A SOLDIER'S PERSPECTIVE
THE WEB'S LEADING MILITARY BLOG SINCE 2004
So, two nonprofit journalism organizations (hmmm, journalism organization, eh?) released a report recently that the Bush administration “issued hundreds of false statements about the national security threat from Iraq in the two years following the 2001 terrorist attacks.” Naturally, CF was all over the story but again didn’t offer any FACTS. Let’s take a look back in time shall we?
Bill Clinton has said the following prior to the Iraq invasion:
“In 1991, with our leadership, the U.N. Security Council encouraged Iraq to sell oil to pay for these critical humanitarian supplies. Saddam Hussein rejected that offer for four years, choosing instead to let his people suffer. What resources he had went not to caring for his people but to strengthening his army, hiding his weapons of mass destruction and building lavish palaces for his regime.â€
“People can quarrel with whether we should have more troops in Afghanistan or internationalize Iraq or whatever, but it is incontestable that on the day I left office, there were unaccounted for stocks . . . of biological and chemical weapons.â€
“Other countries possess weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles. With Saddam, there is one big difference: He has used them…The international community had little doubt then, and I have no doubt today, that left unchecked Saddam Hussein will use these terrible weapons again.â€
Here are some more quotes you won’t find in this “journalistic study”:
Barbara Boxer: “Iraq made commitments after the Gulf War to completely dismantle all weapons of mass destruction, and unfortunately, Iraq has not lived up to its agreement.â€
George Tenet: “We assess that Iraq continues to hide critical (weapons of mass destruction) production equipment and material from U.N. inspectors.â€
Georges Sada, a retired general of the Iraqi Air Force: “I want to describe to you one thing: I have seen them [WMDs] with my eyes.”
Hans Blix: “Iraq appears not to have come to a genuine acceptance, not even today, of the disarmament which was demanded of it.”
Tapped Iraqi phone conversation during weapons inspections: “We have this modified vehicle. What do we say if one of them sees it?” “You didn’t get a modified. You don’t have one of those, do you?” “I have one.” “Which, from where?” “From the workshop, from the al-Kindi company?” “What?” “From al-Kindi.” “I’ll come to see you in the morning. I’m worried. You all have something left.” “We evacuated everything. We don’t have anything left.”
A letter to President Clinton, signed by Sens. Carl Levin, Tom Daschle, John Kerry, and others Oct. 9, 1998: “We urge you, after consulting with Congress, and consistent with the U.S.Constitution and Laws, to take necessary actions, (including, if appropriate, air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites) to respond effectively to the threat posed by Iraq’s refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs.”
Bill Clinton: “One way or the other, we are determined to deny Iraq the capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them. That is our bottom line.”
Madeline Albright: “Iraq is a long way from [here], but what happens there matters a great deal here. For the risks that the leaders of a rogue state will use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons against us or our allies is the greatest security threat we face.”
Nancy Pelosi: “Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process.”
Sen. Bob Graham: “There is no doubt that Saddam Hussein has reinvigorated his weapons programs. Reports indicate that biological, chemical and nuclear programs continue apace and may be back to pre-Gulf War status. In addition, Saddam continues to redefine delivery systems and is doubtless using the cover of a licit missile program to develop longer-range missiles that will threaten the United States and our allies.”
Carl Levin: “We begin with the common belief that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a threat to the peace and stability of the region. He has ignored the mandate of the United Nations and is building weapons of mass destruction and the means of delivering them.”
Al Gore: “We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country.”
Ted Kennedy: “We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seing and developing weapons of mass destruction.” (by the way, this was in 2002 and Bush was only in office for two years at this point)
Hillary Clinton: “In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including al Qaeda members. It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons.”
