He who laughs last, laughs best.
>> >Investors Business Daily, 2/24/06
> >
> Now that Leno and Letterman have had their way with Vice President
> >Cheney's hunting accident and the port controversy, maybe we can get
>back
>to
> >something really important - like Saddam's WMD program.
> >
> >Yes, the linchpin of opposition to the Iraq War - never really strong
>to
>begin with - has taken some real hits in recent weeks. And "Bush lied" -the
>anti-war mantra about the president, Saddam Hussein and weapons of mass
> >destruction - looks the most battered.
> >
> >Inconveniently for critics of the war, Saddam made tapes in his version
>of the Oval Office. These tapes landed in the hands of American
>intelligence
>and were recently aired publicly.
> >
> >The first 12 hours of the tapes - there are hundreds more waiting to be
>translated - are damning, to say the least. They show conclusively that
>Bush
>didn't lie when he cited Saddam's WMD plans as one of the big reasons for
>taking the dictator out.
> >
> >Nobody disputes the tapes' authenticity. On them, Saddam talks openly
>of
>programs involving biological, chemical and, yes, nuclear weapons.
> >
> >War foes have long asserted that Saddam halted his WMD programs in the
>wake of his defeat in the first Gulf War in 1991. Saddam's abandonment of
>WMD programs was confirmed by subsequent U.N. inspections.
> >
> >Again, not true. In a tape dating to April 1995, Saddam and several
>aides
>discuss the fact that U.N. inspectors had found traces of Iraq's biological
>weapons program. On the tape, Hussein Kamel, Saddam's son-in-law, is heard
>gloating about fooling the inspectors.
> >
> >"We did not reveal all that we have," he says. "Not the type of
>weapons,
>not the volume of the materials we imported, not the volume of the
>production we told them about, not the volume of use. None of this was
>correct."
> >
> >There's more. Indeed, as late as 2000, Saddam can be heard in his
>office
>talking with Iraqi scientists about his ongoing plans to build a nuclear
>device. At one point, he discusses Iraq's plasma uranium program -
>something
>that was missed entirely by U.N. weapons inspectors combing Iraq for WMD.
> >
> >This is particularly troubling, since it indicates an active, ongoing
>attempt by Saddam to build an Iraqi nuclear bomb.
> >
> >"What was most disturbing," said John Tierney, the ex- FBI agent who
>translated the tapes, "was the fact that the individuals briefing Saddam
>were totally unknown to the U.N. Special Commission (or UNSCOM, the group
>set up to look into Iraq's WMD programs)."
> >
> >Perhaps most chillingly, the tapes record Iraq Foreign Minister Tariq
>Aziz talking about how easy it would be to set off a WMD in Washington. The
>comments come shortly after Saddam muses about using "proxies" in a terror
>attack.
> >
> >9-11, anyone?
> >
> >In short, let us repeat: President Bush was right. We had to invade to
>disarm Saddam - otherwise, he would have completely reconstituted his
>chemical, nuclear and bio-weapons programs when inspectors left.
> >
> >Saddam probably knew better than to use them himself against the U.S.
>But
>it's likely he wouldn't have hesitated giving one or more to terror groups
>with which he had routine contact.
> >
> >Lest you think we're making the case entirely based on these tapes, let
>us assure you that other evidence - mounting by the day - points to the
>same
>conclusion.
> >
> >We've been very impressed by the story told by Georges Sada, the former
>No.2 in Iraq's air force. He has written a book, "Saddam's Secrets," that
>details how the Iraqi dictator used trucks, commercial jets and ships to
>remove his WMD from the country. At the time, the move went largely
>undetected, because Iraq pretended the massive movement of materiel was to
>help Syrian flood victims.
> >
> >Nor is Sada alone. Ali Ibrahim, another of Saddam's former commanders,
>has largely corroborated Sada's story.
> >
> >So how was Saddam able to use his "cheat and retreat" tactics without
>being found out? He had help, according to a former U.S. Defense Department
>official.
> >
> >"The short answer to the question of where the WMD Saddam bought from
>the
>Russians went was that they went to Syria and Lebanon," said John Shaw,
>former deputy undersecretary of defense, in comments made at an
>intelligence
>summit Feb. 17-20 in Arlington, Va.
> >
> >"They were moved by Russian Spetsnaz (special ops) units out of uniform
>that were specifically sent to Iraq to move the weaponry and eradicate any
>evidence of its existence," he said.
> >
> >These are extraordinary developments. They deserve a full airing in the
>media, since they essentially validate part of Bush's casus belli for
>invading Iraq and deposing the murderous Saddam.
> >
> >But once again, the mainstream media have dropped the ball. They seem
>more interested in Dick Cheney's marksmanship and American port management
>than in setting the record straight about one of the most important
>developments of our time.
