Kay Report: No WMD!

[brooklynite]

ABC news has just reported that an advance copy of David Kay's report to be released this month contains no evidence of existing Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq.

[Soloflecks]

1. Wow, what a surprise!

Cuz I was sure they'd try to plant some. If he said they were there, who the hell would believe it now.

[The Backlash Cometh]

4. There's a tinfoil rumour going around that they tried to plant WMD

and those who were trying to do the planting were hit by friendly fire. If there's any truth to that, we will eventually know and the whole deck of cards comes tumbling down.

[bobthedrummer]

10. Here is a link to that rumor

http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/IRA308A.html

[FauxNewsBlues]

19. The weapons planting rumor is from Al Martin Raw

Consider the source before we run with this. His credibility was pretty shattered on his Karl Rover story.

[Maeve]

2. Link to story

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Politics/reuters20030915_578.html

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A draft report on the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq provides no solid evidence that Iraq had such arms when the United States invaded the country in March, ABC News reported on Monday.

Citing unidentified officials, ABC said the report by the civilian leading the search for hidden weapons will detail Iraq's effort to maintain the capability to produce biological, chemical or nuclear weapons.

[trogdor]

3. drip, drip, drip, drip, drip...

...so, what will Chimpy's approval rating be next week? 42%? 39%? People are starting to wake the hell up; it's not the best time to be releasing stuff like this, as far as the regime is concerned.

[DoYouEverWonder]

5. So we bombed a sovereign nation,

killed and injured 1000's of people, all because our 'intelligence' was flat out wrong? Way to go W.

[Ilsa]

7. Oh, but you forget the revisionist excuses:

We went there to save those poor people from that monster; we had to destry the country in order to save it.

[burythehatchet]

24. Repeat after me...

MASS GRAVES
MASS GRAVES
MASS GRAVES
MASS GRAVES
MASS GRAVES
MASS GRAVES


TORTURE CHAMBERS
TORTURE CHAMBERS
TORTURE CHAMBERS
TORTURE CHAMBERS
TORTURE CHAMBERS

[lightbulb]

30. Don't forget

CAMP XRAY
CAMP XRAY
CAMP XRAY...

[ronnykmarshall]

32. Add this for effect

[Buns_of_Fire]

36. Wasn't that LAST week's excuse?

I thought we were currently up to "we're better off fighting them on THEIR turf than on OURS." (Can't tell the excuses without a scorecard. :shrug: )

[grytpype]

8. No, the war had nothing to do with WMD!

It was to put American soldiers in a spot where terrorist would be tempted to come out and attack them!

No shit, this is the new explaination for the war!

[Upfront]

13. Intelligence Wrong?

I don't think so. I think they were told correctly by our intelligence people that there were no WMD. Bush* wanted this war for oil so bad that they lied about evidence. How much extra tax dollers went to pay for David Kay and his 1400 man task force? Inpeachment would be to kind.

[catzies]

29. I agree with you; this is part of "history revisionism" at work.

:thumbsup:

[DoYouEverWonder]

45. The 'Intelligence" that W

choose to use was wrong but that doesn't mean that the CIA's intelligence was wrong. W ignored most of what the CIA told him and decided to allow Rummie and Co. to set up their own intelligence operation that would tell him what he wanted to hear rather than the truth.

[loudnclear]

6. What do you think the Iraqi people now think: Saddam didn't lie but US did

Whose credibility is on the line now? I would think tht Islamics would now have enough evidence to belive that the US is the "great Satan" and that they would soon rise up and take their land back.

[Jack Rabbit]

9. Another rock in the mountain of evidence

This is yet one more rock in what is already a mountian of evidence that supports charges of war crimes against the American dictator, the British Prime Minister and their chief aides.

Let an international tribunal for war crimes in Iraq convene.

[Briar]

11. Just a word of caution

This reads like the first part of a two part spin strategy perfected by Blair/Campbell.

It works this way. First you "leak" information which seems hostile to your cause. Last week we were hearing about heavy Security Committee criticism of Geoff Hoon. All sorts of predictions about his imminent resignation were made.

Secondly, the actual report is issued. It is, as is to be expected from any government sponsored body (and Hutton fits this profile), ambiguous, opaque and, crucially, less damning than the leak suggested. Hoon is thus, within 24 hours, deemed to have been vindicated and so is still in office now.

