Bush is Annoyed at
Questions about WMDs - Too Bad!
June 17, 2003
Bush said recently that anyone who says the reason we fought the war in Iraq
over WMD are revisionists. He said Saddam was a threat since the 1990s and
that was reason enough to remove him.
There is No doubt that Saddam was a threat since 1990, and he was a threat
many years before then. But the reasons to go to war were outlined by Bush
himself and part of those reasons was the presence of WMDs. Here are some
examples of what Bush said in 2003:
"Our intelligence officials estimate that Saddam
Hussein had the materials to produce as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard
and VX nerve agent." State of the
Union address, January 28, 2003
"We have sources that tell us that Saddam Hussein recently authorized
Iraqi field commanders to use chemical weapons -- the very weapons the
dictator tells us he does not have."
February 8, 2003
"Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt
that the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most
lethal weapons ever devised."
March 17, 2003
"We'll find them. It'll be a matter of time to do so."
May 3, 2003
"I'm not surprised if we begin to uncover the weapons program of Saddam
Hussein -- because he had a weapons program."
May 6, 2003
Here is what "his people" have said in since March
2003:
"Well, there is no question that we have evidence
and information that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction, biological and
chemical particularly . . . all this will be made clear in the course of
the operation, for whatever duration it takes." -
Ari Fleischer, March 21, 2003
"There is no doubt that the regime of Saddam Hussein possesses weapons of
mass destruction. As this operation continues, those weapons will be
identified, found, along with the people who have produced them and who
guard them." - Gen. Tommy Franks,
March 22, 2003
"We know where they are. They are in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad."
- Donald Rumsfeld, March 30, 2003
"I think you have always heard, and you continue to hear from officials, a
measure of high confidence that, indeed, the weapons of mass destruction
will be found." - Ari Fleischer,
April 10, 2003
"I am confident that we will find evidence that makes it clear he had
weapons of mass destruction." - Colin
Powell, May 4, 2003
Many believe Bush lied to start a war. Let's hope not,
because that could be an impeachable offense. If he did lie, then he must
take the punishment he deserves.
Is no doubt that Saddam had WMDs in the late 1990's. The question is what
happened to them? How can we sure they aren't in Pakistan, Indonesia,
Syria or the Palestinian Territory? There is a broader picture here.
Bush needs to explain, not be annoyed.
Previously, Bush said a big reason to go to war were WMDs in Iraq. He must
stop being a revisionist, something he accuses others of being. He must stop
being a politician up for re-election and do his duty and explain what has
happened to the WMDs.
