# Why doesn't America PLANT WMD evidence in Iraq? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 7, 2003, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-america-plant-wmd-evidence-in-iraq/180340 "2003-06-07T21:18:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bo989](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9c0ed/32.png) [@bo989](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bo989)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-america-plant-wmd-evidence-in-iraq/180340/1 "2003-06-07T21:18:03Z")
I’m curious. Whether the American’s were lying about WMD or not, why don’t they just plant the necessary evidence in Iraq? As far as I understand it, there are no independent bodies there to supervise their investigation, so what’s stopping America from taking stuff from their own stockpile and planting it in Iraq? Or building a whole slew of fake mobile weapon’s labs and distributing them across the country? I’m not claiming to know a whole lot about the situation, so I ask my questions in ignorance. Please don’t jump on me for what you might consider an ‘obvious’ mistake in my reasoning. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-america-plant-wmd-evidence-in-iraq/180340/2 "2003-06-07T21:25:22Z")
Hopefully, what would stop them would be integrity. More realisticly, “they” could fear potential embarassment in the future if it ever came out that the evidence was planted. Too many people would be in the know, and you can’t always count on all of them keeping their mouths shut. Maybe it’s just dogged stubborness. “We WILL find weapons. There’s no need to plant them,” someone could be insisting. Also, most Americans just don’t care that much. Either it’s forgotton why we went there in the first place, or they’ve been distracted by the notion that it doesn’t matter as long as we got rid of Saddam. The rest of the world may gripe as much as they like. The Powers That Be couldn’t care less: the rest of the world are not registered voters, and winning elections is what’s most important. ---
**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, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-america-plant-wmd-evidence-in-iraq/180340/3 "2003-06-07T21:48:18Z")
It’s not worth the risk. If there’s even a hint of foul play, then Bush is out of the white house. Why take that chance, when the polls say most people say it doesn’t matter if we find WMDs? ---
**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, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-america-plant-wmd-evidence-in-iraq/180340/4 "2003-06-07T21:49:31Z")
I believe it’s also possible for forensic scientists to take some WMDs (say, biological weapons), inspect them, determine what strain they’re from, and identify their country of origin as a result. It would be a _really_ big embarassment for the U.S. if they “discovered” a huge cache of anthrax only to have UN scientists discover that it’s from a set that was only available in some North Dakota lab. Of course, the easy way around it would be to prevent any independent investigations of the “discovered” WMDs, but that would give all the skeptics an even bigger stick to bludgeon the Administration with. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-america-plant-wmd-evidence-in-iraq/180340/5 "2003-06-07T22:01:23Z")
Welcome **Anemic Falstaff**. **rjung** , As I understand it Iraq’s strains of biological weapons came from the US anyway. So just because they match the US’s stock wouldn’t mean much. ---
**Author:** ![Monster104](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Monster104](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monster104)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-america-plant-wmd-evidence-in-iraq/180340/6 "2003-06-07T22:13:22Z")
> [@](#): > > rjung, As I understand it Iraq’s strains of biological weapons came from the US anyway. So just because they match the US’s stock wouldn’t mean much. They did? ---
**Author:** ![bo989](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9c0ed/32.png) [@bo989](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bo989)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-america-plant-wmd-evidence-in-iraq/180340/7 "2003-06-07T22:16:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Anemic Falstaff \* > \*\*Why take that chance, when the polls say most people say it doesn’t matter if we find WMDs? \*\* Lissa said something similar to this. Is this true? Do most American’s not care about the WMD evidence? If so, why not? ---
**Author:** ![bo989](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9c0ed/32.png) [@bo989](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bo989)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-america-plant-wmd-evidence-in-iraq/180340/8 "2003-06-07T22:18:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by rjung \* > \*\*Of course, the easy way around it would be to prevent any independent investigations of the “discovered” WMDs, but that would give all the skeptics an even bigger stick to bludgeon the Administration with. \*\* But this is what they’re currently doing anyway, right? They’ve already prevented independent investigation in the country, and I haven’t personally heard anyone imply that the US government planned to bring in an impartial third party upon finding the WMD. ---
**Author:** ![bo989](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9c0ed/32.png) [@bo989](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bo989)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-america-plant-wmd-evidence-in-iraq/180340/9 "2003-06-07T22:22:42Z")
I mean, couldn’t the most recently discovered WMDs be a (somewhat naive) example of this sort of tactic? These things could have easily been made and planted by the states, right? Just driven into Iraq from a neighbouring country. I mean, they weren’t really much more than mobile trailers right? There was no trace of actual biological or chemical weapons, so there was nothing to trace back. ---
**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, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-america-plant-wmd-evidence-in-iraq/180340/10 "2003-06-07T22:26:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bo989 \* > \*\*Lissa said something similar to this. Is this true? Do most American’s not care about the WMD evidence? If so, why not? \*\* Yeah, it is. It’s well over half, although I can’t seem to find the polls at the moment. I think it’s a combination of factors: 1. People think Bush is fundamentally likeable. They want to believe him. 2. Apathy about the news in general. With the exciting explosion part over, the ratings for cable news have dipped again. Many are satisfied with ‘we went in, we won, end of story’. If the war (that is, the combat part) hadn’t gone so amazingly well, that sentiment would be far different. 3. Mass graves, children prisons, men condemned to die hiding under floorboards. In this age of television, you can see the skulls of babies being removed from a ditch in the ground. In front of that, it hardly seems to matter how or why Saddam was removed, just that he was. 4. Patience. People are aware that the UN had over a decade to deal with this problem; they don’t expect instant results. