Alert! Freeper PR! Is it true that they found Iraq's WMD in Syria?

[NVMojo]

This has been circulating among the Freeps some of us know today. This article is from January 2006 in the infamous freeper NY Sun. Anyone hear anything else?


Iraq's WMD Secreted in Syria, Sada Says

By IRA STOLL - Staff Reporter of the Sun
January 26, 2006

The man who served as the no. 2 official in Saddam Hussein's air force says Iraq moved weapons of mass destruction into Syria before the war by loading the weapons into civilian aircraft in which the passenger seats were removed.

The Iraqi general, Georges Sada, makes the charges in a new book, "Saddam's Secrets," released this week. He detailed the transfers in an interview yesterday with The New York Sun.

http://www.nysun.com/article/26514?page_no=1

Now I am sure this is Bush's hand picked Iraq General but I need backup info on this as we are dealing with freeper madness here in our town on this issue today. Thanks!

Just wanted to remind everyone of this news from 04:

Saddam's WMD hidden in Syria, says Iraq survey chief
By Con Coughlin
(Filed: 25/01/2004)

David Kay, the former head of the coalition's hunt for Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, yesterday claimed that part of Saddam Hussein's secret weapons programme was hidden in Syria.

In an exclusive interview with The Telegraph, Dr Kay, who last week resigned as head of the Iraq Survey Group, said that he had uncovered evidence that unspecified materials had been moved to Syria shortly before last year's war to overthrow Saddam.

"We are not talking about a large stockpile of weapons," he said. "But we know from some of the interrogations of former Iraqi officials that a lot of material went to Syria before the war, including some components of Saddam's WMD programme. Precisely what went to Syria, and what has happened to it, is a major issue that needs to be resolved."

Dr Kay's comments will intensify pressure on President Bashar Assad to clarify the extent of his co-operation with Saddam's regime and details of Syria's WMD programme. Mr Assad has said that Syria was entitled to defend itself by acquiring its own biological and chemical weapons arsenal.

Syria was one of Iraq's main allies in the run-up to the war and hundreds of Iraqi officials - including members of Saddam's family - were given refuge in Damascus after the collapse of the Iraqi dictator's regime. Many of the foreign fighters responsible for conducting terrorist attacks against the coalition are believed to have entered Iraq through Syria.

A Syrian official last night said: "These allegations have been raised many times in the past by Israeli officials, which proves that they are false."

more...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/01/25/wirq25.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/01/25/ixnewstop.html

[Postmanx]

1. Yes, its true

Now you need to reevaluate your entire world view.

[MichiganVote]

2. Yeah right....this is such BS

[rodeodance]

5. if that article came out in Jan. I am sure we would have seen the swagger

in a split second (if true)

[adigal]

14. C'mon - Hannity is squaking about this every day

and today a woman caller called and begged Sean to keep this story alive, as it will show that Bush was right all along, and that Osama bin Laden and Saddam were in cahoots.

I just can't be any more stunned by the propaganda of the right and the stupidity of the true believers - of course Saddam Hussein had WMDs at SOME point, but the did NOT have them when we attacked. How hard is that for them to understand????

[AndyTiedye]

3. And If You Believe That, Have I Got a Deal For You!

[WinkyDink]

17. Oh, please. "How conveeeenient."

[Name removed]

18. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Scout1071]

21. Even if it were true, it only goes to prove that Syria has been the threat

all along and BushCo got it totally wrong.

Syria, Iran and North Korea all presented a more significant threat than Iraq.

[tatertop]

4. This is BS.

[Zenlitened]

6. If true, then Bush bungled Iraq even MORE than we realize.

Which would be saying quite a lot.

Bush bungled Iraq. That's not an opinion, that's a fact.

[don954]

7. this is the newest PR spin of the week it seems

they even had some ex-Iraqi general go on Daily show and sell the story, suffice to say, John Stewart was more than just a little sceptical... :)

[NVMojo]

11. thanks for sharing that info as that is where I heard it came out

the general mentioned who wrote the book, in the first link on my first post. So that part is true. I wonder how far it will spread?

[C_U_L8R]

8. The stink of freeper desperation

is odious

[Old and In the Way]

9. The weapons will always be in the next country over.

Like we don't have satellite technology that can monitor nuclear weapons moving around the ME...

[OhioBlue]

10. send this to them.

Kay: No evidence Iraq stockpiled WMDs
Former chief U.S. inspector faults intelligence agencies
CNN) -- Two days after resigning as the Bush administration's top weapons inspector in Iraq, David Kay said Sunday that his group found no evidence Iraq had stockpiled unconventional weapons before the U.S.-led invasion in March.

