Defense Department says WMD found in Iraq

[nelson]

Report: Hundreds of WMDs Found in Iraq
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,200499,00.html

Those of us who aren't blinded by our anti-Bushness knew this long ago. Finally, with the help of two of the very few sane politicians left, Rick Santorum and Pete Hoekstra, the national media has picked it up.

Oh you know it's not the AP or the NY Times publishing this; we already know that any commentary coming from these and most other "news" organizations will lead the reader's mind to discredit any such story that threatens their agendas.

[The_Man]

If this story gets legs as I hope it will the reaction from the left will be interesting to observe. There will always be the conspiracy theorist out there that will try to discredit any findings as plants.

[Teiwaz]

WMD is now deemed to include some mouldy old mustard seeds in pre-Gulf War shells? I think the lads are beating this one up a bit. Sounds like they would do no more damage than a well packed plastique backpack, and would be a hell of a lot more unstable and unreliable.

[nelson]

WMD has always included chemical, nuclear, and biological weapons.

Couldn't it be Teiwaz that, in a microcosm of the last 50 years of events, the other lads have beat this story down so much that the actual truth when finally told now sounds unlikely or unbelievable?

The existence of WMD was just one justification for attacking Saddam's regime... not even the primary reason (the nation harboring terrorists). But it's the one Democrats jumped the gun to ridicule when large stockpiles of live nukes were not immediately uncovered. Now, with this declassified report, it's official, there were WMD as we suspected all along. Saddam was hiding them. Weapons inspectors were misled and wrong when they said none existed. Witnesses in liberals' court of public opinion were unethically led by Democrats and the press.

[Sonrisa]

This counting them as WMD reeks of desperation. Also Fox is not, ahem, news....it's an MTV form of news at best. This is why our "sides" will never agree. It depends on who you think is credible. It is the political equivalent of arguments on religion when someone cites the bible as an authority. Well, if you don't believe the bible is any more than a work of fiction or badly written history, then to the person you are offering it, it is not credible and immediately discounted.

When I attempt to look at the media in our country for real news I usually go to C-Span, because at least they present both sides individually, but you still have the dilemna of deciding which you think is credible.

I would certainly not lump all "conservatives" in with her, but caught Ann Coulter on Jay Leno. Whew! There are just no words adequate to describe that particular nasty rant. Her persona was that of a mental patient.

I still keep hoping again hope for a third party. It's hard to get the business of the country done with a near 50/50 totally oppositional split. BTW I am not any more fond of Ted Kennedy and Barbara Boxer. Wish someone who is the voice of reason who could bring everyone together could take charge. Clearly whatever is going on, on both sides, it is not working.

Sonrisa

[nelson]

Well I guess I don't really follow. If one does not "count" chemical weapons as WMD, what does qualify?

Personally, I think its about the facts. WMD has been found in Iraq - lots of it. Fox News is only reporting this fact, their sources aren't anonymous, they are elected officials making the annoucement and government agencies who have published it. It may be difficult for some to face the fact, especially after having been fed a lie for years, and having built opinions on top of that lie. But the fact remains, to dispute it would not be credible.

I also think Fox News is a very serious news organization, as evidenced by their top ratings, and though they are pretty left wing like any media outlet, they're not quite extremist like the rest (not yet - but they're working toward it).

[The_Man]

This counting them as WMD reeks of desperation. Also Fox is not, ahem, news....it's an MTV form of news at best. This is why our "sides" will never agree. It depends on who you think is credible. It is the political equivalent of arguments on religion when someone cites the bible as an authority. Well, if you don't believe the bible is any more than a work of fiction or badly written history, then to the person you are offering it, it is not credible and immediately discounted.

Sarin, also known by its NATO designation of GB (O-Isopropyl methylphosphonofluoridate) is an extremely toxic substance whose sole application is as a nerve agent. As a chemical weapon, it is classified as a weapon of mass destruction by the United Nations according to UN Resolution 687, and its production and stockpiling was outlawed by the Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993.

["shazbat"]

And it's taken 3 years for this to come out?
3 Years of the administration taking the heat over alegations of no WMD when we've all been clamoring for evidence that the incursion was justified on it's own merits and not just a clever ploy to control oil.
The way everything else seems to "leak" out of this administration I'm surprised that hasn't happened long before being "declassified".

[nelson]

Good point. Stronger leadership would have communicated the existence of WMD all along, instead of letting half the world fall prey to naysayer propaganda. We need strong leadership, with communication skills, too bad there doesn't seem to be any, at least, not any willing to lead. Hopefully someone emerges by 2008! :)

[Teiwaz]

OK, Mustard Gas and Sarin are nasty, and officially a WMD. They have clearly found lots of them since 2003, 3 years back.

I don't understand why this was not able to be officially announced when it happened. It does not make sense. It is illogical.

The obvious question is WHY. Why wasn't the existence of WMD, the MAIN reason used to justify an invasion of Iraq (and I don't care what you say, the coalition of the willing, which included us, used WMD as the cornerstone for their invasion) announced when they were found. I can think of no explanation that makes any sense to me. The GOVERNMENT decidse what to classify and how. They were all taking heat for lying, fudging, being incompetent, you name it. And these noble souls knew all along that they were right but steadfastly refused to reveal the information that would justify their actions to the world and humiliate their opposition? I call bull$shit. I don't know on what or who, but if it walks like a Donkey, sounds like a Donkey, and smells like a Donkey, it's probably a bloody Donkey.

[The G]

These WMD where left over from the 91 war, the one Sr didnt finish

[The_Man]

I don’t care when they were from they were found after Saddam said that they were not there and if the US had not forced the issue they would still be being produced.