Finding WMD's

[billvon 3,131]

There has been a lot of talk as to whether WMD's will be found in Iraq, with a few brave souls hanging onto the idea that there really are a few tens of thousands of liters of anthrax buried in someone's backyard. And who knows? Perhaps there are. Stranger things have happened.

But there's a wider question. If we do find them, where did they come from? There's no question that, had we found them last April, that the Saddam regime had something to do with creating or maintaining them. But what about now? We have opened up Iraq's nuclear research facilities and left them unguarded, and now Iraqis are helping themselves. The recent militia uprising has shown itself to be suprisingly sophisticated. Are they too dumb to assemble a dirty bomb with highly contaminated material from a research reactor? Are they too poorly funded to buy Sarin (or mustard gas, or chlorine) from Al Qaeda and the like? It would be insane to use such weapons inside their own cities, but so far they have shown far more treachery than sanity.

I hope we can get the area under control before we start wondering if Saddam II (or al-Sadr, or whoever follows him) has managed to accomplish what Saddam I could not.

[cloudseeker2001 0]

There are no WMD in Iraq.

Every country in the world knew this before the USA invaded and they have had none since the Gulf War. Better yet, the WMD they did have 10+ years ago had a life of 3-6 months. Search for interviews of Scott Ritter and hear lots of good info that you will never see on TV. GWB and Co. have lied to everyone and the American people bought it hook line and sinker.

The USA is about to loose total control of Iraq.

"Some call it heavenly in it's brilliance,
others mean and rueful of the western dream"

[Kennedy 0]

Were We Misled on Iraq?

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The USA is about to loose total control of Iraq.

Not going to happen.

witty subliminal message
Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards.
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[ianmdrennan 2]

You are ABSOLUTELY kidding yourself if you think we can get that country in decent shape without occupying it for longer than our lifetimes (and probably our childrens too).

You can't get rid of that kind of hatred. It has to fade over the generations, and even then all you have to do is look at racism (and how parents/friends influence children to do the same) and realize there are ALWAYS going to be those who hate others because they're different. Hell you can see the venom in some peoples posts (particularly religious and political ones) to see that we're just as intolerant of others.

These people have been fighting for a long time, we're not going to be able to change that anytime soon.

Blue skies
Ian

Performance Designs Factory Team

[skydyvr 0]

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The USA is about to loose total control of Iraq.

Ah yes, every democrat's favorite bedtime fantasy . . .

. . =(_8^(1)

[pajarito 0]

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There are no WMD in Iraq.

That's a bold statement given their past and reputation. Also given the size and terrain of their country.

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Every country in the world knew this before the USA invaded and they have had none since the Gulf War.

This is simply not true. The US wasn't the only country to believe that WMD were/are there.

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GWB and Co. have lied to everyone and the American people bought it hook line and sinker.

Lying implies an attempt to deceive. He was acting on the best intelligence he, and other countries, had at the time. It will be very hard to prove your case that he "lied." Again, that's a pretty bold statement with no basis.

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The USA is about to loose total control of Iraq.

Total control will be lost when/if the UN takes over. I've seen it happen. The US, as long as we keep the right people in charge, will never tuck tail and run. We'll do whatever it takes to do the job.

[cloudseeker2001 0]

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Were We Misled on Iraq?

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The USA is about to loose total control of Iraq.

Not going to happen.

I think it very possible.

"Some call it heavenly in it's brilliance,
others mean and rueful of the western dream"

[mikkey 0]

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There are no WMD in Iraq.

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That's a bold statement given their past and reputation. Also given the size and terrain of their country.

They have looked for a year using huge resources. The head of the investigation resigned and reported there are no WMD's in the country. Time to wake up to reality.

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When people look like ants - pull. When ants look like people - pray.

[jakee 1,606]

On the one hand, if you take the breaking of the first UN resolution as the justification for war then the existence of WMD is a moot point.

On the other hand WMD is the main factor in how the war was sold to the public of the coalition countries. If no WMD are found then our gov'ts were either gravely mistaken or they lied. Either accusation is very serious.

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[cloudseeker2001 0]

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There are no WMD in Iraq.

That's a bold statement given their past and reputation. Also given the size and terrain of their country.

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Every country in the world knew this before the USA invaded and they have had none since the Gulf War.

This is simply not true. The US wasn't the only country to believe that WMD were/are there.