Robert Byrd: “The last UN weapons inspectors left Iraq in October1998. We are confident that Saddam Hussein retains some stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, and that he has since embarked on a crash course to build up his chemical and biological warfare capabilities. Intelligence reports indicate that he is seeking nuclear weapons…”
I could just keep going on and on and on. These “journalists” are on a mission and probably paid by George Soros or other liberal PAC to create this “study”. Not only was it a conventional wisdom in this country that Iraq possessed WMD, but countries across the globe were worried about it. The fact is that no one lied. Consider these shocking facts from Iraq that have largely gone unreported or repeated:
• Found: 1.77 metric tons of enriched uranium
• Found: 1,500 gallons of chemical weapons
• Found: Roadside bomb loaded with sarin gas
• Found: 1,000 radioactive materials–ideal for radioactive dirty bombs
• Found: 17 chemical warheads–some containing cyclosarin, a nerve agent five times more powerful than sarin
Let’s also suppose that none of these weapons were found. Let’s pretend for a minute that there really were no WMDs in Iraq at all. Does that mean that Bush lied? No. Does that mean that these “935 false statements” that the “study” dug up indicate Bush lied? No. Why not? Because the intelligence at the time said otherwise. Even assuming that the intelligence was wrong, that doesn’t mean that anyone lied about anything. How many times has someone been arrested or convicted when he/she was completely innocent based on incorrect information or misunderstood evidence? The FACT is that it was believed by practically everyone within the intelligence and political arenas that Iraq was a threat and possessed weapons of mass destruction.
However, the liberal media and jockeying leftist politicians in this country don’t want you to know the facts. They’ve beat their “Bush lied” drum so long and loud that they actually prove the point I’m trying to make here. Just as people believed for years that Saddam had WMD because it’s been beat into our heads for over 15 years, liberals have been beating into our heads that Bush lied. The ironic thing is that the latter actually isn’t true. Want to learn about one of the main reason we believe Iraq had WMD? Research a man code named “Curveball”. That’s all I’ll say about that.
Consider yourselves educated.
(26) Readers Comments
Leave a Reply
![[UPDATE] The “Face” of Military Dating Scams – The Wall of Shame](http://militarygear.com/asp/wp-content/themes/LondonLive/thumb.php?src=http://militarygear.com/asp/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/2.jpg&w=53&h=41&zc=1&q=100)
[UPDATE] The "Face" of Military Dating Scams - The Wall of Shame
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/nustugah.juliet please look
[UPDATE] The "Face" of Military Dating Scams - The Wall of Shame
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/nustugah.juliet
A Call to Arms Against Nigerian Scammers
here is a address one wanted me to send gifts to hAddress : 41 Agbowo
JD
Curveball was discredited long ago as being untrustworthy, unreliable, and intentionally misleading. Lawrence Wilkerson, retired Army Colonel and former Chief of Staff for former Secretary of State, Colin Powell, stated unequivocally that “intelligence” from the source Curveball was not true or accurate. Colin Powell’s reference to intelligence from Curveball in his address to the United Nations on Feb 5th 2003 was a complete fabrication. Research a man named “Lawrence Wilkerson”.
A lie makes a statement false.
CJ
Thanks for proving my point JD. Curveball threw us a curve ball in order to gain diplomatic immunity in Germany. Everyone, including the skeptical MI6, believed Curveball to some degree or another at the time. However, the fact that someone telling a lie that everyone believed doesn’t make the decisions based on those unknown lies, lies themselves. At worst, Bush made decisions based on misleading information. He didn’t lie – Curveball did! But, we didn’t know that until after the invasion.
Still, this doesn’t discredit all the other information I put up here which I’m sure those that disagree with me will ignore.
sue
Great post CJ. Nice to see they’re still passin around the Kool Aid on the left.
Mary
CJ..thanks for the facts and for putting them into perspective for me.
Terri
That’s for the great and very informative post CJ. My thought on this matter has always been the same as what you’ve stated…. George Bush made his decisions based on information that was later shown to be misleading, that doesn’t mean that he lied.
Sometimes it’s like the people who scream that the loudest have no real clue about the fact that the President doesn’t gather evidence he bases his decisions on himself, but instead relies on the information provided to him from others. CF has came back to our blog as well, now using another name, since his VTSharon character over there got busted out. He’s had us explain this both here and over there. I guess some people just don’t get it.
Ken Hoop
JD’s thrust is also born out by Bamford’s “A Pretext For War.”
The fix was indeed in. When it’s cherrypicking time in DC, it’s
lost blood for quagmire time in Iraq.”
And all the Dems who voted for it, “believing the intel?” Well gee, they’re about as laudable as the cowards who refuse to vote to cut off funds for the war. Senator Graham by the way, said his intelligence committee was privvy to intelligence which was being suppressed by the Bushies, but that they were pledged to secrecy on it.
