Iraqi WMD and the Butler Report

[Maquissar]

If you had a shotgun, an automatic rifle, a bazooka, a grenade launcher, a flamethrower and several hundreds of handgrenades hidden in your pantry, and

you knew that a bunch of thugs would soon be coming to attack and eventually occupy your house, destroy your furniture and kill you... would you try to defend yourself with a blunted knife?

[surian]

The fact still remains that there has not been anything found at all that would even begin to support the current administration's claims that there were WMDs in Iraq (aside from the decade old chemical weapons from the US). I'm also pretty sure that there were actually inspections done on the "mobile weapons factory" vans that Powell referred to and that the conclusion was that they were not weapon factories. I might be wrong on that though, don't quote me.

[Zmid]

in the time that you say that there were ongoing inspections you seem to forget that they were not being compliant. That is the biggest reason that certain intelligence agencies thought the way they did, what were they hiding at the places where inspectors were refused access?

Yes, there were a few instances where threats were made against the Inspectors and Iraq attempted to stop UNSCOM from inspecting certain sites. You know what usually happened? Threats were made against Iraq (of war, increased sanctions, that kind of thing) and Iraq quickly backed down and allowed UNSCOM to go wherever it liked.

[ImmortalSnafu]

n the time that you say that there were ongoing inspections you seem to forget that they were not being compliant. That is the biggest reason that certain intelligence agencies thought the way they did, what were they hiding at the places where inspectors were refused access?

The intelligence agencies didn't just say 'Oh well they won't let us into these places...so they must be stuffed with weapons'.

[Maquissar]

Again... if they had chemical, biological and nuclear weapons I would think that they would have used them, even if just as a last resort. But they didn't.

[ImmortalSnafu]

Definately Maquissar. If Saddam the evil mad-man had enough chemical weapons to wipe out millions of people....wouldn't he use them to kill thousands of American troops? Of course he would.

[sixtofive]

He used the chemical weapons on his own people, nobody can deny that. So we know he had them. The US Troops were able to strike strategic targets quickly and effectively enough that his ability to use any of these kinds of tactics were swiftly crushed.

[surian]

Yes, but it must be noted that the US gave him those weapons, and while we were not intending him to use them on his own people we DID intend for him to use them in Iran, and no one complained when he gassed his own people either. However, no one ever owns up to this in the US government.

[Zmid]

He used the chemical weapons on his own people, nobody can deny that. So we know he had them.

Prior to the mid 90s. From 1991 onwards, UNSCOM destroyed s**t-loads of it, there is some evidence to suggest Saddam destroyed some more himself, and there is absolutely no evidence that any were still in Iraq when we went to war on the basis of WMD.

 

The US Troops were able to strike strategic targets quickly and effectively enough that his ability to use any of these kinds of tactics were swiftly crushed.

 

The claim was that WMD could be deployed within 45 minutes. Are you trying to tell me that the coalition totally disabled this WMD programe which we were told was large, organised and very active within 45 minutes of the first shot being fired?

[Arrow_Diet]

in the time that you say that there were ongoing inspections you seem to forget that they were not being compliant.

 

I was told that Saddam had agreed to allow inspectors into the country and didn't even mind the fact that they were randomly (with surprise atleast) inspecting sites. Saddam was being compliant.... in his own little way....

 

So we know he had them.

 

Yes, HAD. HAD!! He did HAVE them, but now, and then, he doesn't. That's the reason this is so debated.

 

Are you trying to tell me that the coalition totally disabled this WMD programe which we were told was large, organised and very active within 45 minutes of the first shot being fired?

 

Good point. Although I doubt (hypothetically) that it was an organized program. It was probably more like (again, hypothetically) Saddam saying, "Shot here."