"No matter how paranoid or conspiracy-minded you are, what the government is actually doing is worse than you imagine." - - - William Blum

April 08, 2003

Just a Reminder Regarding WMD...

BEFORE THE WAR:
Washington, 8 October 2002 (RFE/RL) -- President George W. Bush addressed the American people last night in an effort to convince them of what he believes is the urgency to confront Iraq about its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction, and to go to war over the issue if necessary. Speaking from Cincinnati, Bush said Iraq's president, Saddam Hussein, poses a unique threat to the Middle East, to the United States, and to the world. "While there are many dangers in the world, the threat from Iraq stands alone because it gathers the most serious dangers of our age in one place. Iraq's weapons of mass destruction are controlled by a murderous tyrant [Hussein] who has already used chemical weapons to kill thousands of people," Bush said.
21 DAYS INTO THE WAR:
Al Jazeera with agency inputs, 4/8/03--The war on Iraq entered day 20 and still no evidence has been presented so far of the country’s possession of weapons of mass destruction, the purported reason for the attack. A US military official said on Tuesday more testing and analysis was required before determining whether substances found at sites in central Iraq were banned chemical weapons agents. "Initial reports were 'yes, it could potentially be'," said Brigadier General Vincent Brooks. "We do not know enough at this point to say it should be discounted or that we have found some weapons of mass destruction for use." That contradicted an earlier remark on Tuesday by a US military source near the predominantly Shia city of Karbala in Iraq who said tests indicated the substances were not chemical weapons agents. "The latest tests turned out negative," the source said. “The United States is now embarrassed because it could not confirm the presence of WMD in Iraq,” said Dr. Hassan Krayyim, a professor of political science at the American University of Beirut.
And I'm sure the Iraqi kids who've had arms and legs blown off and have lost their families feel satisfied and compensated now that the U.S. might feel "embarrassed".

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