# WMD found and were ready to fire. Neener Neener Neener!! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 7, 2003, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wmd-found-and-were-ready-to-fire-neener-neener-neener/167111 "2003-04-07T17:50:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wmd-found-and-were-ready-to-fire-neener-neener-neener/167111/41 "2003-04-07T19:22:36Z")
The linked article is of interest, but does not provide official WMD confirmation. Might be wise to wait for that before indulging in a “neener neener” orgy. Especially after the premature GD threads on this subject that crashed and burned. ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wmd-found-and-were-ready-to-fire-neener-neener-neener/167111/42 "2003-04-07T19:39:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tars Tarkas \* > \*\*WMD again? What will it be really this time, nail polish? > \*\* The latest reports came from the fucking embeded CNN reporter, asswipe, or are you now going to try and claim that that’s biased somehow? > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tars Tarkas \* > \*\* > BTW, we illegally invaded a sovereign nation on no evidence and turned thousands of Arabs into terrorists who want us all dead, increasing the amount of terror attacks on our soil. \*\* There was nothing “Illegal” about our invading Iraq, waging war is one of the perogatives of a soverign nation, or are you claiming that somewhere the U.S. surrendered it’s soverenty to world opinion, and that the Witch Doctor advising the leader of Ghana should now have input over our foreign policy?( Which was the reason Ghana planned to vote against any U.N resolutions authorizing force ). As for "turned thousands of Arabs into terrorists who want us all dead, increasing the amount of terror attacks on our soil. ", all I can say is, cite? You have evidence, I’m sure, that “thousands” of Arabs who previously thought Mom, Apple Pie and Old Glory were the height of human civilization are now planning to kill us all with terror attacks on our own soil, right? I’m sure such a fine, upstanding poster, who demands such accuracy in the claims people make that it wasn’t good enough to be told there was evidence of WMD that couldn’t be shared, even now that such WMD have been found, would never pull a claim out of their ass, would they? I eagerly await the thousands of cites backing up your specific claims to be forthcoming. ( Just a reminder as to what you claimed- I want cites that “Thousands of Arabs” have been “Turned into terrorists that want us all dead” ( meaning they weren’t terrorists before, we “turned them into” terrorists by our actions, right?) AND that they are making or planning terror attacks “on our own soil”) I’m waiting, Chicken Little. ---
**Author:** ![micilin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8c91f0/32.png) [@micilin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/micilin)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wmd-found-and-were-ready-to-fire-neener-neener-neener/167111/43 "2003-04-07T19:47:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Weirddave \* > > ( Just a reminder as to what you claimed- I want cites that “Thousands of Arabs” have been “Turned into terrorists that want us all dead” ( meaning they weren’t terrorists before, we “turned them into” terrorists by our actions, right?) AND that they are making or planning terror attacks “on our own soil”) > > I’m waiting, Chicken Little. \*\* You guys from Wisconsin? [http://www.theonion.com/onion3911/pt\_the\_war\_on\_iraq.html](http://www.theonion.com/onion3911/pt_the_war_on_iraq.html) ---
**Author:** ![Binarydrone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Binarydrone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Binarydrone)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wmd-found-and-were-ready-to-fire-neener-neener-neener/167111/44 "2003-04-07T19:50:09Z")
**Weirddave** , I think that the point here is that there have been a lot of false alarms of late. The folks against the war (and I think that I can safely put you in the other camp) have been repeatedly asked if their position will change once WMD are found. To a varying degree that issue has been explored. What _I_ would love to see addressed is this: How many false alarms before the pro-war folks change their minds? Or to get even more subtle here, given that there has been very little evidence of WMD, and that (assuming that this latest find is independently corroborated) it is clear that the Iraqi regime, though being invaded, is not using the WMD that they _do_ have, do any folks in the pro-war camp care to reconsider their position? And finally, let me point out that this post is in earnest and, I dare say, polite. I would encourage you to extend the same courtesy to me. ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wmd-found-and-were-ready-to-fire-neener-neener-neener/167111/45 "2003-04-07T20:01:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tars Tarkas \* > **WMD again? What will it be really this time, nail polish?** As long as it’s not nail polish _remover_. That shit outta be classified as WMD. The smell of acetone makes me sick. Phew. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wmd-found-and-were-ready-to-fire-neener-neener-neener/167111/46 "2003-04-07T20:06:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rysdad \* > \*\*As long as it’s not nail polish _remover_. That shit outta be classified as WMD. The smell of acetone makes me sick. Phew. \*\* Hmmm, I always liked the smell. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wmd-found-and-were-ready-to-fire-neener-neener-neener/167111/47 "2003-04-07T20:10:11Z")
Gosh, if only the United Nations had sent inspectors into Iraq looking for these things! Oh wait… Still, there’ll be some dead soldier’s wives on Easy Street with the military pensions, so you know they’re sleeping tonight! ---