All of which to me means only Ron Paul and Kucinich/Gravel are presidential material among the Republo-crats. Ralph Nader is making noises too so maybe a real anti-war candidate of conviction will be offered to the leaderless masses.
Donna
Thanks CJ for posting all of those facts!
It is so ironic that the very politicians who are yelling the loudest against the war in Iraq and our president are the ones who said back in the 90′s that something had to be done about Saddam and that he had weapons of mass destruction. They sure have a short memory it seems! That’s why I hate politics! It is so fickle. One day they are for something and then when the wind blows they are against the same thing! Go figure!
sue
Oh please!!! Kucinich as Presidential material?? That’s as good as when I heard how Lincolnesque John Kerry was and how “Presidential” he was. Right before he insulted ALL the countries aligned with us in the war, and before he insulted ALL our brave Servicemen and Women with his callous and thoughtless remarks.
Donna you are so right!! At any given time you will see most of Washington with their wet finger in the air!! The Clinton’s were/are notorious for this!!
JD
Ken Hoop, you have said a mouthful. Folks at the CIA (Tyler Drumheller, CIA DDO European Division at the time) knew well in advance of Colin Powell’s theatrics that Curveball was not a credible source. This was communicated to through the CIA chain-of-command. Of course John McLaughlin will lie to cover his backside. The fact that Curveball’s information was used to take US to war in Iraq when government officials knew he was a liar shows that government officials were willing to mislead US into war based on false information (lies). The fact that this administration is so willing to continue it’s current course knowing that the intel was wrong at the outset demonstrates a lack of concern for our men and women in uniform, and a lack of concern for what is in the best interest of our nation.
DoubleTapper
This may be a little off topic but, what’s with the 72 virgins anyway? Has anyone ever seen them?
I’ve been around and I know what their ideal woman looks like. Yuck!
I’ve got a better offer for them. Don’t blow yourself up. Repent, and come visit us in Israel.
Here are 72 of our finest waiting to show you true paradise. No painful suicide required!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FH8t9Gz7fgE
DoubleTapper
http://DoubleTapper.blogspot.com
DoubleTapper@gmail.com
sue
DT you do have some very fine women in Israel!! Wow, they sure beat the burka brigade promised for paradise!! Great site and LOVED the Marine Corps video! One of the best I have seen. Thanks.
sealpatriot
The thing is Curve Ball wasn’t the only Intelligence source that was telling us “Saddam had WMD’s”. Most of the Intel services from countries who are our allies said the same thing. Including the allies that opposed the removal of Saddam and Ba’ath Regime.
Also, I have a feeling that some of you who are posting comments in this thread failed to read what CJ wrote in his article. Either that, or you did read but immediately forgot that list of WMD’s found in Iraq that CJ had put in his article. Although, I am entirely sure that most people who hate the president and the military will quickly dismiss the content in CJ’s list as not being weapons grade material for WMD’s.
Despite the fact that they were more than what the military, the government, and the American and international public expected to find in Iraq. After all, Colin Powell did testify to the U.N. saying that the WMD we expected to find were 500 downgraded Sarin canisters and 300 Mustard canisters.
However, the WMD’s on CJ’s list along with the ones in Major Bryan Russell’s(USAF) book “WMD’s found in Iraq” ultimately succeeds those WMD’s that Colin Powell said we expected to find in his testimony to U.N.
Also, the list of WMD that CJ posted wasn’t complete either. Even though, I have to admit that he did include that there were “1,500 gallons of chemical weapons”, he didn’t include the fact that Al Qaeda tried to use VX Nerve Gas for an attack in Jordan that came from the Ba’ath military.
You know what is also funny? The information of the WMD’s that were found in Iraq, were never under classification by the DOD and were in fact released and published for distribution to the general public. Why I had to look to foreign newspapers to find the info on the VX Nerve Agent from Iraq given to Al Qaeda for it’s terror purposes is a total mystery to me. It’s almost like we are the only country who believes that Saddam didn’t have any WMD’s.
SSgtJ
Hey, Ken Hoop or who ever you really are, if Sen Graham actually said that “President George Bush suppressed information and FORCED me to LIE about it”, it would have been on the front page of YOUR Bush Hating NYT and your Bush Hating Harry Reid would already have an investigation going while his co-conspirator Nancy Pelosi would already have impeachment proceedings in progress.