>
>
>
>> >Investors Business Daily, 2/24/06
> >
> Now that Leno and Letterman have had their way with Vice President
> >Cheney's hunting accident and the port controversy, maybe we can get
>back
>to
> >something really important - like Saddam's WMD program.
> >
> >Yes, the linchpin of opposition to the Iraq War - never really strong
>to
>begin with - has taken some real hits in recent weeks. And "Bush lied" -the
>anti-war mantra about the president, Saddam Hussein and weapons of mass
> >destruction - looks the most battered.
> >
> >Inconveniently for critics of the war, Saddam made tapes in his version
>of the Oval Office. These tapes landed in the hands of American
>intelligence
>and were recently aired publicly.
> >
> >The first 12 hours of the tapes - there are hundreds more waiting to be
>translated - are damning, to say the least. They show conclusively that
>Bush
>didn't lie when he cited Saddam's WMD plans as one of the big reasons for
>taking the dictator out.
> >
> >Nobody disputes the tapes' authenticity. On them, Saddam talks openly
>of
>programs involving biological, chemical and, yes, nuclear weapons.
> >
> >War foes have long asserted that Saddam halted his WMD programs in the
>wake of his defeat in the first Gulf War in 1991. Saddam's abandonment of
>WMD programs was confirmed by subsequent U.N. inspections.
> >
> >Again, not true. In a tape dating to April 1995, Saddam and several
>aides
>discuss the fact that U.N. inspectors had found traces of Iraq's biological
>weapons program. On the tape, Hussein Kamel, Saddam's son-in-law, is heard
>gloating about fooling the inspectors.
> >
> >"We did not reveal all that we have," he says. "Not the type of
>weapons,
>not the volume of the materials we imported, not the volume of the
>production we told them about, not the volume of use. None of this was
>correct."
> >
> >There's more. Indeed, as late as 2000, Saddam can be heard in his
>office
>talking with Iraqi scientists about his ongoing plans to build a nuclear
>device. At one point, he discusses Iraq's plasma uranium program -
>something
>that was missed entirely by U.N. weapons inspectors combing Iraq for WMD.
> >
> >This is particularly troubling, since it indicates an active, ongoing
>attempt by Saddam to build an Iraqi nuclear bomb.
> >
> >"What was most disturbing," said John Tierney, the ex- FBI agent who
>translated the tapes, "was the fact that the individuals briefing Saddam
>were totally unknown to the U.N. Special Commission (or UNSCOM, the group
>set up to look into Iraq's WMD programs)."
> >
> >Perhaps most chillingly, the tapes record Iraq Foreign Minister Tariq
>Aziz talking about how easy it would be to set off a WMD in Washington. The
>comments come shortly after Saddam muses about using "proxies" in a terror
>attack.
> >
> >9-11, anyone?
> >
> >In short, let us repeat: President Bush was right. We had to invade to
>disarm Saddam - otherwise, he would have completely reconstituted his
>chemical, nuclear and bio-weapons programs when inspectors left.
> >
> >Saddam probably knew better than to use them himself against the U.S.
>But
>it's likely he wouldn't have hesitated giving one or more to terror groups
>with which he had routine contact.
> >
> >Lest you think we're making the case entirely based on these tapes, let
>us assure you that other evidence - mounting by the day - points to the
>same
>conclusion.
> >
> >We've been very impressed by the story told by Georges Sada, the former
>No.2 in Iraq's air force. He has written a book, "Saddam's Secrets," that
>details how the Iraqi dictator used trucks, commercial jets and ships to
>remove his WMD from the country. At the time, the move went largely
>undetected, because Iraq pretended the massive movement of materiel was to
>help Syrian flood victims.
> >
> >Nor is Sada alone. Ali Ibrahim, another of Saddam's former commanders,
>has largely corroborated Sada's story.
> >
> >So how was Saddam able to use his "cheat and retreat" tactics without
>being found out? He had help, according to a former U.S. Defense Department
>official.
> >
> >"The short answer to the question of where the WMD Saddam bought from
>the
>Russians went was that they went to Syria and Lebanon," said John Shaw,
>former deputy undersecretary of defense, in comments made at an
>intelligence
>summit Feb. 17-20 in Arlington, Va.
> >
> >"They were moved by Russian Spetsnaz (special ops) units out of uniform
>that were specifically sent to Iraq to move the weaponry and eradicate any
>evidence of its existence," he said.
> >
> >These are extraordinary developments. They deserve a full airing in the
>media, since they essentially validate part of Bush's casus belli for
>invading Iraq and deposing the murderous Saddam.
> >
> >But once again, the mainstream media have dropped the ball. They seem
>more interested in Dick Cheney's marksmanship and American port management
>than in setting the record straight about one of the most important
>developments of our time.
>
>
>