**Author:** ![cheddarsnax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@cheddarsnax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cheddarsnax)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wmd-found-and-were-ready-to-fire-neener-neener-neener/167111/48 "2003-04-07T20:19:00Z")
> [@](#): > > The latest reports came from the fucking embeded CNN reporter, asswipe, or are you now going to try and claim that that’s biased somehow? I wasn’t aware that CNN journalists were experts on chemical warfare. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wmd-found-and-were-ready-to-fire-neener-neener-neener/167111/49 "2003-04-07T20:25:38Z")
_Maybe this time they’ll believe me - nah, that would mean they care to listen to my position._ I assume Iraq has WMD. Therfore, after we take over the country, I assume we will find them. But, I oppose the invasion of their country. BTW, where did anyone in authority say that WMD was **THE** reason for this invasion? The way I heard it, the administration did a good job of pre-emptively covering their asses and obscuring the issue, by tossing out a whole bunch of _noble goals_. None of which convinced me. So, enjoy your neeners. Or save them for someone who cares. Sadly, I just had a vision of Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, et al, saying “neener, neener.” And it struck me as being just about their level of sophistication. And about as convincing as most of their utterances. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wmd-found-and-were-ready-to-fire-neener-neener-neener/167111/50 "2003-04-07T20:41:06Z")
Bush would smirk as he said it. Rumsfeld would spit, hiss and roll his eyes as he said it. But Cheney would just look with his dead gaze into the camera and say it slowly and humorlessly. “Neener.” he’d say. "Neener. " “Neener.” Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Tars\_Tarkas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tars\_Tarkas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tars_Tarkas)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wmd-found-and-were-ready-to-fire-neener-neener-neener/167111/51 "2003-04-07T20:46:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Weirddave \* > The latest reports came from the fucking embeded CNN reporter, asswipe, or are you now going to try and claim that that’s biased somehow? Oh, hot damn. I guess you can put aside your “Liberal Media Lies” slogans when they say something you agree with. since it hasn’t been independantly verified yet, and this is claim number 294845724823402345209582390583290523590235 of WMD evidence, excuse me if i take it with a grain of salt and not beleiveing whatever crap the media is shoveling these days. [quote] There was nothing “Illegal” about our invading Iraq, waging war is one of the perogatives of a soverign nation, or are you claiming that somewhere the U.S. surrendered it’s soverenty to world opinion, and that the Witch Doctor advising the leader of Ghana should now have input over our foreign policy?( Which was the reason Ghana planned to vote against any U.N resolutions authorizing force ). As for "turned thousands of Arabs into terrorists who want us all dead, increasing the amount of terror attacks on our soil. ", all I can say is, cite? You have evidence, I’m sure, that “thousands” of Arabs who previously thought Mom, Apple Pie and Old Glory were the height of human civilization are now planning to kill us all with terror attacks on our own soil, right? I’m sure such a fine, upstanding poster, who demands such accuracy in the claims people make that it wasn’t good enough to be told there was evidence of WMD that couldn’t be shared, even now that such WMD have been found, would never pull a claim out of their ass, would they? I eagerly await the thousands of cites backing up your specific claims to be forthcoming. > [@](#): > > ( Just a reminder as to what you claimed- I want cites that “Thousands of Arabs” have been “Turned into terrorists that want us all dead” ( meaning they weren’t terrorists before, we “turned them into” terrorists by our actions, right?) AND that they are making or planning terror attacks “on our own soil”) > > I’m waiting, Chicken Little. \*\* Here you go, Foxy Loxy: [http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=focusIraqNews&storyID=2522907](http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=focusIraqNews&storyID=2522907) > [@](#): > > Union