Retired general speaks out for weapons control (fears Iraq like Vietnam)

[Barrett808]

Lt. Gen. Robert Gard spoke out Thursday evening at Sierra Nevada College about issues few people want to face: the proliferation of nuclear weapons, land mines and AK-47s.

...

Gard said he couldn't speak about the weapon without talking also about the current situation in Iraq, yet he hoped to not offend the audience by his remarks.

"Key officials in the United States were advocating for the overthrow of Saddam Hussein at least since 1996," he said.

He spoke of the group of White House officials who call themselves "vulcans," citing a letter written by Rumsfeld just after 9/11, which stated, 'If 9/11 could justify an attack on Iraq the same time ... Afghanistan ....' Gard continued: "The President decided in January he needed a pretext for attacking Iraq ... and the one issue they all could agree on was weapons of mass destruction."

He also spoke of military commanders' assessments that we had "insufficient troops to stop the looting." The administration first said the U.S. would be out of the region by September 2003 and that the cost would be $2.4 billion, he said.

"We have since allotted $78 billion," he said. Post-war planning was nonexistent, with "to be provided" noted in March 2003 by war planners.

At the end of his talk, one audience member asked whether the current war looked as if it was becoming another Vietnam. He said he is afraid it might.

(more)

http://tb.us.publicus.com/article/20041114/News/111140007

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. Well somebody is talking of PNAC and the vulcans

and it is not any of us, but a loon wiht three stars

Chuckle, by the way, Sir, Iran may not become another Vietnam, it already has become another Vietnam, but by the time you admit it Sir, it will be way too late

[coreystone]

2. It certainly does seem as Lt. General Gard has a great deal of faith...

regarding this administration's negligence in addressing the real threats of Iraq to the American people or the world. I definitely do not feel more secure.


"He told his audience that nuclear material the size of a grapefruit -and readily prepared by any terrorist with Internet access - can kill up to half a million people.

Gen. Gard told his listeners that at the rate the U.S. is going now, it will take 13 years to catch up to terrorists in the race to collect materials for nuclear warfare.

"We don't have that kind of time," he said. "The administration shows no sense of urgency" in substituting highly enriched uranium for the low-enriched uranium. Nations such as Mexico and Jamaica are in the process of converting their uranium, he said."

[DulceDecorum]

3. HOW TO BUILD AN ATOM BOMB

First, obtain about 50 pounds (110 kg) of weapons grade Plutonium at your local supplier (see Note 1). A nuclear power plant is not recommended, as large quantities of missing Plutonium tends to make plant engineers unhappy. We suggest that you contact your local terrorist organization, or perhaps the Junior Achievement in your neighborhood.
<snip>
NEXT MONTH'S COLUMN
In next month's column, we will learn how to clone your neighbor's wife in six easy steps. This project promises to be an exciting weekend full of fun and profit. Common kitchen utensils will be all you need. See you next month!
NOTES
1. Plutonium (PU), atomic number 94, is a radioactive metallic element formed by the decay of Neptunium and is similar in chemical structure to Uranium, Saturium, Jupiternium, and Marisum.
PREVIOUS MONTH'S COLUMNS
Let's Make Test Tube Babies! May, 1979
Let's Make a Solar System! June, 1979
Let's Make an Economic Recession! July, 1979
Let's Make an Anti-Gravity Machine! August, 1979
Let's Make Contact with an Alien Race! September, 1979
http://winn.com/bs/atombomb.html

An abandoned Taliban building in Kabul contained an alarming document that apparently described how to make an atomic bomb. But a webmaster recognized it as a 1979 parody.
<snip>
Nevertheless, late last week white-haired BBC reporter John Simpson included footage of the document in a report from the building, along with pictures of left-behind weapons, explosives, hand grenades and even box-cutters. Anthony Lloyd, a reporter from the Times of London also appears to have discovered the document, since he refers to its erroneous instructions about using TNT to create a thermo-nuclear device. "The vernacular quickly spun out of my comprehension but there were phrases through the mass of chemical symbols and physics jargon that anyone could understand," Lloyd wrote. Soon the Times report was being included in articles by the Associated Press.
http://www.alternet.org/story/11935

On edit:
GOTCHA.
THIS is the crap they are using to scare you with.
Please feel free to pee your pants
simply because the Rendon Group
had this "document" translated into Arabic
and then GIVEN to certain well placed fools.

[yorkiemommie1]

4. another voice...

crying in the wilderness.

[Auntie Bush]

6. That's what Wes Clark said! Lots of people in the know and

retired Generals seem to agree with him only he predicted it even before it happened. Way to go General! :bounce:

[robbedvoter]

5. Well! it's not like it's a first

The Washington Post - OUTLOOK
Commentary: Section B-Feature Article
Sunday, November.14.2004.
The Real Battle
by Wesley K. Clark
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47034-20 ...
Instead, the outcome of the battle must be judged by a less clear-cut standard: not by the seizure and occupation of ground, but by the impact it has on the political and diplomatic process in Iraq. Its chances for success in that area are highly uncertain. Will Fallujah, like the famous Vietnam village, be the place we destroyed in order to save it? Will the bulk of the insurgents simply scatter to other Iraqi cities?