Bush: Iraq War Justified Despite No WMD

[NNN0LHI]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20031004/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_weapons_hunt&cid=540&ncid=1480

WASHINGTON - Both President Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites) contended Friday that a vial of botulinum bacteria found in Iraq is evidence of Saddam Hussein's weapons intent. But the chief U.S. weapons inspector said the vial had been stored for safekeeping in an Iraqi scientist's refrigerator since 1993. He offered no evidence it had been used in a weapons program during the last decade.

Inspector David Kay had reported to Congress on Thursday that his team has so far found no weapons of mass destruction inside Iraq.

Kay also said American weapons hunters had found no evidence that Iraq has recently tried to import a semi-refined form of uranium from Niger or anywhere else. Bush cited that claim in his State of the Union address, although administration officials later acknowledged it was based on shaky intelligence and should not have been included.

Kay's search teams did locate documents suggesting another country in Africa — which Kay refused to identify — had offered uranium to Iraq, although it does not appear the deal went through. "We don't have any evidence it moved beyond what was probably an unsolicited offer," Kay said.

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[rustydog]

1. Bush, you said Saddam was an imminent threat....

You said he had 500 tons of Sarin and VX gas...
You said he had 38 thousand litres of botulinim and other biological weapons.
You said he had tried to buy uranium from Niger.
You said you did not want the "smoking gun" to be a mushroom cloud over New York!
You Lied.

You said you knew WHERE Saddam kept the weapons.

You lied and tens of thousands of people are dead.
You lied and thousands upon thousands of troops are wounded.

[Ramuscule]

10. Not sure if any of these things were lies

Saddam may well have had those weapons at the time Bush said it. Not sure anything is conclusive as yet

[NNN0LHI]

11. You are kidding. Aren't you?

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/special/iraq/1985072

White House admits uranium claim was wrong

WASHINGTON -- Amid questions about prewar intelligence, the White House is acknowledging that President Bush was incorrect when he said in his State of the Union address that Iraq recently had sought significant quantities of uranium in Africa.

The White House acknowledgment comes as a British parliamentary commission questions the reliability of British intelligence about Saddam Hussein's efforts to obtain weapons of mass destruction in the run-up to the war in Iraq.

Democrats in Congress also have questioned how the Bush administration used U.S. intelligence on Iraq's weapons programs.

Bush said in his address to Congress in January that the British government had learned that Saddam recently sought significant quantities of uranium in Africa.

The president's statement in the State of the Union was incorrect because it was based on forged documents from the African nation of Niger, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Monday.

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[Ramuscule]

12. Urainium thing not really a lie

Bush said Brits had intelligence about the Unranium from Africa. Brits still says its true. The statement may or may not have been incorrect, but it wasn't really a lie on Bush's part.

[NickB79]

13. Wrong

The uranium from Africa story was debunked months before Bush even said that the British had evidence of it. He knew the Brits were wrong and chose to repeat what they were pushing despite even most of the British intelligence telling them it was false. Many have stated Bush was warned about this, but ignored these warnings. Simply repeating someone else's lie still makes it a lie.

[Ramuscule]

16. You are mistaken

Although our sources debunked the African link, the British sources continue to maintain it exists. Blair reiterated it last month. You can believe it or not. But Bush said that British intelligence determined the link existed. Nothing in that statement is a lie. British intelligent did and does make the link. It's like me saying 'Jack Benny said he's 39 years old'. Is that a lie? No.

[kysrsoze]

20. You must be very naive

When you put together all the individual pieces, you can't help but see the opportunistic way in which we attacked Iraq. Cheney, Wolfowitz, etc., want to have a place to put a standing army - in a secular country. It's not working out well in Saudi Arabia. It's also about controlling the oil (and not necessarily making it as cheap as possible - higher prices equal higher profit) and big biz for all the companies tied to this administration. Lastly, the U.S. wanted to show an example to the world of how we kicked ass. There are more dangerous countries than Iraq and we're not paying a whole lot of attention to them.

Whether or not 911 goes much deeper than the general public assumes is true, the neo-cons wanted to attack Iraq long before Bush got in office. With all of our CIA contacts, spy satellites and all the searching, we have turned up NOTHING but artifacts from the past.

[osaMABUSh]

23. Ramuscule - where'd you get these ideas?

from freerepublic.com? You can go back there now.

Yes, we all heard what he said and technically it wasn't a lie because he used the Brits as the source but practically it was a lie and we live in a real world not a fabricated one like * lives in.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

25. When Powell spoke to the UN, he used the info provided by the Brits...

...and despite what anyone is saying in the UK, that information was disproved by the CIA. The CIA repeatedly told the Bushies not to claim the Niger-uranium link because there was no evidence to support it.

Even some of the UK folks are saying that the UK intel information was doctored.

Surely you've heard of the Wilson Affair, where the former ambassador's CIA operative wife was compromised by one or more leakers operating out of the executive branch? When Wilson came back from overseas and reported that there was no truth to the Niger-uranium story, he was ignored while the Bushies continued to claim the story was true. Some time later Wilson wrote an article that appeared in the press detailing what he had discovered in Niger and the Bushies' reaction to his findings. Soon afterward, Wilson's wife, Plame, was named in the press by Bob Novak as a CIA operative.