officials say up to 13,000 Egyptians from all over the country have signed up to fight in the five days since they began taking applications > [@](#): > > Thousands of volunteers from across the Arab world, including Egypt, are already in Iraq, where U.S. forces have reached Baghdad in their drive to oust President Saddam Hussein. > [@](#): > > Abdel-Sattar said he was fed up with being unable to do anything as he watched American troops closing in on Baghdad. > > “The more we watch the news, the more frustrated we get,” he said. “We will turn their world upside down if it turns out that they (the Egyptian authorities) are fooling us.” > **[Breaking International News & Views](https://www.reuters.com/)** > [@](#): > > “The demonstrators here have come out in force today and the day after someone else will,” said student Ali Abu-Shakra. “The time is coming, not right now, maybe not even in a day or two. But America will collapse by our hands, not someone else’s.” > **[Breaking International News & Views](https://www.reuters.com/)** > [@](#): > > Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said on Monday the U.S.-led war on Iraq would produce “one hundred new bin Ladens,” driving more Muslims to anti-Western militancy. > **[Breaking International News & Views](https://www.reuters.com/)** > [@](#): > > About 150,000 Moroccans, chanting “suicide attacks lead to freedom,” poured through the streets of Rabat on Sunday as protests against the war in Iraq flared again around the Muslim world. > **[Breaking International News & Views](https://www.reuters.com/)** > [@](#): > > Across Turkey, televised images of destruction wrought by similar weapons in Baghdad are fueling anger at the conflict, even as Secretary of State Colin Powell meets officials in Ankara to seek a “spirit of accommodation” from a key NATO ally. > [@](#): > > “They say this war is about bringing freedom, but what sort of freedom is the graveyard for the innocent people who are dying?” > **[Breaking International News & Views](https://www.reuters.com/)** > [@](#): > > Long-standing Arab suspicions that Israel’s interests are guiding U.S. policies in the Middle East have gained momentum since Washington’s troops invaded Iraq. > [@](#): > > Maybe the Bush administration can deceive the world, but to the American Jews, it can’t hold back the truth. For at this point, the American administration is standing as a servant before its master, Israel," columnist Ahmed Orabi wrote in the al-Bayan newspaper in the United Arab Emirates. Oh, wait, i guess Reuters isn’t the an authority on the Middle East, CNN is the definative one, because **Weirddave** says so. At least until they disagree with **Weirddave** , then they become a liberal commie bias media machine again. go back to jacking off to Baghdad explosions on Foxnews. I hope you cum so hard you shoot your eye out. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wmd-found-and-were-ready-to-fire-neener-neener-neener/167111/52 "2003-04-07T20:54:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Stinkpalm \* > [http://www.msnbc.com/news/895392.asp](http://www.msnbc.com/news/895392.asp) > > Put that in your pipe and smoke it. > Fucking peaceniks. From the link: > [@](#): > > One senior intelligence official told NBC that the reports of chemical weapons should be treated with caution, noting that previous suspicions proved to be unfounded. > > “Often the first test is wrong, the second as well,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “And believe me, if it turns out to be chemical weapons, you won’t miss the story.” You might want to read your links before citing them. Especially when you’re using them as the basis for a “I told you so! Neener neener!” fifth-grade taunt. ---
**Author:** ![CRorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CRorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CRorex)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wmd-found-and-were-ready-to-fire-neener-neener-neener/167111/53 "2003-04-07T21:01:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mandelstam \* > \*\*_“Umm hello sarcasm?”_ > > Not sarcasm at all **CR**. \*\* I was being sarcastic. The number of times there has been ‘proof’ of WMD found by US troops is turning this into a running joke. * * * “LOOK! We shot that baby supply store up with machine gun fire! White Powder is everywhere! WE’RE GONNA DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE” * * * “Oh my god Gunny, what’s that terrible smell? Is it mustard gas?” “No LT, it’s Private Jones. You know how he is with the burrito option MREs” * * * “Captain, what’s your man doing lying on the ground like that?” “Colonel, it turns out he accepted some GoldBaum medicated powder from one of the POWs for his jock itch. The powder caused a tingling sensation in his groin and he knocked himself out when he ran into the wall trying to get to the medics thinking it was a WMD. He should be ok when he comes around sir.” “What that on his hand?” "The safety seal they have under the cap, so you know it hasn’t been tampered with. You know how stick they are. “Yep, poor