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GWB and Co. have lied to everyone and the American people bought it hook line and sinker.

Lying implies an attempt to deceive. He was acting on the best intelligence he, and other countries, had at the time. It will be very hard to prove your case that he "lied." Again, that's a pretty bold statement with no basis.

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The USA is about to loose total control of Iraq.

Total control will be lost when/if the UN takes over. I've seen it happen. The US, as long as we keep the right people in charge, will never tuck tail and run. We'll do whatever it takes to do the job.

I do not know what you mean by Iraqs past reputation....Iraq has not any WMD since the Gulf War and that is a fact or Scott Ritter and Hans Blix would have found them(not to mention the other UN inspectors I cannot recall the names of). Iraq is a little bigger than TX.....Not that many places to hide high tech labs and chemicals to make WMD and they are not that easy to hide. WMD labs and the weapons themselves require a fair amount of maintenance for safe keeping. Do you know any NBC officers? If so, have a chat with them about this topic. OK, a few countries were fooled, but why not the other permanent member of the UN jumping on board with US? They knew good and well Powell was not telling the truth and making a fool of himself and the US when he held up that vile of powder and showed cartoons of the portable WMD labs. And Bush had good intelligence alright, but he and Dick twisted it up into something it was not. Would you care for a piece of Yellowcake? And "turn tail and run" that is what I am afraid of when people do not know when it is time to pack up and go home. If the UN does not take over, then the powers in Washington will string this out just like Vietnam. Another war that was started from a total lie-if you recall. Though Dick was not the CEO of Haliburton back in the 60's, they were the governments primary contractor for that money making war as well.

Iraq was completely bankrupt in every sence of the word and it took everything Saddam had to stay in control. Those people of Iraq are rats and the rest of the world knew he was of no danger to anyone but the Iraqi people themselves.

"Some call it heavenly in it's brilliance,
others mean and rueful of the western dream"

[TheAnvil 0]

fI do know a bit about NBC. The possibility that they have been hidden is real. The possibility of manufacturing them en masse in a hidden manner is real. You don't know what you're talking about.

With regards to Halliburton:

The executive branch's role in contract awards is....what, exactly?

If you're just spouting off at the mouth and don't have a clue what you're talking about, you won't answer. If you know what you're talking about, you will.

Looking SOOO forward to your response. Truly. I happen to know and ask the question for pedagogical purposes. Lefties never answer. They don't like what the answer tells them about the attacks levied against the Bush administration by their leaders [sic].

Vinny the Anvil
Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL
JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

[cloudseeker2001 0]

I do know a little about NBC

The vice pres WAS CEO of Halliburton....ummmmmm?

And I do have a clue.

So, I hope you like my response. And I am not a lefty-by the way.

Go get off on someone else.

Would you like some Yellowcake?

"Some call it heavenly in it's brilliance,
others mean and rueful of the western dream"

[Gravitymaster 0]

So why didn't you answer his question?

[TheAnvil 0]

He doesn't like the answer.

Vinny the Anvil
Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL
JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

[billvon 3,131]

>The executive branch's role in contract awards is....what, exactly?

Ordinarily, none. "The White House has no role in selecting individual contractors," said Michael Anton, spokesman for the National Security Council, in April of last year. Often the Army Corps of Engineers are responsible for awarding such contracts. The catch there is that all branches of the military report to the president. In addition, Bush signed an executive order within a month of taking office setting terms for executive agency contracting processes, a process the White House said should strive for "the highest quality at the best price to ensure that government is a responsible steward of the American people's hard-earned tax dollars." (from whitehouse.gov.)

So they have a bit more of a role than you think they do, I believe.

From a House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform report:

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The Bush Administration has awarded several extremely large contracts and task orders to Halliburton. Of particular concern are the contracts awarded to a Halliburton subsidiary, Kellogg Brown & Root. GAO reports and other investigations have documented a history of Brown & Root overcharging the taxpayer. Yet despite this history, the Administration has awarded Brown & Root lucrative government contracts — including a recent contract for oil-related work in Iraq that is worth up to $7 billion and that was awarded secretly and without any competition. The Administration has also awarded contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars for work in Iraq to a select group of U.S. companies, with only limited competition.
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[Gravitymaster 0]

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He doesn't like the answer.

Thats no excuse.