Another point, does ANYONE in the World actually believe that Saddam Hussein did NOT WANT to restart his programs of WMD’s as soon as we dropped the sanctions? Was that a ‘lie’ also. Pass the kool aid …
Good job CJ and SealPatriot! Thanks.
Ken Hoop
I suggest you read Graham’s book about it. Ray McGovern, the ex-CIA man who also has established the Bush/Cheney duplicity, nevertheless agrees there were too many supine job-protecting agents who didn’t out the perfidy, rather hoping for the quick victory which did not and will never ensue.
Ken Hoop
Pre-emptive war against any who merely “wants” WMDs? You’re the reason America is so hated and mistrusted in the world and why for example Russia and China will tandem to thwart any action against Iran.
sue
“Senator Graham by the way, said his intelligence committee was privy to intelligence which was being suppressed by the Bushies, but that they were pledged to secrecy on it.”
I have to agree with the SSG here, that if there were one iota of truth to this story it would be front page news as well as Congressional proceedings to follow it up. With the vitriolic foment on Capitol Hill I sincerely doubt that this is the case. When ever people are hawking books its best to take it with a grain of salt and expect there to be embellishments. Those on Capitol Hill do so enjoy their 15 minutes of fame when they can get it.
Capitol Hill is HARDLY the place where people keep secrets that DON’T get leaked!! Especially with how much the Democrats HATE George Bush. They can’t wait to run and sissy tattle on anything they think will embarrass the President. They never got over losing in 2000 and will never act like adults and just let it go and move on. They whip up lies and hatred and do what ever they can to make this Presidency weaker and appear as bad as possible at every opportunity, here and abroad. And I am NOT defending Bush, I am defending the office of the President of the United States. I’m not THAT petty.
But what they and you, obviously don’t get, is that every time you weaken THIS President, you weaken every one who follows in the eyes of the world. The next President, who ever it may be, will be taking over a much weakened White House, all because the Democrats don’t want to act like grown ups. I think that those in Washington spend far too much time looking for a spotlight to raise their dollar value on the speaking circuit as well as advancing political careers and agendas instead of doing the People’s Business.
America is hated not because of the Iraq War. That is a convenient excuse at the moment and temporary useful justification by the ignorant. If that were the case then why did the first WTC bombing happen in 1993 when the “beloved” Bill Clinton was in office?? We were NOT in Iraq then. Why did the Kobar Towers happen?? Why did the embassies get bombed?? Why was the USS Cole bombed?? Why did 911 happen?? Do I have to go on?? All those things happened with out the Iraq War and they are definite signs of hatred of America.
America is hated because of what we stand for, for what we have, for what THEY have not, who ever THEY may be at the time. And Russia and China and any other countries will be partners of convenience when it suits their common opportunistic interests. Not for any other reason. When they see something in it for them, they will jump on board. Neither of those countries are known for their Philanthropy.
I suggest Mr Hoops or who ever you really are, that you let go of some of that hatred you have because its definitely clouding your judgment as it does all the Bush Hating mongers out there who are drinking the very same Kool Aid you are. Put on the big boy pants and accept that this is YOUR President, as a citizen of the United States of America, and wait till the next election. Like all the grown ups who didn’t like Clinton had to do and just waited it out. The grown up thing to do is to support YOUR COUNTRY Mr Hoops, who ever is in the White House, not try to degrade and demoralize it, just because you hate one man. The President of this Country takes office after the will of the majority has spoken, as do all our elected officials. It is our job, our responsibility as citizens of this country to support our Country, and our President, as well as question if we think that something is wrong. However, when you keep beating a broken drum, you begin to look ugly and your message is no longer valid.
CJ
Adding on to what Sue said, Bush doesn’t “release”, “hold”, “suppress”, “control”, “create”, “disseminate”, or “publish” intelligence. That is NOT the job of the President of the United States. The Senate Intelligence Committees and House equivalent are privy to the same information the White House is. The White House is not now, nor has it ever been, a stovepipe for intelligence. Please use some form of intelligence in your arguments and refrain from relying on fringe lunatics to feed you your beliefs.