So don't be surprised if the Kay report produces a few tatty old planted WMD and claims are then made that the nasty ole liberals jumped the gun and the case for war has indeed been proved.

[mac56]

14. won't matter -

It's already been reported. People have already heard it, and that's what they'll remember.

Rove/Campbell will be hoist on their own petard.

[underpants]

16. Good points both of you (Welcome to DU Briar)

AS Briar points out this could have been leaked to set up the reporters OR (I'll add) to uncover the leak.

But mac56 is right in that in the next 24 hour news cycle (if covered properly) this will be sewed into the American people's minds and any "yeahbut"s will be seen as grasping and BS.

[Stuckinthebush]

12. Should Saddam be reinstated?

The US and Britain invaded Iraq because the felt that Saddam was violating a UN resolution and stockpiling weapons of mass destruction. Whatever the spin now, it is in the record that this is the reason we invaded.

Could Saddam present himself to the UN as a leader that was unjustly invaded by the US and demand that the UN protect him from further aggressions by the US? In doing so, the UN would have no choice but to side with Saddam (oh the irony) against the US and Britain, and submit a resolution demanding that the "coalition" get out of Iraq.

Then, Saddam goes back to Iraq and continues his reign of terror against the Iraqi people.

Of course, what would probably happen would be that the UN would ensure that Iraq had free and fair elections for a new leadership, and Saddam could be part of that election if he wished.

[underpants]

15. No

[Stuckinthebush]

17. It is not a moral question

It is a legal one.

If there is no basis for invasion, then legally he has a case.

Of course no one wants to see him reinstated - but that is not the question.

[Jack Rabbit]

20. Let the Iraqi people decide

No, Saddam should not be reinstated. No, the US colonial occupation should not continue. Saddam and Bush are both war criminals. Treat them both accordingly.

Iraqi leaders -- real ones, not Bremer's gang of quislings -- should call for a contstiutional convention in the name of the Iraqi people. The US should respect both this call and whatever contstitution emerges from it.

[rocktivity]

18. You call this late-breaking news?

Why do you think Bush was in such a godawful hurry to invade--to avoid the winter storms? He knew there were no weapons, and he knew he coudln't allow the inspectors to find that out: no weapons, no invasion, no oil, no billions for his PNAC friends and family. As for the rumor that an attempt to plant some weapons was destroyed by friendly fire, it rings true to the point of being predictable!


rocknation

[imax2268]

21. This is going to be good...

have to wait and see what smoke and mirror tricks they have up their sleeves...

"Excuse me while I line up my chip shot..."

[Warren Stuart]

22. This can't be true

It's not Friday afternoon, somethings up.

Cheney was repeating all of the disputed lies on Sunday, I would be expecting something along these lines. Either that or Kay has more character than I gave him credit for.

The puppet masters pull their strings in mysterious ways.

On edit: Ahh Yes, the hurricane, God sent a diversion, of course that's it. Now they can claim that the WMD's are old news, and we should change the tone.

[underpants]

23. THAT's IT! They will blame the hurricane

They will say that they had the WMD's in Norfolk (or Langely AFB) and that the hurricane blew them away. Someone will ask "then should we expect mass casualties in the storm's wake.

That reporter will be accused of being un-American and will be post on "special assignment" tracking down Columbian (or Phillipine) kidnapping terrorists.

[Kool Kitty]

49. Exactly. Just think about all

the breaking news, just today-hurricane, Clark announcement, John Edwards announcement, California recall, shit, they even brought up Florida and Bush vs. Gore.

[Minstrel Boy]

25. Saddam's invasion and occupation of Kuwait

had more foundation than Bush's of Iraq. (Kuwait refused to cease slant-drilling into Iraq's oil fields; Kuwait had been artificially carved from Iraq by colonial powers.) Both were acts of unjustifiable aggression. Yet to hold one to be criminal and monstrous and the other civilizing and virtuous is a legacy of Western double standard and a colonizer's morality.

[soothsayer]

26. And who sold Kuwait the means to do that slant drilling?

I believe it was the good ol' US of A!

