Posted on 01/12/2005 8:41:31 AM PST by areafiftyone
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. inspectors have ended their search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq in recent weeks, a U.S. intelligence official told CNN.
The search ended almost two years after President Bush ordered the invasion of Iraq, citing concerns that Saddam Hussein was building weapons of mass destruction and may have hidden weapons stockpiles.
Members of the Iraq Survey Group were continuing to examine hundreds of documents and would investigate any new leads, the official said.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Beeeeeeeeeep Abu Grahib and WMD" this has been a CNNBS, CBS, ABS, NBS, New York/LA Slimes recording.
Search to start in Syria soon. News at 11.
They now have sufficient documentation showing that the weapons were shipped to other friendlies prior to the war and are no longer in Iraq!
Try Syria or Lebanon or the Horn!
Yes, and let's open the suspected sights in Syria with 2,000lb. satellite-guided "keys."
IMHO we got a HUGE WMD with the capture of Saddam Hussein.
And what do we do if we don't find them there? Besides which, I'm not sure that your nation or mine can afford another war.
Perhaps a purge of the 'military intelligence' departments will help in the future. Someone cocked up, big time.
Perhaps not worry about it? I'm concerned with keeping people from flying planes into office buildings, not appeasing the U.N. or helping out Tony Blair politically (although I do greatly admire the stand he has taken in support of us).
Purge the intel agencies? Over WMD? You must be kidding.
"Someone cocked up, big time." --Slipperduke, Jan. 12, 2005
"One way or the other, we are determined to deny Iraq the capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them. That is our bottom line." --President Bill Clinton, Feb. 4, 1998
"If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program." --President Bill Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998
"Iraq is a long way from [here], but what happens there matters a great deal here. For the risks that the leaders of a rogue state will use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons against us or our allies is the greatest security threat we face." --Madeline Albright, Feb 18, 1998
"He will use those weapons of mass destruction again, as he has ten times since 1983." --Sandy Berger, Clinton National Security Adviser, Feb, 18, 1998
"[W]e urge you, after consulting with Congress, and consistent with the U.S. Constitution and laws, to take necessary actions (including, if appropriate, air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites) to respond effectively to the threat posed by Iraq's refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs." Letter to President Clinton, signed by: -- Democratic Senators Carl Levin, Tom Daschle, John Kerry, and others, Oct. 9, 1998
"Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process." -Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D, CA), Dec. 16, 1998
"Hussein has ... chosen to spend his money on building weapons of mass destruction and palaces for his cronies." -- Madeline Albright, Clinton Secretary of State, Nov. 10, 1999
"There is no doubt that ... Saddam Hussein has reinvigorated his weapons programs. Reports indicate that biological, chemical and nuclear programs continue apace and may be back to pre-Gulf War status. In addition, Saddam continues to redefine delivery systems and is doubtless using the cover of a licit missile program to develop longer-range missiles that will threaten the United States and our allies." Letter to President Bush, Signed by: -- Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL), and others, Dec 5, 2001
"We begin with the common belief that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a threat to the peace and stability of the region. He has ignored the mandate of the United Nations and is building weapons of mass destruction and th! e means of delivering them." -- Sen. Carl Levin (D, MI), Sept. 19, 2002
"We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country." -- Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002
"Iraq's search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power." -- Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002
"We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction." -- Sen. Ted Kennedy (D, MA), Sept. 27, 2002
"The last UN weapons inspectors left Iraq in October of 1998. We are confident that Saddam Hussein retains some stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, and that he has since embarked on a crash course to build up his chemical and biological warfare capabilities. Intelligence reports indicate that he is seeking nuclear weapons..." -- Sen. Robert Byrd (D, WV), Oct. 3, 2002
"I will be voting to give the President of the United States the authority to use force -- if necessary -- to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security." -- Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Oct. 9, 2002
"There is unmistakable evidence that Saddam Hussein is working aggressively to develop nuclear weapons and will likely have nuclear weapons within the next five years ... We also should remember we have always underestimated the progress Saddam has made in development of weapons of mass destruction." -- Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D, WV), Oct 10, 2002
"He has systematically violated, over the course of the past 11 years, every significant UN resolution that has demanded that he disarm and destroy his chemical and biological weapons, and any nuclear capacity. This he has refused to do" -- Rep. Henry Waxman (D, CA), Oct. 10, 2002
"In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including al Qaeda members ... It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons." -- Sen. Hillary Clinton (D, NY), Oct 10, 2002
"We are in possession of what I think to be compelling evidence that Saddam Hussein has, and has had for a number of years, a developing capacity for the production and storage of weapons of mass destruction." -- Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL), Dec. 8, 2002
"Without question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime ... He presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation ... And now he is miscalculating America's response to his continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction ... So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real..." -- Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Jan. 23. 2003
Speaking as someone who works in a very big building, I heartily agree with you!