CJ
Again, Ken, I implore you to find FACTS and stop sharing this drivel. How do you respond to the following comment that Graham made on December 8, 2002:
“We are in possession of what I think to be compelling evidence that Saddam Hussein has, and has had for a number of years, a developing capacity for the production and storage of weapons of mass destruction.â€
Interestingly, this is a DIFFERENT quote than the one I shared above. Not only that, but he didn’t say he THOUGHT Saddam had WMDs. Nope, he said he had “COMPELLING EVIDENCE” he possessed them.
Let’s hope Sen Graham doesn’t run for office. This kind of flip flopping only comes around once in a John Kerry while. Graham was Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Ken Hoop
Graham said the following in early 2003–your resort to ancient quotes is telling.
(Graham suggested…..that the intelligence was satisfactory but that it was manipulated, so as just to present to the American people and to the world those things that made the case for the necessity of war against Iraq.
Sen. Graham seems to believe there is a serious chance that it is the final scenario that reflects reality. Indeed, Graham told CNN “there’s been a pattern of manipulation by this administration.”
Graham has good reason to complain. According to the New York Times, he was one of the few members of the Senate who saw the national intelligence estimate that was the basis for Bush’s decisions. After reviewing it, Graham requested that the Bush administration declassify the information before the Senate voted on the administration’s resolution requesting use of the military in Iraq.
But rather than do so, CIA Director Tenet merely sent Graham a letter discussing the findings. Graham then complained that Tenet’s letter only addressed “findings that supported the administration’s position on Iraq,” and ignored information that raised questions about intelligence. In short, Graham suggested that the Administration, by cherrypicking only evidence to its own liking, had manipulated the information to support its conclusion.
CJ
Ken,
Sounds to me like there’s been a “pattern of manipulation” on the part of Graham as well if we’re to follow his logic. You can’t have one without the other.
sealpatriot
Actually, every country has some vitriolic emotion directed at them from another country, it’s not just or solely America. At the same time, we didn’t just get Saddam because he sought WMD’s, he actually had them. Also, the world can not hold the United States solely responsible for taking Saddam down for issue of WMD’s.
Every single intelligence service from all the countries that was involved with investigating Pre-War Iraq in the 19 months before we set foot in there said that Saddam had WMD’s. This includes the United Nations as well as countries who opposed Saddam’s removal to begin with. As far as the reasons why America is hated by many are concerned, those same reasons are also why America is loved by many as well.
Also, Bush didn’t cherry pick evidence. This claim is ludicrous. With all due respect for Ray McGovern, Bush sought to find intel that countered what was being given to him by the Senate and House Select and House Intelligence Committees. He was actually trying to find intelligence that was contradictory to the conclusions that most of the collected intel presented, which was that “Saddam had WMD’s”.
When most of the intel being past your way by intelligence services domestic and from foreign countries all conclude the same thing even when they weren’t conducting the investigation together, then having to act on that intel is mandatory. Especially when it is crucial National Security.
JD
Cheney/Bush did cherry pick intelligence and evidence. They desired to invade Iraq before 9/11 occurred. They should be held accountable for misleading the US into an unjustified war under false pretenses.
Semper Fidelis
sealpatriot
Seeking answers from both sides doesn’t sound like cherry picking to me. It’s also sad that 25 comments after the original post, everyone already forgot the list of WMD material that CJ provided. Apparently, the misleading evidence was right, and that people comment before actually reading.
wordsmith
They desired to invade Iraq before 9/11 occurred.
From Meet the Press, 5 days after 9/11:
MR. RUSSERT: Saddam Hussein, your old friend, his government had this to say: “The American cowboy is rearing the fruits of crime against humanity.” If we determine that Saddam Hussein is also harboring terrorists, and there’s a track record there, would we have any reluctance of going after Saddam Hussein?
VICE PRES. CHENEY: No.
MR. RUSSERT: Do we have evidence that he’s harboring terrorists?
VICE PRES. CHENEY: There is–in the past, there have been some activities related to terrorism by Saddam Hussein. But at this stage, you know, the focus is over here on al-Qaida and the most recent events in New York. Saddam Hussein’s bottled up, at this point, but clearly, we continue to have a fairly tough policy where the Iraqis are concerned.
MR. RUSSERT: Do we have any evidence linking Saddam Hussein or Iraqis to this operation?
VICE PRES. CHENEY: No.
Yet supposedly Bush and Cheney had their cross-hairs on Iraq, all along. Anyone who claims that Cheney overstated the links between Saddam and al-Qaeda or ever suggested that Saddam had a hand in the events of 9/11, need to go back through every Meet the Press interview Cheney did; because partisan haters are misremembering or simply are misinformed by the spinsters.