bastard.” * * * The shifty eyed ex Russian ex General opens his suitcase and speaks to Saddam. “Here we have the VERY latest in anti-american imperalist bug weapons. It’s ‘RAID–For Fat Americans’ approved by FDA.” * * * A warning sign up at a forward command post “Tobacco is dangerous to your health and hurts the health of millions of people world wide. This does not make Carleton 100’s (we both went to Carleton for undergrad) WMD. Please stop arresting officers who are smoking within the command compound.” * * * These are a selection of the terrible jokes I’m emailing with a friend of mine about this ‘news’ event. The first time I was willing to give the government some leeway over retracting an over ambitous statement about finding WMD. I half expect a report finds some poor marine private, scrubbing latrine buckets with his buzz cut, with the words, “Skunks are not WMDs”, tatooed on his penis so he’s reminded about running his mouth off around reporters about now. The PROPER\* responce to the first line of my quote should have been: [Nelson]HAHA[/Nelson]. But noooooooooooo ☹ You came back with a ‘cite’ which, while deeply amusing to myself, didn’t quite convey the proper level of humor. * * * My personal position is: There exist material breaches of the disarmament resolution without finding WMD. Namely, the discovery of unfilled chemical warheads and the denial of access to key Iraqi scientists. The decision to undermine the effectiveness of the UN, on the part of a number of member nations, including the US and France, following the technical violations of the resolution is criminal. Failure of adaquate enforcement of UN resolutions BY the UN undermines it’s authority to pass resolution on nation-states. Which makes it a more expensive version of my Grandmother… Offering an opinion unwanted and unasked for by the person it’s criticing and is unable to backup it’s opinion with actions other than ENDLESS phonecalls and nagging which results in me leaving my phone unplugged for days at a time. To sum things up: I’m in one of my rather snarky moods. \*At least in my own little world where events occur largely for self-amusement. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wmd-found-and-were-ready-to-fire-neener-neener-neener/167111/54 "2003-04-07T21:03:04Z")
Damn you, **Daniel**. The more I think of it, the more likely the scenario seems. Don’t know whether to laugh or cry at the idea of national policy being conducted at that level. With a few dozen “God Blesses” tossed in for good measure. At least they’re not getting blow jobs at the same time… Was in DC last week. While touring the capitol, had the good fortune to hear Kucinich present a speech on the House floor opposing the war supplemental urging the administration to “stop the war now.” He was impressively forthright about the unclear and often manufactured justifications for this action. And effectively contrasted the idea of spending money to blow up Iraqi roads and bridges, instead of repairing roads and bridges in our own country. Contrasted the idea of supporting our troops in Iraq, while raping veterans’ programs. I’ve requested a copy. I was very happy my kids had the opportunity to hear such a speech. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wmd-found-and-were-ready-to-fire-neener-neener-neener/167111/55 "2003-04-07T21:05:50Z")
**Stinkpalm** , I thought you were working on becoming the “[kinder and gentler you](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=172174).” > [@](#): > > I will argue about anything. If someone doesn’t agree with me I will agrue till my face turns blue. > > I think I tend to be condescending. > > \ > > Anyone able to point me in the direction of a book or something that will guide me in becoming less aggressive, less negative, less condescending, happier for other people, less confrontational. > > Essentially less of an asshole. Tell me, do you think your 3rd grade “neener neeners” qualify as an exercise in “how not to be an asshole”? It’s too bad none of the kudos for your efforts and heartfelt recommendations from your fellow Dopers seemed to have had any effect on you. ☹ Rest assured, though, if you accomplished anything, it was that I will never bother to take the time to offer advice or encouragement to you again. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wmd-found-and-were-ready-to-fire-neener-neener-neener/167111/56 "2003-04-07T21:09:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Weirddave \* > **There was nothing “Illegal” about our invading Iraq, waging war is one of the perogatives of a soverign nation, or are you claiming that somewhere the U.S. surrendered it’s soverenty to world opinion…?