'Easter Egg Hunt' for WMD is Abandoned

[Say_What]

<clips>

When the first American soldiers advanced through Iraq in March, every warehouse with bags of pesticide was eagerly examined in case they might be weapons of mass destruction.

"I can't get hold of any American officers because they are all out trying to win promotion by being the first to find WMD," said a Kurdish official in exasperation just after the fall of Mosul. "It is like a giant Easter egg hunt."

The search now is much more muted. US officers are more worried about the escalating guerrilla war. The Iraqi opposition, which in exile found no difficulty in passing on information about Saddam Hussein's stocks of WMD to intelligence agencies and journalists, has lost interest.

Before the war, the US and Britain insisted the surest way of finding the weapons would be through questioning senior members of the regime. The former Iraqi government was asked to allow them to be questioned without Iraqi officials present or outside the country where they would feel free to talk without fear. Many of the senior members are now in custody. They include Abed Hamid Mahmoud, Saddam's private secretary and confidant, detained last month who attended all meetings with the former leader.

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0708-03.htm

[AP]

1. Why? Because not finding anything hurts Blair?

I definitely believe that there is much less in Iraq than the intelligence suggested. But I, and most people, would be surprised if there was NOTHING. But, you know what, why look if it sabotages Blair's government? Also, note that the person who leaked the story about changes to the dossier to the BBC (which turned out not to be so accurate) is on the team of investigators which isn't working so hard to find WMDs.

[Frances]

2. No way would the U.S. stop searching

if the U.S. thought there are really WMD. Bush and Rove and Rumsfeld are desperate to find something that they can pass off as WMDs. Remember the bags of fertilizer that were supposed to be biological weapons? Remember the trailers?

I am certain that the U.S. has put the screws to the people in Saddam's inner circle who were captured. Have you noticed how the administration has shifted to claiming WMD PROGRAMS, not WMDs.

The article says:

"The silence of Saddam's inner circle on the topic so far tends to confirm the story told by General Hussein Kamel, the son-in-law of Saddam Hussein who fled to Jordan in 1995. He had been in charge of monitoring and thwarting the UN weapons inspectors before his defection.

General Kamel said Saddam had ordered the destruction of weapons of mass destruction in 1991, but had also issued instructions that plans, designs and equipment to start the program again, when possible, should be secretly retained.

Records of General Kamel's interrogation were revealed earlier this year."

[stickdog]

3. They ain't there, AP.

Got it?

[trogdor]

4. Duh.

They have to let the WMD issue die for awhile while they figure out how to plant the stuff. This is how they operate; you won't hear much about WMD for a few months, then BAM, some "revelation" will be reported, probably on Faux News, and right before primary season starts.

[Cronus Protagonist]

9. Elvis has the goods

http://bushspeaks.com/home.asp?did=130&dir=b




http://kucinichforpresident.com - Kucinich Is The One
http://cronus.com/prayer - One of Kucinich's speeches

http://brainbuttons.com/home.asp?stashid=13 - cute little buttons
http://bushspeaks.com - sardonic political toons
http://cronus.com - enlightening and educational liberal fun

Conceptual Guerilla

[Nottingham]

5. Well its about time they stop looking for the Easter Bunny

WMd was a ugly lie! :bounce:

[Zero Gravitas]

6. Can't find something that does not exist.

They KNEW the WMDs were destroyed more than 10 years ago. And even if they retained the knowledge to start over with new WMD programs they apparently did not do so when the UN Inspectors left in 1998. The WMD thing was just an excuse to justify the PNACers imperialism, and a flimsy one at that beacause even if everyone agred that the WMDs did exist, they would have still have to show that they were an imminent threat to the USA which they completely failed to do. Still it was enough to convicnce the Pox News watching morans, so their lies were successful.

[Melsky]

7. exactly

if he had all that stuff as they said, he would have USED them durring the war. They didn't convince people to support their war by saying they had an old centrofuge burried under a rosebush. They were ready to nuke our cities and use drones with chemical weapons.

I think anyone who believes that this war was started in good faith is delusional.

[nuxvomica]

8. Apparently the sanctions worked

When is someone going to come out and say that? We've actually reached the point that we can validate a non-violent tool for dealing with rogue nations. Everyone should be pleased.

[Trajan]

10. Not ONLY were the sanctions successful .....

... as evidenced by the discovery of BURIED contraband (12 years in the ground does NOT equal a WMD program ... ) ...

But: the UN weapons inspection regime was FAR safer to those involved, apparently ....

It seems its becoming increasingly dangerous in Iraq, even for those who desire MORE than life to find WMD ..... David Kay comes to mind ....

Hmmmmmm ? .... Did ANYONE ever figure out of there is REALLY a pipeline running from Iraq through Kuwait ? ....

As it turns out: ... that looks like the likely TRUE goal of this mission: .... Getting the Oil out ......

Operation Iraqi Liberation - OIL ..... Indeed .....

[Zero Gravitas]

11. We did find this spoon, sir!

[hatrack]

13. Good work, Centurion!

;-)

[bushisanidiot]

12. Oh, They'll find them alright

In October 2004, just in time for the elections. I think Rove's strategery is to get the dem candidates to take the bait and accuse Bush of lying to the 'mukin people.. then they'll magically find the WMD right before the election to discredit the dem. candidate.. there won't be any time to verify whether the WMD were planted or not so the sheep will follow AWOL to the voting booth.

The dems are better off conducting investigations but holding back on making statements that AWOL 'lied'. Better to give the impression that AWOL has something to hide and is not to be trusted without sticking your neck out for Rove's axe.

[The Magistrate]

14. What Must Be Hammered Home

Is the consistent claim by these reptiles they had precise information concerning the whereabouts of these items. This lie was told dozens of times by these reptiles, in dozens of venues, including the United Nations Security Council. It was a lie, a deliberate lie, known to be a lie by every one who mouthed it.

[Harrumph]

15. Didn't Senator Warner say last week....

that we should expect some 'shocking discoveries' in the next couple weeks? I haven't heard anymore since he made this statement.

[0007]

16. Talk about a first class jack off!

Warner is it -

What about all the terror that was coming to West Texas during the fourth of July week-end?