WMDs in Iraq Recovered as of 2004 (unclassified version)
Nuclear:
* 1.95 tons of enriched uranium
* 1000 banned radioactive sources (cesium and other isotopes)
* 16 drums of yellowcake from Al-Qaim extraction plant
* An undisclosed rail gun system used to test nuclear detonations. Iraq developed this in secret in 1999. The gun was built at Al-Tahadi. It, along with 500 tons of natural uranium wsa found south of Baghdad in 2003.
Biological Agents.
* Live C. botulinum Okra B (makes batulinum toxin: 1 gram kills 10,000) found hidden in Iraqi Biological Weapon’s Scientist’s home.
* Discovered, continued, out-lawed and concealed, research on Brucella, Congo Crimean Hemorragic Fever (CCHF), ricin, and aflatoxin. None of this was declared to the UN even after 12 years of sanctions.
* Ricin discovered in Sargat, Iraq along with hidden sacks of castor beans (labeled as “fertilizerâ€) in al-Aziziyah.
* Human testing facilities (prisons) for BW agents.
* Mobile labs for BW agents buried in the desert. 11 found in Karbala.
* Mulitple small fixed BW sites/labs which the UN never knew about.
Chemical
* Multiple attacks against US troops using Mustard and Sarin gas filled shells
* Multiple attacks by terrorists against Iraqi civilians using chlorine gas
* Cyanide labs found in “Safe Houses†in fallujah
* 5,000 Lbs/2,268KG of Cyanide found in Taji (total cyanide as of 2004 was 2,370 Kg or 2.4 million leathal doses)
* Various Chemical Weapons Labs
Folk like Drumheller and Wilkerson are partisanly biased. Drumheller was soundly rebuked in the addendum to the Senate Select Intell Committee phase II report for lying to the media, pg 143:
The Committee was aware of this source’s WMD reporting [Sabri] during the first phase of the Committee review, the U.S. Intelligence Community’s Prewar Assessments on Iraq, but began exploring this issue again as a result of press reports, in particular a story on 60 Minutes, “A Spy Speaks Out,†which seemed to contradict the information available to the Committee.
The 60 Minutes story focused on the account of the former Chief of CIA’s Europe Division (Chief/EUR) [i.e., Drumheller] who claimed that the source described above “told us that [Iraq] had no active weapons of mass destruction program.†This story was followed by numerous other media appearances by the former Chief/EUR such as, CNN’s Lou Dobbs Tonight and Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees, and MSNBC’s Hardball, in which he claimed that the source said Iraq had no WMD programs.
Concerned that something may have been missed in our first Iraq review, the Committee began to request additional information from the Intelligence Community and to question current and former CIA officers who were involved in this issue. As noted above, the Committee has not completed this inquiry, but we have seen the operational documentation pertaining to this case. We can say that there is not a single document related to this case which indicates that the source said Iraq had no WMD programs. On the contrary, all of the information about this case so far indicates that the information from this source was that Iraq did have WMD programs. Both the operations cable and the intelligence report prepared for high-level policymakers said that while Saddam Hussein did not have a nuclear weapon, “he was aggressively and covertly developing such a weapon.†Both documents said “Iraq was producing and stockpiling chemical weapons†and they both said Iraq’s weapon of last resort was mobile launched chemical weapons, which would be fired at enemy forces and Israel. The source’s comments were consistent with the nuclear, chemical and missile assessments in the October 2002 WMD NIE. The only program not described as fully active was the biological weapons program which the source described as “amateur,†and not constituting a real weapons program.
The former Director of Central Intelligence testified before the Committee in July 2006 that the former Chief/EUR “has mischaracterized [the source’s] information†and said the former Chief/EUR never expressed a view to him, as the former Chief/EUR has claimed publicly, that the source’s information meant Iraq did not have WMD programs. The Committee is still exploring why the former Chief/EUR’s public remarks differ so markedly from the documentation.
Ray Robison
A new book shows Saddam did support al Qaeda and the Taliban:
‘Both In One Trench: Saddam’s Secret Terror Documents’
http://www.bothinonetrench.com
Pingback: Military Pundits » Obama Is Wrong For America