He said U.S. intelligence services owe President Bush an explanation for having concluded that Iraq had.

"My summary view, based on what I've seen, is we're very unlikely to find large stockpiles of weapons," he said on National Public Radio's "Weekend Edition." "I don't think they exist."

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/01/25/sprj.nirq.kay/

David Kay: Exclusive interview
Chemical, biological, nuclear programs ‘rudimentary’
David Kay, who resigned last week as the chief U.S. weapons inspector in Iraq, now says he didn't find stockpiles of WMD — or evidence of a nuclear program well under way in Saddam Hussein's Iraq — and he blames it on a greatly flawed intelligence system and analysis.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4066462/

World
Iraq Arms Inspector Casts Doubt on WMD Claims
Kay's Stance Differs with White House View of Situation in Iraq

January 25, 2004 · David Kay, who recently resigned as head of the U.S. group searching for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, now says he doesn't think stockpiles of such weapons existed. He no longer believes that Iraq had a large-scale production program in the 1990s.

The Bush administration disagrees, and stands by its previous assessments.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1615880

From CNN's Dead Wrong:

KAY: I was asked to not go public with my resignation until after the president's State of the Union address which -- this is Washington and in general -- I've been around long enough so I know in January you don't try to get bad news out before the president gives his State of the Union address.

It is time to give the fundamental analysis of how we got here ...

ENSOR: Eight days after the president's January 2004 State of the Union, David Kay testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

KAY: My view was that the best evidence I had seen was Iraq indeed had weapons of mass destruction.

It turns out we were all wrong and that is most disturbing.

If the intelligence community had said there were no weapons there, would the policymakers have decided for other reasons, regime change, human rights, whatever, to go to war. All you can say is we'll never know, because the system said, apparently, it's a slam dunk there are weapons there.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0508/21/cp.01.html

[NVMojo]

12. good stuff, thanks, none of this jives with the new book by the exgeneral

[OhioBlue]

13. I guess people gotta make money..... n/t

[Jeffersons Ghost]

15. are the freeps still trolling for WMD

how quaint!

[PBass]

16. What I've heard...

this Iraqi general had been bansished from Iraq about 9 years before the invasion started. He was not in a position to know anything.

Plus
an axe to grind against Saddam regime
he wants to sell books

Just one unconfirmed source making a claim like this, is no longer sufficient. Remember "Agent Curveball" and some of the other unreliable sources who were used to get our troops into Iraq in the first place? After being lied to so many times about the war (WMDs, Jessica Lynch went down shooting, Iraq will pay for their own reconstruction, it will only last for a few weeks, cakewalk, Mission Accomplished, on and on) the administration has lost credibillity and any of their unconfirmed sources should be taken with a grain of salt

[NVMojo]

24. oh, then that means he's part of the Chalibi regime and that means

he's a Bush PR Pal! That makes much more sense now! Thanks!!!

[Kingofalldems]

19. Alert! DU member agrees with freepers

In this thread. Have freepers ever been right about anything?

[Breeze54]

20. NO!! It's NOT true!! MYTH....

How the FUCK do you get a NUKE in a fucking Cessna??

Gheesh!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Arms Move to Syria 'Unlikely,' Report Says
The Bush administration's senior weapons inspector said in a report
that it was "unlikely" that Saddam Hussein's forces moved weapons to Syria.
- The New York Times April 26, 2005
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/26/international/middleeast/26weapons.html?th&emc=th

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/02/27/iraq-syria-myths/

Powerline Pushes WMD Conspiracy Theories

Yesterday, Powerline blog published a post called “Saddam Had WMD.” John Hinderaker —
a frequent guest on CNN — said there is “recently discovered evidence” which shows
Saddam’s WMD were moved to Syria before the invasion.

Investigators laid the possibility to rest last year. Charles Duelfer, the White House’s
hand-picked W.M.D. investigator, found in a 92-page report that “no information gleaned
from questioning Iraqis supported the possibility” that Saddam moved WMD to Syria.

There is no “evidence” that shows the Duelfer report was wrong. Rather, a couple of people
are pushing conspiracy theories without any supporting evidence.

MYTH #1 - Saddam Flew WMD to Syria:

Fox News reporter Brit Hume reported last month, “The number two general in Saddam Hussein’s
air force says Iraq moved its weapons of mass destruction into Syria before the U.S. invasion.”

Georges Sada, the former general referenced in Hume’s report, laid out the idea in his new book, “Saddam’s Secrets.” Sada claims Saddam used 747 jets “to smuggle his weapons of mass destruction
out of Iraq and into Syria, following a natural disaster in northwestern Syria on June 4, 2002.”

