"Palme D'Or" for Mike Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11&

[kandrathe]

Case Not Closed: Iraq’s WMD Stockpiles
Pesticides, Precursors, and Petulance

Or, as usual, maybe we aren't getting all the facts. Or, maybe as the above articles suggest, the job is not being done very well. I'm not ready to make the same black-white declarations as you and David Kay. I suspect that since the weapons were there, and since Iraq actively obfuscated and dogged the efforts of both UNMOVIC and UNSCOM, that some large quantities of BW and CW materials may still be there. Of course, we cannot search the trucks or warehouses that are in Syria. Iraq is not a place I would want to go driving around looking for evidence, and I suspect that also had alot to do with why David Kay bugged out of there. That job is almost all down side.

STATEMENT BY DAVID KAY ON THE INTERIM PROGRESS REPORT ON THE ACTIVITIES OF THE IRAQ SURVEY GROUP (ISG) BEFORE THE HOUSE PERMANENT SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE, THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS, SUBCOMMITTEE ON DEFENSE, AND THE SENATE SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE -- October 2, 2003

What does that make the notion that they must have posessed these capabilities? Pure conjecture.

No. Facts. They bought the precursor materials in large quantities that are unaccounted for, they had the manufacturing equipment, and the knowledge on how to make very potent VX, binary deployed Sarin, advanced mustard, and had tons of growth media for BW. They have even admitted to having these programs, and disclosed some of what they had done. But not all. For 12 years, anytime anyone gets in there and digs around, we find new documents and other physical evidence as to more illegal weapons research, and much more advanced than we first thought. Take the time to actually read the UNMOVIC, UNSCOM documents and some other more objective reports. I hope to *heck* you are right, and that all WMD capabilities have been destroyed. This is the type of situation that really has no room for error.

Testimony to the US Congress by Mr. Charles Duelfer, Director of Central Intelligence Special Advisor for Strategy regarding Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Programs -- 30 March 2004

www.globalsecurity.org -- Iraq - UN Documents

I mean the UN Security Council.

I'll leave that debate for you and Moldran. I think we've crossed swords on that one before. For me, Iraq was in clear violation of; RESOLUTION 687 (1991) Adopted by the Security Council at its 2981st meeting, on 3 April 1991 And, so if the Security Council refuses to enforce their own resolutions, what is to be done? Stall for more time, until everyone is tired of watching and Iraq can resume where they left off? I don't agree with how it was done diplomatically, and I think with better diplomacy it might have been handled within the Security Council. Unfortunately, the Security Council devolved into a political circus and the action was neccesary regardless. We did it, and if we broke some international law, then let the international lawyers step forward.

And, since I'm still not an international law expert, I have nothing more germane to add other than my opinion.