Despite all the reports and the inquests, the pages and pages of evidence, not a single UK politican has fallen on his sword over this single fact . We said there were weapons, we said we'd be vindicated when we found the weapons and we found nothing, save a couple of antique sarin shells.
I'm not moaning about the invasion, I've been on this board countless times arguing for US/UK forces to stay in Iraq. I'm looking at the simple question of us not looking competent when it counts.
Kind of a waste of time to search for WMD in Iraq when we knew ahead of time the goods were shipped to Lebanon through Syria.
I'd say the intelligence agencies did drop the ball. They should have looked a little closer at the trucks rolling out of Iraq on the eve of the war. Losing George Tenet was a start at fixing things.
That said, we can afford what little it will take to push Syria and Lebanon over, particularly with help from the Iraqi army. Many of their intelligence/military people are too busy stirring the pot in Iraq now.
Now, if only we can offer a little more support to the Iranian dissidents.
Bumping ^
Quilla, I'm English, this isn't a partisan issue for me. I'm happy we got rid of Saddam, he was a dickhead of the lowest order. But where did these weapons go?
Yep. And those Egyptians and Jordanians and Israelis and Iranians and Russians and Brits and French and Germans and UN guys who all said there were, well, they were all just lying, cause they wanted to "set up" Bush.
Too true. There have been numerous benefits to the invasion, not least the fact that all the surrounding nations know that they're now playing poker with people who don't bluff.
I don't know how well stocked your armed forces are, but we're getting close to the bottom of the barrel. An awful lot of the boys in Basra are 'weekend warriors' from the TA (Reserves). I don't think we could take another conflict too comfortably.
"They now have sufficient documentation showing that the weapons were shipped to other friendlies prior to the war and are no longer in Iraq"
Links?
This is a colossal screw up. How many heads have rolled in the CIA and other intel agencies??? They missed the 9/11 attacks and then wrongly said that Saddam had tons of WMDs.
I'm pissed that we went into Iraq (partly) based on faulty information. We have over a thousand killed and around ten thousand injured (many without limbs, etc.).
Would you have supported going into Iraq if we knew they didn't have WMDs? I certainly wouldn't have supported the war.
"I'd say the intelligence agencies did drop the ball. They should have looked a little closer at the trucks rolling out of Iraq on the eve of the war."
I'd say. Was no-one watching the border or monitoring convoys by satellite? Why did no-one bother to press record? Was Saddam's gold going out too, were there pay offs to smooth the way?
Someone in intelligence screwed up on this and we are not safer because of it, because the weapons are still out there and if we have to go into Syria it will be more $$$ and bodies when the job was supposed to have been done.
The agencies need to stop their turf wars and there needs to be a proper account of how these weapons slipped away, because if / when action in Iraq escalates and the WMD start coming back at us it'd be a bad way to finally discover them.
We can't leave Iraq and we will stay until there is stability in the region - that's the goal and the pledge of this nation [despite the naysayers who find it hard to believe any power could have decent intentions]. We must deal with the present and look to the future, but surely some resources can be spared to look at the past.
If trucks took the WMD out it should have been monitored. The monitoring should have been recorded, the records should still be available. We cannot allow herself to hobblde to incompetents, back-stabbers and in-fighters at home.
Ok, I'm with you on the Qusay/Uday/Saddam reference, but I still don't know why anyone would ship out their most effective weapons before a war. He can't have believed that he'd be allowed to stay in power, can he?
The guy was an arsehole, but he wasn't stupid.
Folks have been saying this for a long time now. They're either in Syria or the Beka'a Valley in Lebanon. Do you think we're ready to kick some Syrian booty while Iraq is still unstable?
They weren't any to begin with. Saddam was an SOB, but this whole thing is a sh-t sandwich.
Ironically, Bush's problem is that he didn't rush to war. Saddam Hussein had too much of an advanced warning to move or do whatever they did with the weapons.
Good list of quotes. Bookmarked.
"I'm not sure if he ever thought we really would defy the UN"
We didn't defy the UN, Saddam did, and then the UN reneged on its promise to take serious action. We acted to enforce the rule of the UN and then it turned on us because real action, as opposed to the play-acting of the Europeans, would lead to the uncovering and the end of the Oil for Food scam.
I'm still not buying the fact that Saddam preferred to spend his last days on the run. I think from what we know about him, he'd have been far happier gassing thousands of our troops.
But you are right about Syria. One of the things that made me sick about the build-up to the war was seeing Tony Blair cosying up with the Syrian leaders. Syria has a human rights record that is almost as bad as Iraq. We just keep trying to destroy our own arguments!
