U.S. Official Still Convinced Iraqis Moved WMDs

[Khephra]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top U.S. intelligence official said on Tuesday he remained convinced that low-level Iraqi officials hid and destroyed evidence linked to weapons of mass destruction in the months before the war began.

Retired Air Force Gen. James Clapper, director of the National Imagery and Mapping Agency, told reporters he was not surprised that U.S. forces had not discovered any chemical, biological or nuclear weapons in Iraq, citing a big increase in the number of vehicles heading to Syria before the war.

But Clapper, whose agency analyzes satellite imagery and produces maps, acknowledged that the images of the Iraqi vehicles did not show what cargo they were carrying.

snip.........

"I think probably in the few months prior to the onset of combat, there was probably an intensive effort to disperse to private homes, to move documentation and materials out of the country," Clapper said.

He said some of the widespread looting that took place after the war began may also have been a tactic to hide weapons or documents.

more...........

http://wireservice.wired.com/wired/story.asp?section=Breaking&storyId=794546&tw=wn_wire_story

[soothsayer]

1. yeah, we wouldn't have seen anything

what with our satellite surveillance and all

what a crock

dumbya has already changed his tune, no longer calling saddam an imminent threat, but a 'gathering threat'

in fact, he keeps using 'gathering' this and that in his speeches now. he must like the way he sounds, or maybe he can pronounce it

[Neutrino]

6. Tell 'ya what though--he's not pulling it off anymore

Today in his Press Conference he looked weak and weary. His body
language, slumped shoulders, eyes pin-wheely and all. His speach
thin, and he couldn't string a sentence together without lapsing
back into the litany of "electricity is running" and how to use
the word "Terrorism" in 100 different sentences.

Bush is a man in love with his "destiny" (as he sees it), and
even his march toward ruin seems noble and beautiful to him.
Ah, the delusion. While the world watches in utter dismay and
disgust.

[MasonJar]

16. Bush and the Press

When has he ever sounded any better? Never, unless you count those times that he was calling for Osama,Dead or Alive! or "Bring em on."

[LoneStarLiberal]

2. Unreal Tournament

Tonight he will have the following revelation:

"DAMN!

Now I remember...

...the satellite imagery processor is the other screen...this one is Unreal Tournament!"

[underpants]

3. Are they STILL flogging that horse?

Poor horse.

[damnraddem]

4. Let's see: in the months before an invasion known to be coming,

Iraq may have sent their most-effective weapons elsewhere. Does this make sense? If Saddam had had chem/bio weapons, he would have used them. And there is absolutely no chance that he had nukes.

[GOPisEvil]

5. Hell, they're not even convinced the earth isn't flat. (nt)

[Spazito]

7. LOL

Thanks for the laugh!

[Mikimouse]

8. Hmmm, Clapper-that's appropriate

WMD ON! WMD OFF!:hippie:

[underpants]

11. I've fallen for a lie and I can't get up!!!

:bounce:

[Minstrel Boy]

9. In Bush's twisted logic:

"The fact we haven't found anything proves they're still hiding them."

[samsingh]

10. but of course the official does

also believes in the tooth fairy and Santa Claus

[Stanchetalarooni]

12. Maybe Sadam ordered them dispersed to very safe places....

....until he really, really, really needs them.

You just never know.

Sorta like that twenty dollar bill I've got stuck in my shoe under the insert thingy for when things get really, really, really tight.

Ya know?

[NickB79]

21. I'd say he really really needed them

When we had 150,000 fully-armed troops backed by tanks and APC's rolling within 50 miles of downtown Baghdad determined to kill him and his family. Now WMD would be impossible to deploy, assuming he even had them.

[TexasPatriot]

13. Dont let the pubs play you...

there's something there (or there will be something there) and we wont see it until a couple months before the election.