** Signing treaties is also one of the prerogatives of a sovereign nation. And at last glance, we were still a signatory to the U.N. Charter, [which says in part](http://www.un.org/aboutun/charter/chapter1.htm): [/quote] All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations. [/quote] The Purposes of the United Nations are: > [@](#): > > 1.To maintain international peace and security, and to that end: to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace, and to bring about by peaceful means, and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law, adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of the peace; > > 2.To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and to take other appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace; > > 3.To achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion; and > > 4.To be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of these common ends. You can probably make a shaky case for our actions in Iraq on the basis of the above. But it would apply to an equal or greater extent to a bunch of other countries that we have no intention of going anywhere near. ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wmd-found-and-were-ready-to-fire-neener-neener-neener/167111/57 "2003-04-07T21:13:14Z")
I’m not going to get into this (while I may be pro-war, I can’t really defend “neener, neener, neener” as a debate tactic), but all y’all might want to know that Fox News and CNN are reporting that preliminary tests show that the chemicals found in the camp outside Kerbala include the nerve agents sarin, tabun, and lewisite. OK, childish taunting may continue. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wmd-found-and-were-ready-to-fire-neener-neener-neener/167111/58 "2003-04-07T21:19:31Z")
\ We ain’t found shit! \ ---
**Author:** ![storyteller0910](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@storyteller0910](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/storyteller0910)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wmd-found-and-were-ready-to-fire-neener-neener-neener/167111/59 "2003-04-07T21:21:43Z")
Tars - Going way back to your child pornographer stuff on page one; the analogy actually doesn’t do anything to my point. If you falsely accuse me of being a child pornographer, and base your accusation on evidence that doesn’t exist, but claim you can’t show it for some reason, and you haul me away, then yeah, you’re an odious person. Likewise, _IF_ our government has no actual evidence of WMD, and is hiding this absence behind a curtain of “security interests,” then THEY are odious, and - trust me - I’ll be first in line to call them to account at the ballot box. On the other hand, to use your example, if I actually AM a child pornographer (disclaimer: I’m not), and you did have evidence that you couldn’t reveal publicly (perhaps, let’s say, because your evidence would violate a child’s right to privacy), but you gave the evidence to the police and had them come get me… well, _now_ you’ve done the right thing, right? And if - again _if_, always assuming _if_ - the government does have evidence of WMD but can’t show it, then the scenario is much more akin to my latter example than yours. That’s not to say that even if the administration HAS evidence of WMD, that the war would neccessarily be justified. As I said in my inital statement, I don’t know what to think about that. But I stand by my statement: averring that the U.S. started this war with “no evidence” of WMD is a dishonest way to score rhetorical points, when in fact you have _no idea_ what evidence they may or may not have. Meanwhile, for your continued insistence that those who support this war are depraved - “jacking off to Baghdad explosions” - fuck you, pal. Much easier to pretend those against whom you argue have sick, demented reasons for their stances than to address their _actual_ reasons, eh? As I said, there are moments when I support the war, and believe me, getting to watch the pretty colors and things going boom is emphatically not among the reasons. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wmd-found-and-were-ready-to-fire-neener-neener-neener/167111/60 "2003-04-07T21:24:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Finagle \* > \*\*Well, an equally justifiable position is that “You don’t compromise your intelligence assets”. So if publicizing the information would cause the flow of information to be stopped, or even worse, would place your informants in danger, then this is not a viable option. > > What you really object to is that there is no government official who can say “I have seen the proof and it’s convincing.” that you find trustworthy. Don’t know what to tell you except that it’s OK to be skeptical but when the evidence mounts to a certain point, you do have to let it go. \*\* I’m all for the government protecting its intelligence assets. But to allow the government to make war on the basis of secret information is to abandon the claim that “we, the people” are the true sovereign here. I’m for the government making strategic and tactical decisions on _how_ to make war, on the basis of stuff I won’t be told for another fifty years. That’s fine. But we, the people of the United States, are sovereign. If our government can’t explain to us just **why** it needs to do what it proposes to do, then it shouldn’t be doing it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wmd-found-and-were-ready-to-fire-neener-neener-neener/167111.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wmd-found-and-were-ready-to-fire-neener-neener-neener/167111.md?page=4)