Proof of WMD is Bush trailer trash

posted by ewing2001 on Tuesday June 03, @05:53PM

Proof of WMD^? is Bush trailer trash

June 3 2003

Sidney Morning Herald

In asserting that "we found the weapons of mass destruction" in Iraq, President George Bush^? has presented a far less expansive estimate of Saddam Hussein's chemical, biological and nuclear capabilities than the one he used for months to justify the war.

Since last August Mr Bush and his top lieutenants said it was an absolute certainty that Iraq remained in possession of significant quantities of banned weapons, particularly chemical and biological munitions.

But Mr Bush's remarks on Thursday, in an interview on Polish television, made it clear the United States had lowered its standards of proof. Mr Bush said the discovery in Iraq of two trailers, with laboratory equipment but no pathogens, was tantamount to a discovery of weapons.

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Mr Bush's original charges against Iraq, presented to the United Nations and the US public, were explicitly about the weapons themselves.

In his State of the Union address on January 28, he cited evidence that Saddam had enough materials to produce more than 38,000 litres of botulinum toxin and as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard and VX nerve agents.

"He has not accounted for these materials," Mr Bush said.

"He has given no evidence that he has destroyed them."

In delivering his March 17 ultimatum to Saddam to go into exile, Mr Bush said in a national address that Iraq possessed "some of the most lethal weapons ever devised."

As the war started, the US continued to say with total confidence that the weapons would be found.

On March 21 the White House press secretary, Ari Fleischer, said there was "no question" biological and chemical weapons would be found and said "this was the reason that the President felt so strongly that we needed to take military action".

General Tommy Franks, leading the invading military forces in Iraq, said the next day that there was "no doubt that the regime possesses weapons of mass destruction" and that they would be found.

On March 30 on US television, the Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, said of the prohibited weapons: "We know where they are. They are in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat."

However, when heavy combat in Iraq ended without any of the banned arms having been discovered, American officials began to put the emphasis on the search for evidence of weapons programs rather than on the weapons themselves.

On April 24 Mr Bush raised the possibility that the weapons might no longer exist.

"We know he had them," he said. "And whether he destroyed them, moved them or hid them, we're going to find out the truth."

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