Posted on 08/01/2003 3:32:39 AM PDT by yonif
WASHINGTON (AP)--U.S. agents have reportedly found some evidence of a weapons program in Iraq, but the CIA refused to discuss any details with lawmakers.
Democrats, critical of the searches that have thus far proved to be fruitless, questioned President Bush's reasons for ordering the U.S.-led invasion.
``There was no imminent danger, and we should never have gone to war,'' said Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass.
CIA adviser David Kay, who is serving as a special adviser for the weapons search, told lawmakers on Thursday that inspectors have found physical evidence of Iraqi activity on weapons of mass destruction. Without offering any detail, he said investigators had made a ``tactical and strategic decision'' to focus on biological rather than on chemical or nuclear programs.
``Those are the areas that we're principally talking about progress,'' he said.
The Senate Intelligence Committee's top Democrat, Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, expressed concern that the searches are being diverted away from finding actual weapons.
``Signs of a weapons program are very different than the stockpiles of biological and chemical weapons that were a certainty before the war,'' Rockefeller said. ``We did not go to war to disrupt Saddam's weapons program, we went to disarm him.''
``It's looking more and more like a case of mass deception,'' Kennedy said after Kay briefed the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Those concerns surfaced as the Bush administration approved payment of $30 million to the informant who helped troops find Saddam Hussein's two sons, the largest reward ever made under a U.S. program.
``It's actually for services rendered,'' State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said. ``It's a lump sum payment of $30 million.''
The informant's tip led to the death of Odai and Qusai Hussein in a firefight July 22 in a villa in Mosul in northern Iraq. For his protection the tipster was not identified by the government.
Secretary of State Colin Powell gave final approval to the award of $15 million each for the sons.
Boucher said the informant had provided the critical piece of information that led to the brothers and ``took a risk in what is a very important development.''
The reward offered for Saddam is $25 million, and Boucher urged anyone who knows where he is to turn him in.
Kay told reporters after talking in secret to the Senate Armed Services Committee that there was a ``truly amazing'' deception program to throw U.N. weapons inspectors off the trail.
``We have people who participated in deceiving U.N. inspectors now telling us how they did it,'' he said.
The U.S. Army's 4th Infantry Division is hunting for Saddam with tanks, satellites and flying robots. The soldiers also are using more traditional, low-tech search methods. Patrolling soldiers and interpreters are collecting trips from residents.
Since the death of the sons there has been a surge of tips.
The CIA, meanwhile, has determined a recent audio message purportedly from Saddam--in which he refers to the death of his sons--is most likely authentic, according to a CIA official.
The tape was played Tuesday on the Al-Arabiya satellite channel, which broadcasts across the Middle East, including Iraq.
A new audiotape attributed to Saddam aired Friday on the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera satellite television station and urged his supporters to continue the uprising against U.S. forces.
It was not possible to immediately authenticate the tape.
Was there "immediate danger" from Afghanistan on Sept. 10 2001? Of course not, but look what happened the next day. You are an idiot just like the rest of your party members who adhere to your stupid statement. I can't wait when the evidence will come out and your political life, like the rest of those who are quick to spew ignorant comments like that in Congress, goes down the drain.
Someone should ask him to define imminent.
I also notice that the Dems are starting to harp on the weapons vs. programs angle. Someone should ask them, if there's an intact program, how long to these idiots think it takes to make/grow more WMD? 9-11 taught these people nothing. The deaths and injuries, the harm to our country, our economy, taught them nothing. And they actually think that there's a hope in Hades they'll ever be trusted with the nation's security ever again? In their dreams and our nightmares.
The Rats are the same people who don't want us to racially profile for Muslim extremists at airports, etc., and yet say that PResident Bush isn't doing enough in the fight against terror. If one cannot even profile (which the Israelis do with great success), then we must assume they aren't really serious about national security.
I doubt it! Look at how the Blacks have gotten screwed by deteriorating schools, crappy teachers, a wasteful welfare mentality, a cult of victimization, and a promise that affirmative action would solve all of their problems. After fifty years of this type of treatment by the liberals, they now vote about 95% democratic.
It means right away, like when the young girl you are with is drowning and you have only a few minutes to save her. Of course, if you just let her drown and then lie about the whole affair, the dems will love you and you can be their favorite senator for the next forty or fifty years.
Two innocent victims of tips. What a waste of human life. It is clear from this that we need to control tips somehow. Especially the high capacity assault tips. We need tip control laws right NOW! For justice, for peace!
No, you're not. Their sickening, aren't they? It doesn't matter what is found or done. There is no pleasing them. They are so hell-bent on putting down President Bush and other Republicans, they don't care if they take the rest of us down, too.
They are lying, wishy-washy, fit-throwing "if I don't get my way" commie-acting brats who will argue for the sake of arguing and only worry about how they look and sound to other commie-acting brats.
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