[kayell]

44. And who told Saddam we didn't care what he did with Kuwait?

http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/ARTICLE5/april.html

Transcript of Meeting Between Iraqi President, Saddam Hussein and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, April Glaspie. - July 25, 1990 (Eight days before the August 2, 1990 Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait)

July 25, 1990 - Presidential Palace - Baghdad

U.S. Ambassador Glaspie - I have direct instructions from President Bush to improve our relations with Iraq. We have considerable sympathy for your quest for higher oil prices, the immediate cause of your confrontation with Kuwait. (pause) As you know, I lived here for years and admire your extraordinary efforts to rebuild your country. We know you need funds. We understand that, and our opinion is that you should have the opportunity to rebuild your country. (pause) We can see that you have deployed massive numbers of troops in the south. Normally that would be none of our business, but when this happens in the context of your threat s against Kuwait, then it would be reasonable for us to be concerned. For this reason, I have received an instruction to ask you, in the spirit of friendship - not confrontation - regarding your intentions: Why are your troops massed so very close to Kuwait's borders?

Saddam Hussein - As you know, for years now I have made every effort to reach a settlement on our dispute with Kuwait. There is to be a meeting in two days; I am prepared to give negotiations only this one more brief chance. (pause) When we (the Iraqis) meet (with the Kuwaitis) and we see there is hope, then nothing will happen. But if we are unable to find a solution, then it will be natural that Iraq will not accept death.

U.S. Ambassador Glaspie - What solutions would be acceptab le?

Saddam Hussein - If we could keep the whole of the Shatt al Arab - our strategic goal in our war with Iran - we will make concessions (to the Kuwaitis). But, if we are forced to choose between keeping half of the Shatt and the whole of Iraq (i.e., in Saddam s view, including Kuwait ) then we will give up all of the Shatt to defend our claims on Kuwait to keep the whole of Iraq in the shape we wish it to be. (pause) What is the United States' opinion on this?

U.S. Ambassador Glaspie - We have no opinion on your Arab - Arab conflicts, such as your dispute with Kuwait. Secretary (of State James) Baker has directed me to emphasize the instruction, first given to Iraq in the 1960's, that the Kuwait issue is not associated with America. (Saddam smiles)



On August 2, 1990, Saddam's massed troops invade and occupy Kuwait. _____

Baghdad, September 2, 1990, U.S. Embassy

One month later, British journalists obtain the the above tape and transcript of the Saddam - Glaspie meeting of July 29, 1990. Astounded, they confront Ms. Glaspie as she leaves the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.

Journalist 1 - Are the transcripts (holding them up) correct, Madam Ambassador?(Ambassador Glaspie does not respond)

Journalist 2 - You knew Saddam was going to invade (Kuwait ) but you didn't warn him not to. You didn't tell him America would defend Kuwait. You told him the opposite - that America was not associated with Kuwait.

Journalist 1 - You encouraged this aggression - his invasi on. What were you thinking?

U.S. Ambassador Glaspie - Obviously, I didn't think, and nobody else did, that the Iraqis were going to take all of Kuwait.


Journalist 1 - You thought he was just going to take some of it? But, how could you? Saddam told you that, if negotiations failed , he would give up his Iran (Shatt al Arab waterway) goal for the Whole of Iraq, in the shape we wish it to be. You know that includes Kuwait, which the Iraqis have always viewed as an historic part of their country!
Journalist 1 - American green-lighted the invasion. At a minimum, you admit signaling Saddam that some aggression was okay - that the U.S. would not oppose a grab of the al-Rumeilah oil field, the disputed border strip and the Gulf Islands (including Bubiyan) - the territories claimed by Iraq?

(Ambassador Glaspie says nothing as a limousine door closed behind her and the car drives off.)

_____

To the best of our knowledge, the text on this page may be freely reproduced and distributed. Information last updated on: 02/09/96

[DoveTurnedHawk]

27. PERFECT Backdrop for a Clark Announcement Tomorrow!

I cannot wait!

DTH

[newyawker99]

28. Hi brooklynite!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[radfringe]

31. watch out for the spin

predicting the whistleass spin: lots of documentation (i.e. paperwork) uncovered that indicated Saddam was ABOUT to reconstitute WMD programs...blah blah blah

alternative spin: WMD's were shuttled into Syria/Iran....blah blah blah

[bvar22]

33. Something Stinks....

Kay is a paid sycophant of the bush*/republicans. He promised to find evidence of the WMD. None of these slimey NeoCon republicans would admit they were wrong unless there was a hidden payoff.