But Sada admits he never saw it happen. Instead, Sada’s two pilot friends are the only witnesses, and Sada said he will not disclose the names of the pilots.

MYTH #2 - The Russians Hid the WMD in Syria:

Some on the right have taken the myth one step further. Pundits such as Fox News military analyst Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney are claiming Russian Special Forces moved the WMD to Syria. Former
deputy undersecretary of defense John Shaw came up with this explanation nearly a year ago.
He told the conservative NewsMax in March 2005,
“I am absolutely sure that Russian Spetsnatz units moved WMD out of Iraq before the war.”
NewsMax described the operation as "the most successful intelligence operation of the 21st century." Like Sada, Shaw has absolutely no evidence to support his theory except for “unnamed sources” in Iraq.

Shaw is hardly a reliable source. The Los Angeles Times reported in April 2004 that the Pentagon inspector general investigated Shaw because he allegedly tried to “alter a contract proposal in
Iraq to benefit a mobile phone consortium that includes friends and colleagues.” The resulting delays angered U.S. officials, who said the “deaths of many Americans and Iraqis might have been prevented with better communications.” The Pentagon pushed Shaw out in December 2004.

To Hinderaker this constitutes “evidence” that “the administration, along with the CIA and the intelligence services of all other countries who assessed the issue, likely was right after all.”
He then chastizes the news media for failing to report the “big news.”

[realFedUp]

22. probably more in Fresno.....nt

[lwcon]

23. If it's true, we were dumb as shit to attack Iraq

Oh, and let's send satellite photos of Syria to Colin Powell, so he can use his supernatural ability to locate WMDs by looking at the roofs of sheds.

___

Hey, the liberal light is always on at the Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy. Please stop by and say "hi!"

[EFerrari]

25. 2 nights ago, an Iraqi ex air force guy said this on Jon Stewart's show.

He wrote a book called "Saddam's Secrets".

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1591454042/sr=8-1/qid=1143182903/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-4599270-4220667?%5Fencoding=UTF8

And he is probably on our payroll now.

[nadinbrzezinski]

26. He lives in the green zone

he IS in our payroll

[SeveneightyWhoa]

27. This entire thread, and the original NY Sun article, is based on this guy.

..and his book.

The Bushbots' hopes lie on the words of this guy, who claims to have overheard something about WMDs being moved to Syria. No proof, just hearsay.

Jon Stewart did his audience a disservice by having this douchebag on his show.

[EFerrari]

28. Well, I just assumed we paid for the book and its contents

and that he's full of it.

[countryjake]

29. What David Kay said to The Telegraph vs his testimony to the Senate

Try googling the actual transcript of the Hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee
Subject: Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction Programs
Chaired by Senator John Warner (R-VA)
Witness: David Kay, former head of the Iraq Survey Group
Wednesday, January 28, 2004


During that hearing, his testimony indicated that he didn't know. I'm not going to put any link to it here, as it's a government page, which I do not trust. I'm not going to paste what he said here because the page acted funky when I simply tried to copy one sentence of his testimony (lots of Copyright Warnings).

Just google that Senate Hearing and then do a "Find on this page" on Syria and you can read his totally ambiguous replies to the question of whether or not WMDs could have found their way across the Iraqi border to Syria. He says that there was much movement, and quite possible that technology or documentation was transported, but his personal belief was that they had not reconstituted any capability to even produce large stockpiles of WMDS, thus there couldn't have been anything to move.

I think you'll find that guys like Kay spin things alot differently to newspapers than they will actually swear to under oath in front of a government body.

[Lexingtonian]

30. No.

If there were any real evidence, the Bushies would be playing up as a vindication of their lies and an excuse to strike at the Syrians.

[seaglass]

31. Duelfer finished Kay's job. There was no evidence that this

happened.

Report Finds No Evidence Syria Hid Iraqi Arms

By Dana Priest
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 26, 2005; Page A01

U.S. investigators hunting for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq have found no evidence that such material was moved to Syria for safekeeping before the war, according to a final report of the investigation released yesterday.

Although Syria helped Iraq evade U.N.-imposed sanctions by shipping military and other products across its borders, the investigators "found no senior policy, program, or intelligence officials who admitted any direct knowledge of such movement of WMD." Because of the insular nature of Saddam Hussein's government, however, the investigators were "unable to rule out unofficial movement of limited WMD-related materials."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/04/25/AR2005042501554.html

The fr**pers would believe Curveball if he wrote a book, they don't vet anyone's credibility as long as it matches what they believe.