SOURCE IT!
Here's one that never heard this BS BEFORE none were discovered!
That's right. And it worked.
There's plenty of evidence Saddam was attempting to create weapons. So, if that evidence exists, how could anyone take for granted that no actual weapons exist?
Saddam took his aircraft to Iran prior to the first war. He had - still has - many evil allies. Is it really inconceivable he would resort to the same tactics, and please explain why.
USMC Lt. Gen Michael DeLong, retired Deputy Commander of CENTCOM and primary liasion to the allies in that region in the buildup to the operation, adamantly maintains to this day that the WMDs existed when we said they existed. So does Tommy Franks. I believe them. It may take years to find out where they went. Or, we may know where they are and have neutralized them in some surreptitious political way. Much more is happening in Iraq, and in the wider WOT, than is reported or can be presently permitted to be known.
"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.
Saddam's WMD hidden in Syria, says Iraq survey chief
UNMOVIC said they were shipped out of the country:
In a report which might alternately be termed “stunning” or “terrifying”, United Nations weapons inspectors confirmed last week not merely that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, but that he smuggled them out of his country, before, during and after the war.
Agreed
Well, I'm convinced that ALL of the intelligence agencies in the world were not wrong. Some, perhaps even most, but NOT ALL. All of them said the WMDs were there.
See #37...the UN even said they were shipped out of the country.
Saddam Hussein periodically removed guards on the Syrian border and replaced them with his own intelligence agents who supervised the movement of banned materials between the two countries, U.S. investigators have discovered.
Two defense sources told The Washington Times that the ISG has interviewed Iraqis who told of Saddam's system of dispatching his trusted Iraqi Intelligence Service (IIS) to the border, where they would send border inspectors away.
The shift was followed by the movement of trucks in and out of Syria suspected of carrying materials banned by U.N. sanctions. Once the shipments were made, the agents would leave and the regular border guards would resume their posts.
washington
times
Sharon: Iraq transferred chemical and biological weapons to Syria -12/25/02
U.S.:Syrians hiding Iraqi weapons for cash- 02/07/03
Former UN weapons chief backs US claims Syria concealed weapons- 04/15/03
Powell Confronts, Assad Prevaricates - 05/04/03
- U.S. acknowledges intelligence on transfer of Iraqi WMD to Syria and Lebannon - 09/17/03
U.S. says WMD went from Iraq to Syria - 10/29/03
U.S. intelligence consensus: Iraqi WMD shipped to Syria - 10/29/03
For Those Still in Denial, Saddam's WMD Went To Syria - 11/01/03
Report: Syria hiding Iraqi WMD - 01/06/04
Top U.S. Politician: Iraq WMD May Have Gone to Syria- 01/24/04
Saddam's WMD hidden in Syria, says Iraq survey chief - 01/24/04
Dr. Kay Had Maps with Coordinates of WMD Hiding Places in Syria - 02/17/04
Syria Smuggles Missiles, WMD to Sudan - 04/09/04
New evidence: Saddam's WMD in Lebanon: Weapons transferred to Syria before war - 05/21/04
Dr. Germ and Mrs. Anthrax were not photographed sitting around tables with Saddam and his usual henchmen because Saddam was signalling the Arab World his enlightened committment to breaking cultural gender roles.
...or maybe we know exactly where the WMD are and we're sitting safely on them.
Why would we tip our hand? To try and satisfy the media and/or the liberal shitbirds who'll never be satisfied anyway? What good would THAT do? None.
No, we have a good line on WMD. Some were moved - some are still there. Our enemies know they're still there too. They want them. They're trying to get them. They won't get them - but in the meantime, we're killing enough of them to make progress, regardless of what's "reported".
It keeps those scumbags busy, ya know? Gives 'em something to do and a place to play their nasty games -- away from American soil.
Too bad so many in this country are just too damn ignorant to appreciate that.
Yah, but to me the clincher was Franks' book, where he said the King of Jordan and Mubarak both told him Saddam had WMDs.
It is a good list of quotes. All based upon the same flawed intel.
New evidence: Saddam's WMD in Lebanon: Weapons transferred to Syria before war
The bottom line is, Saddam didn't deserve to get the benefit of the doubt. He used that up by gassing Kurds, invading Kuwait, sending scuds to Israel, and violating the cease-fire signed after the first Gulf War.
In my view it's more a problem of diplomacy than intelligence. If we could barge right into Syria, or have obtained immediate access to the Iraqi sites and records, we'd have found the weapons. No doubt in my mind.
Does anyone really believe that Libya still had WMD, but Iraq did not? :-)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.