinitely?
Sorry if i seem to be hijacking the thread a lil’.
Ok i’ll argue for the other side. 27 Days ain’t much to a detailed write-up about WMD mass-producing factories. There could be some sensitive information the US wants to censor before making it public a la when they did it to the security council (other than the big 5), e.g. they definately wouln’t want to make public material the methods of refining anthrax etc.
Also, time would be needed to ‘decode’ all the secret manuscripts. My guess is that if there were secret labs, care would be taken to protect them. Time is needed to decrypt all these data.
Reasonable purpose in keeping it secret? No. Political? Yes.
The US admin might be trying to find the ‘right time’ to release the information; in politics, timing counts for everything. The White House might want to release it later, for a much needed boost when things are not going well for them, much like a rainy day check. Current progress in the war is commendable, and public opinion is right behind Bush. If and/or when that reverses, Bush could pluck this furry bunny outta his hat and qualm AND calm the masses.
OK, so maybe this guy has pretty strong reasons to cover his ass if any war crimes trials happen, but it’ll be interesting to see if he’s correct.
It’d also be interesting to see some of the secret evidence supposedly in possession of the U.S. that made everyone think al-Saadi was/is lying. If such evidence exists.
Consider this: if this science guy is negotiating for lenient treatment, as he very well might be, what is his best card to play? If there are WMD’s, would he lie and hope they are not found? Considering, as I’ve said before, that surely someone else will grab the goodies the US is dangling as bait, that would be a dumb plan. The thing to do would be to turn United State’s evidence at the earliest opportunity.
Nonetheless, he insists that Iraq doesn’t have any WMDs for him to rat out. He is either a) very stupid or b) there aren’t any for him to use as a bargaining chip.
As I’ve noted before, why isn’t there a line of informers stretching down the block outside Army Intelligence HQ?
Besides that, I would very much like to see the “evidence” that Fearless Misleader swore he had. Clearly, the time for worrying about “exposing” a covert asset has passed, has it not? Unless, of course, as I darkly suspect, its all bullshit.
That whole back-and-forth gets old really quick when you compare it to something that I find much more interesting and telling…
The Saddam Hussein Government did not use WMD in this war.
What about that? What does it mean? It could mean that Iraq simply has no WMD to use. Or, consider that the Iraqis have WMD, just as the USA does, but chose not to use them.
If you aren’t going to use your best (worst) weapons when the infidels are knocking on the gates of Babylon, when ARE you going to ever use them?
Well, sure, Spoofer. If he don’t know nothing, he can’t tell nothing. Righty-o, there. But if these things are there, then any number of people are in an excellent postion to ingratiate themselves with the American regime. But for some reason, they don’t.
Which leads one to wonder if perhaps GeeDubya super-secret sources of intelligence on Saddams dreaded WMD’s might have been…lets be generous here…a bit off the mark.
The General who has been arrested has been widely described in the press as Saddam’s chief scientific advisor, so I think it’s safe to assume that he knows anything there is to know. Interesting to see broadcasts of him being taken away after his arrest being broadcast on TV - I thought it was a breach of the Geneva convention to allow prisoners of war to be shown on TV?
Whether or not any remenents of chemical and biological weapons are found now seems not be particularly relevant, the fact is that none were used. The only people to use WMDs during the war have been the USA and the UK - expecting George Bush and Tony Blair to hand themselves in at the International Court of Justice any day now…
On a serious note, think of how unlikely it is that Saddam just had a change of heart and destroyed them all. Did he have any? Of course. UN inspectors only found out in 1995 that he had a secret biological weapons program and he has built an awful amount of shit, If he wasnt building anything, why did he play those games with the inspectors until Bush threatened to deploy his own ‘peacekeepers?’
Most of those arent real war crimes! Thats the kind of stuff that has always been used by the winning side as proof that the losing side was bad… Believe me, if you are ever grappling for a knife with a guy twice your size, you ll have no qualms about biting his throat or kicking him in the nuts…