Report Finds No Evidence Syria Hid Iraqi Arms
U.S. investigators hunting for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq have found no evidence that such material was moved to Syria for safekeeping before the war.
Although Syria helped Iraq evade U.N.-imposed sanctions by shipping military and other products across its borders, the investigators “found no senior policy, program, or intelligence officials who admitted any direct knowledge of such movement of WMD.” Because of the insular nature of Saddam Hussein’s government, however, the investigators were “unable to rule out unofficial movement of limited WMD-related materials.”
The Iraq Survey Group’s main findings — that Hussein’s Iraq did not possess chemical and biological weapons and had only aspirations for a nuclear program — were made public in October in an interim report covering nearly 1,000 pages. Yesterday’s final report, published on the Government Printing Office’s Web site, incorporated those pages with minor editing and included 92 pages of addenda that tied up loose ends on Syria and other topics.
This report puts an end to the two year weapons hunt and shakes the basis of some of the reasons used by the current administration for going to war. Yet, I still strongly believe in our having invaded Iraq and removing Saddam Hussein and his murderous regime from power. The report also stated that the missing equipment was never located and it could have easily been given to terrorists and/or insurgents to produce chemical and biological agents. Basically, the report says they didn’t find anything, but that doesn’t mean what was “lost” couldn’t be used against humanity. Seems we are back to square one.
Article of Interest:
CIA Can’t Rule Out WMD Move To Syria
Interseting parts I picked up on.
“Although Syria helped Iraq evade U.N.-imposed sanctions by shipping military and other products across its borders, the investigators “found no senior policy, program, or intelligence officials who admitted any direct knowledge of such movement of WMD.” Because of the insular nature of Saddam Hussein’s government, however, the investigators were “unable to rule out unofficial movement of limited WMD-related materials.”
“U.S. officials have held out the possibility that Syria worked in tandem with Hussein’s government to hide weapons before the U.S.-led invasion. The survey group said it followed up on reports that a Syrian security officer had discussed collaboration with Iraq on weapons, but it was unable to complete that investigation.”
With that being said, one can’t rule it out.
peejz;
Am I still a nut (in your opinion) for thinking that there were no Biological Chemical or Nuclear weapons in Iraq just before the invasion?
No you aren’t a nut. What I was pointing out in #1 was the fact that you can’t rule something out just because you didn’t complete the investigation.
Please keep in mind that the US found empty aluminum tubes which “could be used to deliver chemical or biological agents”. A more common use is scaffolding. I suppose a pen could deliver chemical or biological agents. What a load of horse shit.
1,
There are many things one cannot rule out, peejz. Perhaps this kind of borderline nihilistic take on truth that you are espousing could have applied to the counterpoint in early 2003? Always coming down on the side of invasion and occupation is something that the United States cannot accept militarily, financially, or politically.
A conspiracy to move WMD (the ‘stockpiles’ and ‘programs’ cited by President Bush in 2002/2003) to Syria would have compelled at least one person, either an Iraqi or a Syrian, to admit/leak that in the confidence of the US Government/military.
6- If you re-read the article, they already have.
“The survey group said it followed up on reports that a Syrian security officer had discussed collaboration with Iraq on weapons, but it was unable to complete that investigation”.
This is not the sort of thing I was speaking about, peejz. This is probably the most vague assertion I’ve ever heard, and says nothing about allegations of movement of weapons.
“Iraq’s ability to produce nuclear arms, which the administration asserted was a grave and gathering threat that required an immediate military response, had ‘progressively decayed’ since 1991. Investigators found no evidence of ‘concerted efforts to restart the program.’”
I think it is all a big cover up designed by the liberal media and the democrats. They are in some neighboring country right now and those people are laughing at us. No apologies, it is still worth it, not having Saddam in power
U.S. investigators hunting for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq have found no evidence that such material was moved to Syria for safekeeping before the war, according to a final report of the investigation released yesterday.
Although Syria helped Iraq evade U.N.-imposed sanctions by shipping military and other products across its borders, the investigators “found no senior policy, program, or intelligence officials who admitted any direct knowledge of such movement of WMD.” Because of the insular nature of Saddam Hussein’s government, however, the investigators were “unable to rule out unofficial movement of limited WMD-related materials.”
