WP: U.S. 'Almost All Wrong' on Weapons

[kskiska]

Report on Iraq Contradicts Claims by Administration

By Dana Priest and Walter Pincus
Thursday, October 7, 2004; Page A01

The 1991 Persian Gulf War and subsequent U.N. inspections destroyed Iraq's illicit weapons capability and, for the most part, Saddam Hussein did not try to rebuild it, according to an extensive report by the chief U.S. weapons inspector in Iraq that contradicts nearly every prewar assertion made by top administration officials about Iraq.

Charles A. Duelfer, whom the Bush administration chose to complete the U.S. investigation of Iraq's weapons programs, said Hussein's ability to produce nuclear weapons had "decayed" continuously since 1991. Inspectors, he said, found no evidence of "concerted efforts to restart the program."

(snip)

Duelfer's report, delivered yesterday to two congressional committees, represents the government's most definitive accounting of Hussein's weapons programs, the assumed strength of which the Bush administration presented as a central reason for the war. While previous reports have drawn similar conclusions, Duelfer's assessment went beyond them in depth, detail and level of certainty.

"We were almost all wrong" on Iraq, Duelfer told a Senate panel yesterday.

(snip)

The report also provides a one-of-a-kind look at Hussein's personality. The former Iraqi leader participated in numerous interviews with one Arabic-speaking FBI interrogator. Hussein told his questioner he felt threatened by U.S. military power, but even then, he maintained a fondness for American movies and literature. One of his favorite books was Ernest Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea." He hoped for improved relations with the United States and, over several years, sent proposals through intermediaries to open a dialogue with Washington.


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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12115-2004Oct6.html

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[bagnana]

2. This should be pounded home again and again

They screwed up. there were no weapons. There were no programs. There were no weapons related program activities. There was only a "future intent.' 1060 U.S. dead, tens of thousands of Iraqis dead, a country in ruins, and for what? What do you think the families of the soldiers who died in this war are thinking when they hear that Cheney and Bush think they did nothing wrong and would do everything the same again?

[wellst0nev0ter]

3. I Liked This Line

"He hoped for improved relations with the United States and, over several years, sent proposals through intermediaries to open a dialogue with Washington."


Hey, if I were Saddam, I'd think I'd never go wrong with Rummy back in the swing of things.

[Moderator]

4. Duplicate

Please add this article to the older post about the Iraq Survey Group report.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=887558&mesg_id=887558