And that wasn't the worst of it...the non-proliferation network she managed tracked the components of all types of WMDs around the world. Now her network is compromised and there are some fears being expressed that some of the people that associated with Plame may already be dead.

This isn't a game, Ramuscle. These are very real people that have been betrayed, and U. S. national security has been heavily damaged.

[Flubadubya]

29. I knew Bush's jive talk was a lie BEFORE...

the S.O.B. even took us to war. His constant insistence upon "war being the last resort" and the concommitant push to make war were completely revealing... how transparent could it get?

You just don't claim that you really don't want to go to war and at the same time do everything within your power to make it happen NOW!

I just don't even need to hear all these nit-picking excuses as to why his garbage "might" be true. As Dylan said "You don't need a weather man to know which way the wind blows."

Get a clue... get real!

[trapper914]

34. Show me the money

"the British sources continue to maintain it exists. Blair reiterated it last month."

We've heard this defense from the right for over two months. Just because Blair says it's true, should we discount EVERYTHING our own intel tells us...that it's not true? And if Tony wants anyone to believe him, he should explain what he has and where it came from. Saying it's classified is a copout...but then again, he learned that copout from the ultra-secretive Bushies.

[Colin Ex]

38. Picking your sources like that is

something that you expect from a high school kid who wants to write his report for school a little faster. Not the fuckin' president of the US.

It's a no-win situation for Dubya, here. Either he lied or he cut a HUGE fucking corner when lives were at stake, and that's a horrible thing to do. His hands are not clean here.

-C

[Lorien]

17. It was a lie, and he knew damn well he was lying

this whole costly adventure was for nothing more than oil and reconstruction riches for Bush* and his corrupt cronies. Bushonomics: socialize the costs, privatize the profits! Turn off Faux and read some real news for a change.

Here's a question for the Ramuscules of the world; how much of a pussy do you have to be, living in the most powerful nation in the history of the planet,and wetting yourself...willing to destroy your country's economy and reputation with the world over a fabricated search by a washed up dictatator from a defeated nation!? It's bloody embarrassing!

[Tigerlily]

28. Jen6... "Bushonomics: Socialize the costs, privatize the profits!"

That needs to be repeated over and over again. That's a gem.

[NicoleM]

35. Really?

How about "I did not have sexual relations with that woman"? How did you feel about that? A lie or technically true?

[Skittles]

40. I DON'T GIVE A DAMN WHO HE HAS SEX WITH

I DO CARE IF HE ILLEGALLY INVADES NATIONS AND F***ING KILLS PEOPLE.

[NicoleM]

42. Me either.

I was just trying to expose a Freeper. :)

[NickB79]

15. How exactly do you dispose of that much material in a couple weeks?

You see any massive incinerator complexes in Iraq working day and night destroying chemical and biological weapons? You see any operational nuclear reactors left over from the alleged Iraqi nuclear program? NO. They have no possible way to dispose of the agents in that short of a time period, and shipping that large a quantity of material out of the country could not have escaped our satellite, spy plane and drone surviellance. Furthermore, you don't have the basic factories and labs required to make the stuff to begin with. Most of those materials are not viable long-term; they break down within a few years of being made, so they could not be leftovers from before the sanctions. How do you remove or hide entire factory complexes? Finally, where are the delivery systems for them? The aerial-spray drones turned out to be little more than a poor attempt at spy drones, and we have yet to find missiles loaded with bio/chem warheads. There is about as much chance that Saddam had those quantities of weapons when Bush made the SOTU address as me waking up tomorrow morning with a supermodel.

[scarface2004]

18. you are deranged!!

go home..your mommy is calling you you stupid punk!!

[Speed8098]

30. Hey!!!!!

While I disagree with the poster as much as you do, you nor I have the right to call him a punk because of his beliefs.

I am sick and tired of seeing this bullshit here. Knock it off.

[leesa]

37. Get Out! How's life in denial land??

[rman]

41. "may have" is not good enough.

War is a serious matter, so it should not be based on maybe's.
There was no evidence then, there still is no evidence.

[eyesroll]

2. Aren't there lots of vials of botulinum bacteria floating around the U.S.?

After all, that's what Botox is.

[grytpype]

8. Botulinum is a common soil bacterium

It's often used in biology, it's really not dangerous.

This is almost as funny as the uranium centrifuge buried in that poor schmuck's rose garden.

[Cha]

3. You lied ..bush! There was No reasons to kill thousands of

innocent People! you freakin' coverup artist...may you call to coverup artist Hell.

[zekeson]

4. probably an unsolicited offer

So, Georgie, ya attacked a soverign nation without provocation because some unidentified made an unsolicted offer of Uranium that the country in question rejected?

Dammit, George, that is just Ashcroftian. Johnnie would lock up a school kid who was offered drugs, whether he accepted them or not. We can, as a country, but so much better than that George.

