On the prowl for WMD

Originally posted by RawAlex@Apr 3 2003, 11:37 AM
JR, lovely spew up there... right off the Powell briefing to the UN.

Long on suspicions, short of facts.

The Camaro parked in your driveway (or your neighbor's driveway) can be modified to be a racecar. Does that mean it is? Nope... just could be. The Al-samud missles (almost half of which were destroyed prior to the start of the war) had a range that was very slightly past the limits of the UN resolution... 25 kms, about 15 miles, if I remember the numbers). Possibly in the future, with time, effort, and money, they could have been converted to longer range. But I didn't read anything that talked about them existing.

They found some shells, sitting in a warehouse. Those shells were not armed (no explosive of chemicals in them) - they were destroyed as well.

There are alot of claims about how much of this or that Iraq has (or had, the stuff does degrade over time, and the last time they used the stuff was over 10 years ago, from what I have read).

The thread asks a simple question, what happens if the US (and friends) take over and don't find anything? Not why the US went to war, but what happens if the whole thing was a mistake?

Alex

Alex, i am quoting facts and you are talking about a Republican political conspiracy and suggesting it is factless. I am talking ONLY about facts and you are making remarks that are nothing more than opinion, supported by remarks like "i dont recall reading that".

it seems to me that you probably have not read Iraqs Weapons Declarations to the UN, the reports of previous inspectors, the various timelines of events and are not aware of what weapons, weapons systems and biological and chemical agents are not still not accounted for.

I have read it all and i know very well what i am talking about. i am not talking about suspicion, i am talking about weapons known to exist, verified to exist and whose whereabouts and/or possible destruction have not been accounted for.

Like many, i suspect you are confusing the fact that the last inspectors found little (though they are not there to "find" anything) with the fact that large stockpiles of weapons are not accounted for which Iraq has refused to cooperate in accounting for them. Its not about what is "found" its about Iraqs refusal to cooperate in the verification and destruction process of the UN Inspections Team.

fact 1: i neither dispute that many were destroyed or what their range is. Their destruction had absolutely nothing to do with Colin Powell. as i have indicated previously, i think that Colin Powell did not do a good job at all in making their case. Tony Blair has been much more convincing and compelling in my opinion.

fact 2: the missiles were prior declared to the UN and known to exist with the exception of some specific technical details and information regarding tests. after examining additional information and inspecting the rockets, Hans Blix determined that they should be destroyed.

just because you dont "read anything about them existing" - does not change the fact that it is a known and verifiable fact as they were reported to exist in Iraqs latest Weapons Declaration to the UN following the last Resolution 1441.

fact 3: the missiles were destroyed because they both exceeded the maximum range alowed and quoting Hans Blix "could be easily modified" to further increase their range. I watched him say that live as he gave his report. it was significant to me because was curious what the arguement was for destroying them since Iraq maintained that if the missiles were fully loaded with fuel and a warhead, they would have fell WELL within the allowed range.

you are making an analogy about a Camero/racecar and i am talking about the actual reason given by the man who made the decision. whether you agree with it or not or you dream of a faster Camero - is not relevent to the stated reason for their destruction by the head of the weapons inspection team.

fact 4: they found some chemical shells. the simple fact is that they were not declared to the UN as was the case with numerous other weapons programs and weapons. nothing new. still a lie no matter how you look at it. and it was one more lie in a long string of lies.

as for the the actual "what if" question, i answered that as well.