10,
‘Unable to rule out’ is pretty far from anything resembling information. This has become a bad conspiracy theory – the most bizarre kind – that in which someone tries to assert that the government does not do everything in its power to justify its own actions. At least ridiculous JFK and 9/11 theories usually prey upon the principle that governments will act in their own interest.
9,
Tell me you are joking. Please. Duelfer is Bush’s man.
NOT IN YOUR NAME, SHITLOH?…. Indeed.
“Not In Our Nameâ€, eh? Damned straight.
We freed 26 million people from one of the most oppressive governments on the planet. You didn’t have a goddamned thing to do with it.
Not In Your Name were they freed. And not by your efforts will they remain free.
So you turned to cheering on the alleged “Iraqi Insurgentsâ€, calling them ‘Minutemen’, and hoping for thousands of American deaths, so that we would be suitably chastened and run for home with our tail between our legs. You posted gleeful listings of outrageously over-inflated claims of civilian deaths, blaming each of them on the American military (including one guy whose cause of death was listed as “pneumonia”).
But once we invaded – taking the whole country faster than Janet Reno took a compound in Waco – we had set forces in play that could not be called back. The Afghanis had managed to come up with a stable form of government with no real problems, and they managed to set elections and elect leaders, all without American interference. (Something you never hear from the feminists is that the first person to vote in those Afghani elections was a woman, and this in a country where women weren’t even allowed to learn to read until we kicked the Taliban out! No, they’re too busy hating Bush.)
But once we took Saddam out, and installed a CPA to oversee repairs and restoration, the NION crowd (ably aided by the MSM and liberal bloggers) were forced to start trying to scare us away with scenes of horror as the terrorists “insurgents”started bombing the locals, and videotaping and broadcasting ritual beheadings of captured innocents, and the media – ever eager to punish Bush for not listening to them – aired the most sympathetic views they could, while the liberal bloggers called the victims of these atrocities “mercenariesâ€, and concluded “Fuck ‘em.”
Accusations of human rights abuses were leveled against anyone who so much as looked harshly at a terrorist innocent Iraqi – never mind pointing at them while they were naked. (According to many of you NION units, being forced to wear panties on their heads is somehow worse than having that head sawed off with a steak knife. I wonder how many of you would have screamed if we had just sawed a few heads off ourselves. We didn’t. You bitched anyway.)
Cries of “quagmire”and oft-repeated references to the last time you won a major victory (“Viet-” something or other) showed your hope that we would go in and run away again, like the bully you make America out to be. That Q-word was literally used within 48 hours of the first boots on the ground in Iraq.
In the two years since the statue of Saddam was toppled, all manner of accusation, allegation and assertion were levelled against Bush, his Cabinet officials, and anyone who dared to support Coalition action (including calling the largest coalition in all of History “unilateral American Imperialism”). Accusations of torture, cold-blooded murder, and more, all in the attempt to shift the tide of public opinion to where it was in the early 70s, when the Government wasn’t trusted, the military was demoralized, body bags got primetime airplay, and slimebags who betrayed their country ended up running for office. (Even winning in a few cases.)
What wasn’t noticed is the slow grind of events. People see their lights come on for the first time in months, food is plentiful, kids are going to school, and the citizens see that the soldiers are real people with an eagerness to help defend them against the terrorists “insurgents”instead of being baby-eating robots with movie-style weapons.
All that was Not In Your Name.
The election held earlier this year was also Not In Your Name. Screams of rage and cries of “illegitimate”resounded as Iraqis waved their purple fingers in the air, dancing and cheering in the streets, and, in one impressive incident, an Iraqi who had been wounded in an attempted terrorist strike “insurgent attack”refused medical treatment until he had gotten a chance to vote.
Your gleeful cheers welcomed the standard confusion attendant upon starting a new form of government from scratch, with a few hoping that the Iraqis would turn to a theocracy, just so that they can point their fingers and say, “We told you so!â€.
Well, folks, yesterday the Iraqi Interim government appointed a Kurdish man, Jalal Talabani, as their President. He was the first ethnic Arab to be appointed to such a powerful position in the whole Arab world.
Today, they have appointed the Prime Minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafari (a Shiite). They have a freely-elected government in place in two years from a standing start. Two years!! It took the US almost three times that long, but that wasn’t good enough for you, was it?
Well, suck it up, boyo, because a free Iraq is here – a proven reality. The next step is an Iraqi Constitution. And that will be done Not In Your Name, either. You will have had absolutely nothing to do with any of it. Your preferences were made perfectly clear. So stew in your impotence, and remember that when the invitations to the party show up, none of them will be In Your Name.