Could he have successfully planted the evidence, and now waiting for someone else with more credibility to find them???
I don't know how much unsupervised access Kay and his team had in Iraq. I do know they were ADAMANT that there be NO UN supervisors or outside wittnesses.

PS... I NEVER used to be this paranoid and suspicious. This is a gift from bush*.

[Minstrel Boy]

34. I appreciate your paranoia

These days, it's simply the price of paying attention.

[TennesseeWalker]

39. Cheny was on MTP Sunday

Said we would "find" them over time and that the US would be proven right...so I say the chances of planting them are pretty high.

However, I think it's absolute BS...what happened to the imminent threat?

[trapper914]

46. I Tend to Think It's On the Level

If Kay had something big to report i.e. a smoking gun, Rove would've rolled it out to coincide with the 9/11 anniversary photo ops last week.

[ignatius]

35. No what? WMD, now where have I heard that phrase before?

It suddenly has fallen from the evil empires vocabulary.

[jayfish]

37. This Story Has Already Been Buried.

A cursory examination of the "mainstream" American media’s' web-sites reveals nothing about this story.

ABCNEWS.COM front page stories include how raunchy Las Vegas is and how to deal with your ex-husbands new wife.

I'm tired of the charade.

Jay

[TennesseeWalker]

38. kick

[realFedUp]

40. Oh Kay!

hehehe.

[skip fox]

41. This is NOT going away; it is NOT going to die or be buried

otherwise. Neither is it a trick (and if it is, it doesn't matter . . . we've already been had, as they say).

For months we've watched the administration changing their story: WMDs . . . then programs for WMDs . . . now (or soon)
. . . Saddam was gathering the scientists to create future programs for WMDs.

The reason they started back-pedaling months ago is because they've been interviewing top-level prisoners and shortly realized they had gambled and lost by overstating their original case (W. et al. decided to spin the data, but they were--I have little doubt--convinced themselves that WMDs existed . . . which is NOT to say there were not additional motives concerning regional stability and oil.) So when sodium-penathol and inducements did not work on the prisoners, they started switching the subject (mass graves, programs for WMDs, are we better off now that Saddam's gone, no more funding Hamas suicide-bombers, etc.)

One reason it will not go away is Blair and his problems keep resurfacing in the news because Parliament is not as sanguine as Congress.

Another reason is that all the news outlets, with the exception of Fox, remember how the war was sold. We had to go in early BECAUSE of WMDs. We couldn't wait for him to use them and he was fully capable of doing so (with chemical and biological, if not nuclear) almost immediately. That's how the RUSH TO WAR, itself, was sold. Thus, no time for building a coalition or little else.

A third reason: election cycle. The fact that we invaded under false pretenses (even if thought true at the time) is central to the issue of W.'s credibility. I had thought the American public would have no stomach for this topic (since they are implicated in the action and might wish to avoid the sense of collective guilt), but they do not appear to be. Since it's such a central issue (and focusing on W.'s weakness: his credibility) it will not be ignored by any Democratic contender who was against the war and by many who now feel duped in voting for the war by mischaracterizations (to put it nicely).

So . . . I say trot it out there. We're not going to be stung with this. It's a win-win. W. lied. Men died. Simple as that. (not to mention all the other effects like bankrupting the treasury, like getting us into a 60+ billion-year support role, etc., etc.

[roguevalley]

42. I am

astonished.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

43. Shock and Awe has turned into Shuck and Jive....

The danceing is about to hit Swan Lake proportions.

[jayfish]

47. Hey, Where Was This Story On.

World News Tonight? Oh ya, thats right... it's dead and buried.

Jay

[Mari333]

48. Funny, the news hounds asked RUMMY about this today

and he hemmed and hawed and bared his claws...didnt answer...no WMDs?? then they cut away from his answer..methinks ROVE was on the phone making slicing gestures with his hand by his throat to CSpan..
In the meantime, thousands are dead and dying, thousands of soldiers wounded, hundreds dead.
For nothing.