NO! Chemical weapons in Iraq???

[scaeagles]

Originally Posted by Alex Stroup

And the case for the final UN resolution came down to declarations that Iraq possessed and was persuing WMDs. We even showed pictures of where they were keeping them to the U.N.

But all of that is moot. The Bush administration is essentially arguing against you, Leo, that these finds are of any great significance. After 3 years of ridicule on this exact issue do you really think they would hesitate to trumpet any affirming discoveries?

And still, even allowing that you are correct on the passage of the final UN resolution, it came down to Saddam saying that no one could come in to verify or debunk that very intelligence.

There is a theory - quite reasonable, really - as to why this is not being trumpeted. To summarize, the oil for food program investigation showed that China, Russia, and France were violating sanctions and selling arms to Iraq. There is evidence that the Russians specifically assisted in removal of WMDs and production capabilities in the two weeks prior to the invasion when the final UN resolutions were making the rounds. They did this because the equipment was Russian, Chinese, and French.

Talking up the evidence at present which points fingers at three security council members while at the same time needing their assistance with the Iranian and North Korean situations is not a good thing to do.

Spin? Perhaps. But not unreasonable considering what is know about the interactions of those three countries with Saddam.