12
i have no idea of what you’re referrring to asshole
13- That would be the expected response from you.
Yeah, when presented with actual FACTS, shitloh turns to name calling, and condescending rhetoric….. not entirely shocking.
you’re such an incredible hypocrite to call someone, anyone else opuit for name calling.
you’re the king of that horseshit and a fool if you don’t see your own hypocrisy.
16- poor uncle shi:roll:
Please! This is decending to a shout-out! Can’t we just debate in a civilized fashion, or do we have to be too partisan to even listen to the other guy?
5.25.5
“HADITHA, Iraq – About 1,000 U.S. Marines, sailors and soldiers encircled this Euphrates River city in the troubled Anbar province before dawn on Wednesday, launching the second major anti-insurgent operation in this vast western region in less than a month.”
“major combat operations are overâ€::.G Bush.
Why do you still buy his bullshit?
weren’t thousands supposed to be back last Christmas, reducing the numbers?
Maybe next Christmas.
Maybe Christmas 2015.
Great plan, George.
i understand friends. he’s all you’ve got. you CAN’T trash him. then you’d have to open your mind to reality, & you have no practice doing that.
he asks you top have patience while nothing he says comes to pass. we still haven’t won the damn war yet.
or do you, like Bush, call this winning?
apparently, to this point, the only winners are the coffin makers.
19,
I don’t recall any promise of the troops being returned on Christmas at all. I do recall Ted Kennedy making some sort of demand like that though.
I can’t speak for everyone, but it was made clear to me that the War on Terror could last a very long time. I am willing to accept that and have before the invasion. Major combat operations have ceased- they were correct. The Iraqi Army surrendered, if you recall correctly.
I’ll fully admit too that the post war plans were poor, however we are not the only factor in this equation. We can only do what the Iraqi government wants us to do. We could crush this whole resistance in one fell swoop if we wished, however that would be unpopular by the likes of you and your ilk, just like it would have been in Viet Nam. In other words, the biggest mistake that Bush has made in the post war plans is allowing politics to play in the factor of it’s resolution.
Ted
Ted – you say we can only do what the Iraqi’s want us to do. you really believe that?
i tend to think we have undue, extragovernmental influence regarding every aspect of military & political policy.
we own the country and are paying the citizens some form of minimum wage, until it’s proven to me that the common people are getting their fair share.
remember, the entire basis of the Republican philosophy is Cheap Labor.
20- It was my understanding that they would start the process of bringing them home at that time. I did not hear him say they will all be home for Christmas.
“remember, the entire basis of the Republican philosophy is Cheap Labor.”- Didn’t Heintz go off shore?
“Didn’t Heintz go off shore”
i don’t know what this means.
21,
Yes, I really believe that. I see no evidence that states otherwise. Granted, I also believe that the reason we went to war there was security related and not to free the Iraqi’s, but the fact that they are is a fringe benefit.
Regarding cheap labor: yes, that is a Republican philosophy but it is also a Democrat one. They are both pro-corporation to the detriment of regular workers.
24,
It was a reference to John Kerry’s wife’s company- Heinz Sauces.
Ted
25 – contrast the Democrat’s traditional support of labor & unions to the Republican’s union busting activities.
i know you always strive to give both parties equal blame for things, but this issue tips too much to an angle to ascribe a fundamental cheap labor philosophy to the left.
conservatives believe in a social hierarchy of “haves” and “have nots” .
they have taken this corrosive social vision and dressed it up with a “respectable” sounding ideology. that ideology is pure hogwash.
the central slogan of the right is “less government”. The right has literally built an entire political movement out of these two words. in fact, this slogan is contradictory, as used by conservatives. conservatives are the “punishers”. they are the believers in military action abroad, and retributive justice at home. They want to increase of the power of the police, not reduce it. “less government” really means less government for the corporate interests they represent. it means a world where you are controlled, while your corporate boss runs wild.
cheap-labor conservatives claim to believe in “personal responsibility”. that’s why they say they don’t like social spending. they say that everyone should “stand or fall” in a competitive economic environment. they say that the working poor in such an environment are just “losers”. They say the unemployed should “get a job” — regardless of unemployment rates. they say there should be no minimum wage, and corporations should be free to export jobs to third world dictatorships.