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-america-plant-wmd-evidence-in-iraq/180340/11 "2003-06-07T22:29:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bo989 \* > \*\*Lissa said something similar to this. Is this true? Do most American’s not care about the WMD evidence? If so, why not? \*\* **Zuma** did a nice job on the “American’s don’t care” spin in [this post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?postid=3530350#post3530350). ---
**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, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-america-plant-wmd-evidence-in-iraq/180340/12 "2003-06-07T22:29:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bo989 \* > \*\*But this is what they’re currently doing anyway, right? They’ve already prevented independent investigation in the country, and I haven’t personally heard anyone imply that the US government planned to bring in an impartial third party upon finding the WMD. \*\* What impartial third party would that be? I certainly can’t think of any. The UN wants to cover their tacit support of Saddam. France would look foolish if WMD’s are found. Representatives from Arab Nations aren’t to be trusted. There _are_ no impartial parties, except for those so-far removed that they can’t possibly be affected by this. Which would be… maybe some small African nations? Anyway, I’m pretty sure some of the UN teams are coming back, such as the nuclear watchdogs. ---
**Author:** ![Milum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea666f/32.png) [@Milum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milum)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-america-plant-wmd-evidence-in-iraq/180340/13 "2003-06-07T22:34:02Z")
Ok, SimonX, you said: " As I understand it Iraq’s strains of biological weapons came from the US anyway. So just because they match the US’s stock wouldn’t mean much." Just what the heck does that mean? Do you think that the US gave Saddam Hussein biological weapons so he could kill the Kurds? Other Iraqians? Iranians? Damn have balls, explain yourself. ---
**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, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-america-plant-wmd-evidence-in-iraq/180340/14 "2003-06-07T22:47:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Squink \* > \*\ ***Zuma** did a nice job on the “American’s don’t care” spin in [this post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?postid=3530350#post3530350). \*\* [http://www.gallup.com/poll/releases/pr030604.asp](http://www.gallup.com/poll/releases/pr030604.asp) > [@](#): > > Two weeks into the war, as WMD were not used by Iraq and were not found by coalition forces, Americans changed their minds. 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. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-america-plant-wmd-evidence-in-iraq/180340/15 "2003-06-07T22:53:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Milum \* > \*\*Ok, SimonX, you said: " As I understand it Iraq’s strains of biological weapons came from the US anyway. So just because they match the US’s stock wouldn’t mean much." > > Just what the heck does that mean? Do you think that the US gave Saddam Hussein biological weapons so he could kill the Kurds? Other Iraqians? Iranians? Damn have balls, explain yourself. \*\* Many articles I’ve found claim just that. [This one](http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/0908-08.htm) says: > [@](#): > > Reports by the US Senate’s committee on banking, housing and urban affairs – which oversees American exports policy – reveal that the US, under the successive administrations of Ronald Reagan and George Bush Sr, sold materials including anthrax, VX nerve gas, West Nile fever germs and botulism to Iraq right up until March 1992, as well as germs similar to tuberculosis and pneumonia. Other bacteria sold included brucella melitensis, which damages major organs, and clostridium perfringens, which causes gas gangrene. [This article](http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,866942,00.html) says: > [@](#): > > The US provided less conventional military equipment than British or German companies but it did allow the export of biological agents, including anthrax; vital ingredients for chemical weapons; and cluster bombs sold by a CIA front organisation in Chile, the report says. [This one says much the same.](http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A52241-2002Dec29¬Found=true) > [@](#): > > The administrations of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush authorized the sale to Iraq of numerous items that had both military and civilian applications, including poisonous chemicals and deadly biological viruses, such as anthrax and bubonic plague. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-america-plant-wmd-evidence-in-iraq/180340/16 "2003-06-07T23:09:24Z")
Good old America… Bring the money, we’v got the goods! ---
**Author:** ![kflanaga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/74df32/32.png) [@kflanaga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kflanaga)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-america-plant-wmd-evidence-in-iraq/180340/17 "2003-06-07T23:33:47Z")
From the Washington post: “The administrations of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush authorized the sale to Iraq of numerous items that had both military and civilian applications, including poisonous chemicals and deadly biological viruses, such as anthrax and bubonic plague.” Doesn’t the fact that they call anthrax a “biological virus” immediately show that their information might be a bit inaccurate? Their trying to convince me of some international conspiracy when they can’t be bothered to check a high school biology text book? ---
**Author:** ![Milum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea666f/32.png) [@Milum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milum)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-america-plant-wmd-evidence-in-iraq/180340/18 "2003-06-07T23:40:02Z")
\*\*casdave \*\*: Location: Castleford,west yorkshire, England. \*"Good old America… Bring the money, we’v got the goods!"\* Think, little buddy \*\* casgrave\*\*, would Bush-the-first allow biological weapons to be given to the despot Saddam Hussein? Huh? ---
**Author:** ![capacitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@capacitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capacitor)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2003, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-america-plant-wmd-evidence-in-iraq/180340/19 "2003-06-07T23:47:14Z")
Um, there are some CSI’s that are even more sophistiated than the show depiction, FBI labs notwithstanding. ---
**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, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-america-plant-wmd-evidence-in-iraq/180340/20 "2003-06-08T00:08:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bo989 \* > \*\*Lissa said something similar to this. Is this true? Do most American’s not care about the WMD evidence? If so, why not? \*\* Because, whether or not Iraq had large amounts of WMDs in March 2003, there was a risk that they would acquire them and use them. It’s not disputed that Iraq had major chemical, biological, and nuclear programs in the past. Furthermore, there were many other good reasons to favor Saddam’s overthrow – his cruelty, his support for mid-East terrorists, his hatred of America, his repeated violations of UN resolutions, his failure to honor his 1991 peace agreement, etc. Finally, the war was a great success. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-america-plant-wmd-evidence-in-iraq/180340.md?page=2)