WMD Report Leaked...

[Jimmy Carter]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/3135932.stm

This is the sort of thing that is starting to get me a little itchy. Now, the weapons themselves aren't the main reason I supported the war in the first place, but it was still used in conjunction with Saddam's support for terror and humanitarian reasons to justify the war.

I mean, if they aren't there, and they had them in the past, where did they go?

[Tracer]

Where oh where have the WMD gone,
Oh where oh where can they be?

Maybe this guy has them

[cka]

I stole them.


And now I'm going to Emmett's Fix-It shop to ... fix Emmett. <cue andy griffith show theme>

[Tracer]

You're no Charles Bronson.

[Jimmy Carter]

I think Gary Coleman has them.

He's going to threaten CA with them on October 6th: Vote for me tomorrow, or else.

[Stone]

Strange, suprising, again, but nonetheless - brandishing an empty gun is the same thing as brandishing a loaded gun.

[Matt]

This is the sort of thing that is starting to get me a little itchy. Now, the weapons themselves aren't the main reason I supported the war in the first place, but it was still used in conjunction with Saddam's support for terror and humanitarian reasons to justify the war.

There was a news article a couple of months ago about an interview with one of Saddam's former flunkies which said basically the same thing as your link does: Saddam got rid of his weapons years ago and put the research programs into suspension, but for some reason (macho posturing?) decided to bluff the UN and didn't cooperate as much as he should have to prove them wrong. Which is his own fault, really.

Weapons aside, the humanitarian & terrorist issues weren't the deciding factor in the first place - the Bush administration has planned to invade Iraq for years, regardless of whether or not Saddam was there. To quote "rebuilding America's defenses" (written in 2000 by, among others, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Wolfowitz):

While the unresolved conflict with Iraq provides the immediate justification, the need for a substantial American force presence in the Gulf transcends the issue of the regime of Saddam Hussein.

It's a pretty offensive document. It puts forth a plan that includes not only blatant American imperialism and multiple war initiatives, but control over the Internet and development of biological weapons that target specific races. It also speaks of the need for "another Pearl Harbor" to shock the American people into believing that the various wars and control tactics outlined there were neccessary.

Much as control of the high seas – and the protection of international commerce – defined global powers in the past, so will control of the new “international commons” be a key to world power in the future.

advanced forms of biological warfare that can 'target' specific genotypes may transform biological warfare from the realm of terror to a politically useful tool.

the process of transformation, even if it brings revolutionary change, is likely to be a long one, absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event – like a new Pearl Harbor.

While the absence of Saddam is a very good thing and the world will most certainly be better off, the fact remains that it was done in order to advance some very dangerous ambitions. I certainly don't want to be living in the world envisioned by Bush's government, and I doubt most Americans would if they really knew what was happening to them.

The full text can be found here, but be warned - it's extremely long (90 pages) and most of it is boring:
http://www.newamericancentury.org/Re...asDefenses.pdf

The original news article about the document (much easier to read and more concise):
http://www.sundayherald.com/print27735

And probably the best discussion of the whole issue I've seen yet. It's a really good read no matter where you stand on the issue:
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/iraq/...036687,00.html

[Tracer]

New American Century again... that document is my boogeyman. I don't know if I can belive it.

[Matt]

Seeing how the link is on PNAC's website, it seems credible enough.

One thing you've got to give Cheney & co. credit for is that they don't make too strong an effort to cover their tracks.

[Tracer]

Yeah... you see it's this blatant display of what appears to be unbridled wickedness seems way too hard to belive. I mean... seriously. All therein is pretty damning and there it is... for all to see... no secret made.

If I think more on it, if they're to accomplish everything here, they'll have to be more cunning than to just leave things like this lying around.