Link-O-Rama re: Weapons of Mass Destruction
Short excerpts are below, with links to the full articles
http://truthout.org/docs_03/061103B.shtml Under-Fire President Waters Down Claims on Iraqi Weapons
By Roland Watson and Elaine Monaghan in Washington
The Times UK
Tuesday 10 June 2003
PRESIDENT BUSH insisted yesterday that US forces would reveal that Iraq was pursuing weapons of mass destruction as he tried to douse growing doubts about the credibility of American intelligence.
“Iraq had a weapons programme. Intelligence throughout the decade showed they had a weapons programme,” Mr Bush said. “I am absolutely convinced, with time, we’ll find out that they did have a weapons programme.”
However, he stopped short of his previous assertions that Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction had posed an imminent threat. Nor did he say that the United States would uncover biological and chemical agents.
Instead, he sought to justify the invasion of Iraq on humanitarian grounds, saying: “History in time will prove that the United States made the absolute right decision in freeing the people of Iraq from the clutches of Saddam Hussein.”
http://truthout.org/docs_03/061003B.shtml Norwegian Weapons Inspector: US Lied About Iraq's Weapons
Aftenposten
Wednesday 19 May 2003
A US-based Norwegian weapons inspector accuses the USA and Secretary of State Colin Powell with providing the United Nations Security Council with incorrect and misleading information about Iraq's possession of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), newspaper Dagbladet reports.
Joern Siljeholm, Ph.D. in environmental chemistry, risk analysis and toxicology, said that the USA's basis for going to war is thin indeed, and called it a slap in the face to the United Nations weapons inspectors.
Siljeholm told Dagbladet that Colin Powell's report to the Security Council on how Iraq camouflaged their WMD program was full of holes.
"Much of what he said was wrong. It did not match up at all with our information. The entire speech was misleading," Siljeholm said.
Asked if the Americans lied, Siljeholm said: "Lie is a strong word - but yes, the information Powell presented about Iraq's nuclear program was simply incorrect," Siljeholm said.
http://truthout.org/docs_03/060903B.shtml Failure to find arms undercuts Bush doctrine
By Mark Matthews and Tom Bowman
Sun National Staff
Sunday 08 June 2003
First-strike policy tested in Iraq will be harder to sell now, experts say; 'We played that card'; Furor shines spotlight on interpretation of weapons intelligence
WASHINGTON - America's failure so far to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq has undercut the Bush administration's justification for war and dealt a blow to its policy of pre-emptive military action against global threats, according to former officials and analysts.
George J. Tenet, director of central intelligence, and committees of Congress and the British Parliament are preparing inquiries into whether prewar intelligence was distorted to exaggerate the threat posed by Saddam Hussein's government.
In the United States and Britain, some lawmakers who backed the war are dismayed and angry over assertions by the Bush administration and Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain that Iraq had large stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons and was pursuing nuclear weapons.
The failure to find such weapons would probably make it even harder next time for the United States to mobilize international support for pre-emptive action against a perceived threat.
The pre-emption doctrine, outlined in a speech President Bush gave at the U.S. Military Academy a year ago, declares that the United States will take action against nations and terrorist groups that threaten America and won't wait for them to strike first. Iraq was the test case.
"If we don't find weapons - and it's still an open question - we reduce the credibility of the United States when we go to other countries and say, 'We have intelligence saying X, Y and Z.' We played that card," said Joseph S. Nye, dean of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and a senior Pentagon and intelligence official in the Clinton administration.
Once U.S. credibility diminishes, Nye said, "we reduce our ability to attract others" to join in military action.
http://truthout.org/docs_03/060803A.shtml Kucinich: Show Us The Evidence, Mr. President
t r u t h o u t | Statement
Saturday 07 June 2003
Kucinich Leads 30 Members of Congress In Introducing A Resolution of Inquiry To Force Administration To Turn Over Intelligence On Iraq’s Weapons Of Mass Destruction
Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich (D-OH), today, led 30 Members of Congress in introducing a Resolution of Inquiry in the House of Representatives to force the Administration to turn over the intelligence to back its yet unproven claims that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction.
“It is long past time that the President and this Administration show its evidence,” stated Kucinich, the leader of the opposition to the war in Iraq in the House. “Today, we are introducing a Resolution of Inquiry to compel the White House to substantiate its claims. The President led the nation to war, and spent at least $63 billion on that war, on the basis of these unfounded assertions.”
The resolution, introduced today by 30 Members of Congress, led by Kucinich, seeks to force the Administration to turn over the intelligence to substantiate claims by the President, Vice President, Secretary of Defense, and the White House Press Secretary that Iraq has chemical and biological weapons and therefore posed a threat to the United States.
The resolution is a privileged resolution and must be voted on in Committee within 14 legislative days. Kucinich used the same procedure in March to force the Administration to release the 12,000 page weapon report that Iraq has submitted to the United Nations.
“This Administration owes an explanation to this Congress and to the American people,” continued Kucinich. “Now is the time for truth telling.”
http://truthout.org/docs_03/060703I.shtml The Preception of Deception: Where Are the Iraqi Weapons?
By U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd
Thursday 05 June 2003
With each passing day, the questions surrounding Iraq's missing weapons of mass destruction take on added urgency. Where are the massive stockpiles of VX, mustard, and other nerve agents that we were told Iraq was hoarding? Where are the thousands of liters of botulinim toxin? Wasn't it the looming threat to America posed by these weapons that propelled the United States into war with Iraq? Isn't this the reason American military personnel were called upon to risk their lives in combat?
On March 17, in his final speech to the American people before ordering the invasion of Iraq, President Bush took one last opportunity to bolster his case for war. The centerpiece of his argument was the same message he brought to the United Nations months before, and the same message he hammered home at every opportunity in the intervening months, namely that Saddam Hussein had failed to destroy Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and thus presented an imminent danger to the American people. "Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised," the President said.
Now, nearly two months after the fall of Baghdad, the United States has yet to find any physical evidence of those lethal weapons. Could they be buried underground or are they somehow camouflaged in plain sight? Were they destroyed before the war? Have they been shipped out of the country? Do they actually exist? The questions are mounting. What started weeks ago as a restless murmur throughout Iraq has intensified into a worldwide cacophony of confusion.
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[ June 12, 2003, 08:23 AM: Message edited by: m1 ]