&, again, they don’t like unions.
& liberal are, of course, saints.
Now liberal journalists are pretending to support the troops. They hardly ever call them “baby killers” anymore, at least to their faces.
Democrats are even pretending to believe in God – you know, as they understand Her.
The only people liberals can find to put up a fight these days are ex-Klanners and other assorted nuts.
There’s former KKK “Kleagle” and Democratic Sen. Bob Byrd, who compared the Republicans to Hitler last week. Byrd having been a charter member of a fascist organization himself, no one was sure if this was intended as a critique or a compliment.
Howard Dean – chairman of the party that supports murder, adultery, lying about adultery, coveting other people’s money, stealing other people’s money, mass-producing human embryos for spare parts like an automotive chop shop and banning God – has called the Republican Party “evil.” One Democrat in the audience, a preschool teacher no less, complained that Dean was soft-pedaling his message.
28 – nothing but cheap schoolyard name-calling.
you want a list of Republicans who were & are currently in the KKK?
southern democrats, now all republilcans & traditional republicans were the KKK, for gosh sakes.
liberals did not try to stop civil rights.
look in the mirror when you talk about hate.
Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist, a Republican, launched his career as a GOP operative in 1964 by harassing black voters. Republican Attorney General John Ashcroft opposed racial integration and the appointment of African Americans to offices as Missouri governor and attorney general and has uttered pro-Confederate views.
The Republican Party in general launched a strategy during the late 1960s to capture the southern racist vote by opposing affirmative action, supporting the rights of states like South Carolina to fly the Confederate flag in front of public buildings, and similar positions. Dubya Bush himself spoke before the segregationist Bob Jones University.
Secretary-of-State-turned-Congresswoman Katherine Harris’ openly racist system of purges before the 2000 election that took the names of mostly African-American voters off the rolls?
Republicans still think highly enough of Trent Lott to make him chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, despite his public banishment as Senate Majority Leader and a racist record that includes far more than a few errant comments
Republicans wanted Lott out because of the bad press, not because of his racist language.
Unlike Byrd, who apologized & said he was wrong, these mentioned above are unrepentant.
Who to criticize?:.
Let’s see:::::
I would guess Byrd. How dare he say he was wrong?
you are wasting your breath fuckface.
You don’t exist.
31 – i do exist & you are an insignificant irritant.
my posts above contained issues & facts.
yours had nothing bit vileness and hate.
stuck with the with the syncophants – avoid people who disagree with you and stay in your cave.
please try harder to ignore me in the future. your response show’s you unresolved & weak.
i pity you.
so full of hate and so stupid.
26,
You have a very distorted view. Many union were associated with organized crime. Tell me now that isn’t an attempt for social control? Unions also take a large chunk of an honest man’s living as in most “Union Shops” you have no choice but to join. Unions were at one time a noble concept especially Guilds, but when associated with politicians have become nothing more than strong arm organizations.
Here’s another perspective on your take of “haves and have nots”: it can easily be said that Republicans are the true believers of this concept, as they want everyone to be “haves” by earning and keeping what they have. This is a foreign concept to Democrats, as they believe a that everyone should be “have nots”, by leveling all to the same sub par mediocre standard. If you have too much, it is taken away and given to those who have too little. Meanwhile, this is all ran by “big brother” who in short controls everyone in time. As a result, everyone is a true “have not”.
Scary, huh?
Now, want to know my take? Class war fare like this is bullshit and is a common tactic. But before the Republicans stand up and says “Yesss!”, there is too much corporate control allowed to infringe upon workers rights . Government’s role is to protect it’s citizens and as a tool to regulate corporations from taking over government. It doesn’t do that as well as it should from corporations both in the work place and in the private sector, and that is why we had unions. They were the “surrogate protection”. Now unions are completely crap too and the Democrats use this as nothing more than another tool for idiotic class war far as just another tactic to gain power and be spoon fed money from the corporations they are supposed to be protecting us from.
Ted
Ted, I agree with MOST of what you said.
Don’t forget..workers who feel that someone in infringing on their rights can Always feel free to….work elsewhere.
This is a concept that is completely foreign to lefties..that people can actually go out and find a career..heck, create a career!
To liberals, people should be damn lucky they have ANY job..