[diplomats]

5. I don't think Bush lives in the real world

He's convinced himself he's on a mission from God, like the Blues Bros., so he'll never admit he ws wrong to invade Iraq or that his entire rationale was a sham.

[Mokito]

14. Even if he had any sense of a real world

he wouldn't be able to admit his (ahum) rationale is a sham, because his entire facade is built upon it.

Goodbye facade = Goodbye chimp !

[markses]

6. What a disgraceful liar

Who can take another four years, more wars for lies, more dead, more dead, ever more dead. Bush is a nightmare on this country, our curse for general indifference to the world, to the starving, the tortured, and the maimed. What a sickening spectacle we're living through.

[Bozola]

7. Saddam was planning on poisoning us all...

Iraq was just about to launch a chain of goat meat and falafel fast-food takeout, called "McSaddam's", in the US.

It was a near thing.

[kodi]

22. the chain was to be named the "falafel house" & built at interstate exits

...but bush?

geeze, he couldn't lie any better than that?

seriously, we need a smoking gun to tell us how much the busheviks lied to the world about iraq? shit, it's more like a zapruder film of the action we now have of their lies.

[moondust]

24. I heard he was going to spit on everybody.

My sources have been wrong before.

[kalashnikov]

9. VERY bad for the country.

these half truths from Bush basically damage his credibility among most of the populace and absoluteley destroy it within the democratic community. Now combine this with the fact that the Clinton presidency mangled presidential credibility with the Republicans and you have two back to back presidents who were seen as dishonest by half the population and I think we have a major problem here. After Bush no one on either side of the political spectrum will believe their prez. again for a long time.

On a related note; thats why we need clark in office. He has more credibility than the career politicians he is running against.

[kysrsoze]

21. I believe most of that

I believe you can restore trust in the President once you get an ethical and honest person in there. Say what you want about Clinton and blowjobs, but the guy still cared about your average person. That's what it is ALL about. This administration doesn't care at all about you and me.

We just need to expose these pompous, self-righteous liars for they are. It's pretty obvious to a majority of the people, but only if they are willing to acknowledge it.

BTW - hopefully the latter president will be seen as dishonest by more than half the population soon.

Given that, you'll probably love this link: http://www.theonion.com/3938/news1.html

[kalashnikov]

26. yeah thats a pretty funny article.

I liked Clinton too, but unfortunately he polarized the country and now Bush is polarizing the country as well (although if gets taken down in a major scandal and a vast majority of the voters kick him out while uniting behind the democratic candidate that might repair the damage). Its unfortunate this "uniter" is as divisive if not more so than his predecessor.

[Speed8098]

31. "I liked Clinton too, but unfortunately he polarized the country "

I beg to disagree.

President Clinton did NOT polarize the country. The right wing obsession with his dick did.

[Flubadubya]

33. Amen...

I was going to say the same thing. Other than his occasional "afternoon delight" Clinton just did his job. He extended the olive branch any number of times and tried to work peaceably with the conservatives. Lot of good it did him. All the "polarizing" came from the hate-mongering right. Period!

[kalashnikov]

43. it doesnt matter where it came from.

The point is around half the country hated his guts enough that Bush could run as the anti-clinton against someone who was not at all like clinton and still garner about half the votes. I know its wrong and the radical right did some disgusting stuff trying to demonize him, but it worked, half the country had little trust or respect for him.

[The_Casual_Observer]

19. Grasping at straws

This is more of the same kind of "proof" that Bush and Powell have been using for the last year. "Proof" like this shamelessly offered to the UN by Powell completely convinced me, and most of the rest of the world that the whole thing was a fraud.

This whole thing begs the question:
Are they stupid enough to buy this or they believe that we are stupid enough to buy it. Either way it is very frightening.

[Emillereid]

27. One vile of botulinum in a scientist's refrigerator doesn't show squat --

and it certainly isn't a weapon of mass destruction. My microbiology lab had more weapons of mass destruction than Kay found. Botulinum is a food borne bacteria and samples of it are necessary for identification.

[underpants]

32. I thought it was a dented can of lima beans

ER I mean vial of lima beans

[jamesinca]

36. 10 years in a refrigarator

This stuff outstripped its food source and was a dying colony at best. 10 years that is not viable. Even Kay is saying it in less specific terms.

[robbedvoter]

39. Ramuscule, while you were out - some reading stuff for ya:

Point by Point, a Look Back at a 'thick' File, a Fateful Six Months
Later The Most Detailed U.S. Case for Invading Iraq Was Laid
By Charles J. Hanley The Associated Press
Published: Aug 9, 2003



http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGAO4TLT5JD.html


Aide: Saddam Did Get Rid of Iraq WMD
Fri Aug 1, 8:24 PM ET
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030802/ap_on_re_mi_ea/saddam_s_bluff_4

By SLOBODAN LEKIC, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A close aide to Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) says
the Iraqi dictator did in fact get rid of his weapons of mass
destruction but deliberately kept the world guessing about it in an
effort to divide the international community and stave off a U.S.
invasion.