It doesnt hurt the dems to focus on the lack of an Iraq plan - rather than the rationale for going to war. The more the candidates focus on 'who supported what', the more they paint themselves into a corner when (if) the big *surprise* shows up. Focus on what they're OBVIOUSLY doing wrong - not the questionable WMD situation.

Or are we just willing to say 'if the WMD are there we're screwed'.

Risk/reward, i think the WMD argument is a bad one. Of course, if someone (like sharpton) would just stand up and announce there will be an October surprise re Iraqi WMD it would tend to tie Rove's grubby little claws. If he's wrong - 'it was Sharpton...' If he's right - then 'even Sharpton called it...'

[Bandit]

14. Right on! ~ Money is their God so talk money. How much is it costing?

That is the only thing that raises their eyebrows. Money and how much out of their pockets or how much into their pockets. Talk money and you have their undivided attention. :shrug: IMHO

[MasonJar]

15. Wasn't that what

Wasn't that what he was supposed to do?

[Cooley Hurd]

17. This is silly. EVERYONE in the whole world knows that Iraq...

...destroyed its WMD's after DS1 (a story coroborated by the defector/son-in-law of Saddam). The whole world knew that this was a bullshit war on 3/15/03, and now it's been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that the WMD's do not exist and haven't existed for the last 8 years or more.

The neocons doth protest too much, methinks...

[TexasPatriot]

28. i'm not talking about Saddam

There will be WMD in iraq... whether they get there by some hamhanded bumbling screwup or the pubs just hire a bunch of junior college kids to smuggle them into Iraq in the lavatories of Southwest flights - something will show up so Roveco can say 'SEE!!!'

Screw whether they were there at start.

Right now Iraq is worse than Yugoslavia without Tito - and Bush wants to pull the troops (reduce, then pull out fast) because it's politically expedient. But my money says the SOB wont pull if he wins re-election... he'll launch the next round - turn the whole region into a chaotic clusterfuck. The more Bahrains, Kuwaits and Qatars in the region - the better off Bechtel/KBR gets. The dem candidates arguments should be focused on Iraq the quagmire - he cant spin that one for shit.

[BlackVelvetElvis]

18. Whatever

Does anyone sense a grasping at straws here?

[sangha]

19. They can bomb a minivan going INTO Iraq

but they couldn't bomb those trucks that were LEAVING Iraq?

[killbotfactory]

20. Do you suppose more people went to Syria in the run up to war

so they wouldn't fucking die by our bombs?

[DemoVet]

22. Has it occurred to any of those geni-asses

that all of those trucks were probably carrying the personal possessions of those who were able to leave before the doo-doo hit the fan? I lived in South Carolina when hurricane Floyd was coming and I loaded up the wife and the kid and the cats and anything else that would fit in a Dodge Caravan and di-di-ed for Atlanta. It just made sense at the time. It also made sense to about 100,000 other people as well.

[Kinkistyle]

23. Sounds like a good reason to invade Syria!

You mean they moved them all to Syria!? Well shucks, looks like we gotta send the tanks in!

After we occupy Damascus: "What? You mean they moved all the WMD's into Iran?! Well shucks!"

[Dr Fate]

24. Then why did Saddam not use them to repel the US invaders???

That would have made more sense, IF they actually existed....

[Corgigal]

25. Retired Air Force Gen. James Clapper

Clap off, clap on..the Clapper.

Seems that Mr. Clapper wants to sell us the taxpayers some more photos of trucks and camels.

[pinniped]

26. And I'm still convinced you and your entire admin are a bunch of whackjobs

Who will be unemployed come the next election.

Since they will be unemployed they will have time to travel to the Hague.

[bpilgrim]

27. why r they MOVIN WMDs

instead of USING THEM?

peace

[are_we_united_yet]

29. Yea and the economy is recovering.

eom

[truthisfreedom]

30. oh, but it is! it's just a jobless, moneyless, hopeless recovery.

it's recovery nuvo. only the ultra-rich get richer, and everyone else suffers more.