I don’t ascribe to that pessimistic view of society.
unions – mafia – yeah.
commies, too. you forgot the commies.
you rationalize class warfare well. you bemoan the arguement. i bemoan the existence. that’s what seperates us, Ted.
there has always been an understanding between labor & business that the little guy would share the profits. now people can’t afford dental care, forget college.
the disparity is growing between the have’s and the have not’s that you aren’t sure exist.
history teaches consequences if this econimic pattern continues. is anyone so arrogant to think that we’re immune from the primal forces of human behaviour.
you think America is the Eternal City of Light on the hill, going on & on like it is with no need for fundemental correction?
dreams are made of this.
this administration is not protecting the neediest of its citizens and until it does, fuck it. it needs to change or leave.
kilo – whoever told you you know what liberals ‘think’ – they lied.
& how the hell would you know?
Fox news do a fair & balanced report?
Liberals are always crying for the little guy……. then, what do they do to that same “little guy”? Drive their father from the home with welfare, enslave their children into public school child abuse factories, raise the minimum wage so their are fewer jobs for said “little guy”
Why don’t you just shove a poll up their ass while you are at it?
the mental gymnastics you employ, the quantum leaps of logic, corrupted by predisposed ideology is too much for me.
i yield. or do I?
for now i declare victory & flee the field.
I guess as long as you hate Bush, call republicans racist, it dosen’t matter that your policies actally hurt the little guy..
as long as you say you care, that’s all that matters.
Perfect recipe to be a lefty idiot.
1. never serve your country
2. be butt fucking ugly
3. complain about everything
gee, I wonder who fits this mold
i was in the navy.
ugly is not a crime. (except you seem to like handsomer men).
Jefferson told us to watch the tyrants. don’t complain and accept your demise.
it’s you who never served your country. so there.
(see how smart that sounds kilo? i know as much about your past as you know about mine.)
but you’re on the side of right & justice, i keep forgetting…..darn.
sometimes you do lighten my day.
34,
I agree with the concept of going on if you don’t like your job. However, there is a floor to that concept. Let’s take the Chinese, for instance, and look at how they work. If they don’t like their 45 cent an hour job they can uhm…starve? While an extreme example I know, it none the less drives the point home. Corporations will get away with whatever the government allows them to.
35,
I never rationalized class war fare. I did exactly the opposite as it is a ploy used to control people. It shouldn’t exist however, the Democrats use it regularly. They create a voter base of entitlements and then exploit that voter base to gain power.
And what agreement between labor and the little guy? There is no “right” to dental care or medical aid. Granted, it should be available to everyone, but NOT through government programs. it should occur through a strong economy and regulated corporations.
Shi, you are caught up in this ploy. You think an entitlement society is a caring one, but I say balderdash. It is just another way of controlling people. A compassionate society empowers a person;s independence, not their dependencies. The enable a person to obtain that dental care on their own.
I got news for you: American Liberals (The Democrat party) are no more compassionate than American Conservatives (The Republican party).
Ted
Ted
I would argue that they are LESS compassionate.
example… why else would teacher’s unions chain these poor inner city children to these baby-sitting gulags? To serve THEIR own interests.
where is the compassion there?
Ted – please advise me on my philosophy of ‘entitlement’ society. what is it?
is helping people who have been oppressed and not been given equal treatment or opportunity giving ‘entitlements?
i guess if you don’t think this class of people exist, which some here don’t, it’s a moot question.
if you don’t see a difference in how the poorest & neediest citizens of this country are treated by Republicans vs Democrats traditionally, wake the heck up.
44-”please advise me on my philosophy of ‘entitlement’ society. what is it?”- So you don’t even read the crap you peddle?
which crap do you mean? you mean the crap about the people you refuse to acknowledge exist?
your compassion is noted. as long as you have yours, it seems everybody else whould be able to get theirs.
racsim doesn’t exist in your world? inequality of opportunity doesn’t exsist. equal education is out there is every poor neighborhood.
like i said, showing things to people who don’t see is tough.
i’m sure you think the same of me.
when Bush said he wanted to ‘help’ seniors who needed help with Medicare, was your response, “let them help themselves”?
46- and now the back paddaling begings.
try spell check. it works today.
47 is a non reposes to my post.
just another bitchy comment, worth every bit of the lack of content in contains.
you just don’t believe in the saying ‘there but for the Grace of G_d, go i”….& that failing has you stuck in a pretend world of false security and condescending attitudes.
pride comes before a fall.
i’m sure you think you’re the exception to that, too.