Iraq's Arsenal Was Only On Paper

[Theophylact]

An important article in today's Washington Post. Long, but read it all. The gist:

But investigators have found no support for the two main fears expressed in London and Washington before the war: that Iraq had a hidden arsenal of old weapons and built advanced programs for new ones. In public statements and unauthorized interviews, investigators said they have discovered no work on former germ-warfare agents such as anthrax bacteria, and no work on a new designer pathogen -- combining pox virus and snake venom -- that led U.S. scientists on a highly classified hunt for several months. The investigators assess that Iraq did not, as charged in London and Washington, resume production of its most lethal nerve agent, VX, or learn to make it last longer in storage. And they have found the former nuclear weapons program, described as a "grave and gathering danger" by President Bush and a "mortal threat" by Vice President Cheney, in much the same shattered state left by U.N. inspectors in the 1990s.

Why were we so misled? Well, in part, because we were fooled by the same evidence produced by Iraqis who were deceiving Saddam Hussein:

In every field of special weaponry, Iraqi designers and foreign investigators said, such deceit was endemic. Program managers promised more than they could deliver, or things they could not deliver at all, to advance careers, preserve jobs or conduct intrigues against rivals. Sometimes they did so from ignorance, failing to grasp the challenges they took on.

Lying to an absolute ruler was hazardous, Iraqi weaponeers said, but less so in some cases than the alternatives. "No one will tell Saddam Hussein to his face, 'I can't do this,' " said an Iraqi brigadier general who supervised work on some of the technologies used in the rail gun.

[Epidemic]

So the intelligence was good. Saddam planned on making and was convinced that it was going on while nothing actually occurred. Agents from intel agencies around the world managed to acquire intel on all the paper programs.

I fail to see the destinction between someone who says thay have WMD and one who actually has them from a preparation and decision making process.

Intel does not mean you have men in all the buildings taking samples off the line.

If this is true I see no lies on the part of bush or blair. In fact it would appear that what they said was completely factual based upon normal intel gathering and evaluation methods.

[osprey4]

So it would appear that questioning Saddam is of no value, since he doesn't really know what went on, or rather, what he knew wasn't relevant.

[Optimus Prime]

Originally posted by Epidemic
So the intelligence was good. Saddam planned on making and was convinced that it was going on while nothing actually occurred. Agents from intel agencies around the world managed to acquire intel on all the paper programs.

I fail to see the destinction between someone who says thay have WMD and one who actually has them from a preparation and decision making process.

Intel does not mean you have men in all the buildings taking samples off the line.

If this is true I see no lies on the part of bush or blair. In fact it would appear that what they said was completely factual based upon normal intel gathering and evaluation methods.

I would agree with that. Saddam made a threat that he had WMD's, if somebody threatens you, you take it seriously.

It would make sense that his officers were afraid of him and so they said that they had WMD's...

It's all very strange.

[Epidemic]

Interesting how this one died

I therefore bump it due the obvious miss of our bush haters.

[Optimus Prime]

I'm a bush hater, but i didn't post anything anti-bush did i? . Not a total miss .

[ClubMed]

UN inspectors at the IAEA office here in Vienna told me that the ex-regime in Iraq ceased to be a threat of any kind in 91.

Since then they feel that the IAEA has become a tool and a prostitute of politics.

But there are still people who believe that Saddams Iraq managed to become a world threat, and not only that, that it managed to become such a huge power that even the USA was worried. All this with a budget of 19 billion a year.

[J-Excel]

So, Saddam fell victim to the "Emperor’s new clothes". If the bad info from the Iraqis fooled the Iraqi leader, you can hardly blame other world leaders for being fooled by the same info. I’d rather Bush acted and the info be bad, than have Bush not act and the info be good.

[Epidemic]

CM What was the budget of the taliban in 2000.

19 billion a year for 12 years is a hell of alot of money to destabilize an economy isn't it.

Hell I would bet that whole WTC thing did not cost 1,000,000 bucks.

how much would it cost to deploy a Bioweapon in a major city once developed. If he said they had em, and they said he had em and he had em before. I think you gots to believe him.

And it does not take much money to throw an economy into recession now does it. consumer confidence drops, spending stops, companies fire people.

BTW note the order.

the same order makes sense when an economy improves.

Consumer confidence returns, spending increases and companies hire people (last)

[ClubMed]

Epidemic are you for real? 19 billion was not the amount of money available for the army only. It was the GDP of Iraq, only a small percentage was used for army.

And as I said, Iraq ceased to be a threat of any kind in 91 according to the people I have spoken to.

Stop mentioning WTC in Iraq threads, it's starting to get sick. I hope you don't believe that the earth is flat!?