Steve Clemons, like most of us, is mainly right but partly wrong.
The contention that Saddam Hussein's WMD program is alive and well in Syria is no mere pipedream of the Cheney Whitehouse, nor even a case of Israel denouncing an armed and dangerous neighbour.
The minutes of the Saddam Hussein cabinet - which included insiders like Tarik Aziz, "Chemical Ali" et al. - reveal that the entire WMD program was removed from Iraq to Syria shortly after the first Gulf War.
Those cabinet minutes were quoted in a Foreign Affairs article in mid-2007.
Remember that Iraq under Saddam already possessed biochemical weapons which were used with horrid effect both in the war with Iran and in Iraqi Kurdistan. It was the nukes that were still under development. Moving that program to Syria fits the profile of a regime that previously had moved its moribund air force to Iran.
It's a serious mistake to allege that "there never were WMDs in Iraq." It was the unfinished nukes that the UN inspectors failed to find.
Cheney's Compulsive Obsession with Iraq WMDs & Syrian Nukes
Even after all of this time and President Bush's own abandonment of the WMD theme, Vice President Richard Cheney is still convinced that there are hidden WMDs in the Middle East that bear Saddam Hussein's product mark. A source reported to me yesterday that in the last two weeks, Cheney held forth at a meeting on Iraq WMDs and insisted that they were real and still out there.
Cheney believes that Syria has them -- and has been watching closely intelligence streams from a secret "black SIGINT base" that the US has placed in the mountains near the intersection of the Syrian, Turkish, and Iraqi borders.
Cheney's minions are pushing Congress to sponge up Israeli intelligence assessments about purported Syria-North Korea cooperation on a now destroyed, alleged nuclear site. There are many who doubt Israel's assessments in the U.S. intelligence community. A consensus has built that North Korea and Syria were cooperating on some machine tool operation to retrofit increasingly sophisticated short range missiles with new capacity, perhaps air burst capacity that could potentially deliver biological or chemical agents.
One of the real puzzles that few seem to have the answer to is exactly why Syria would want a Yongbyon-style nuclear reactor and reprocessing facility even if it could have one. As reported on TWN yesterday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has stated to Western visitors that "his engineers are so incompetent that if they tried to build a nuclear facility it would become another Chernobyl."
Whether al-Assad is being truthful or not, I suspect there is some grit in his statement that ought not to be casually shrugged off. Nuclear mishaps in one's own neighborhood aren't trivial.
Furthermore, the more dangerous application of a Yongbyon-like facility would plutonium, which can't be hidden from easy detection. Uranium is tougher to track, but also requires levels of work and capacity-building that the Syrians could never hope to hide. At least for the time being, I'm with Seymour Hersh on the Syria nuke debate.
Nonetheless, there is an effort underway via North Korea nuclear discussions to ferret out what if anything the North Koreans were up to with Syria -- particularly on the nuclear front. Arms Control Wonk has a very useful slice up of the North Korea gambit at the moment.
While I think it's important to sort out the North Korea-Syria dance, I still find it amusing and alarming that Cheney's frame of reference on Iraq is a mad quest for nonexistent WMDs.
-- Steve Clemons publishes the popular political blog, The Washington Note
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Cheney is fortunate, along with Bush, that the Democrats don't have a sense of justice and a spine, otherwise, both of these criminals would be in prison.
I happen to think it's very possible that there still exists WMDs in Iraq, shipped there in the mid-80s with Bush senior's fingerprints all over them. If they are discovered, the public will never hear about it.
In the US, there must be some 55 gallon drums of radioactive material laying out in the Nevada desert, or a filing cabinent full of documents at an abondoned army base somewhere. To find zero evidence of anything in Iraq sounds implausible.
Dick has been a Stain on the shorts of our democracy since The Nixon Administration. He and Rumzfeld are a couple of UNAMERICAN war criminals who belong in Prison.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMDrI8hHuHI
Dick Cheney is truly diabolical and must be stopped.
Who was it said "Sure, we know he has WMD's. We've got the receipts."
Okay, moderators, I'll self-censor and see if you'll put it up this time!
I suppose with N. Korea being in our focus again we can expect the news shows to trot out the tired old shots of N. Korean soldiers goose-stepping to make sure they stay sufficiently demonised.
Interesting. WMDs and Nukes are, of course phallic symbols. Since Cheney doesn't have any balls, well................it all makes sense, doesn't it?
Larisa Alexandrovna blows the lid off the Syria nuke story elsewhere at HuffPo today.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/larisa-alexandrovna/heads-up-incoming-propaga_b_98338.html
There never were nukes there. Only old, non-nuclear, N. Korean missiles.
posted this once - can't find it - oh well
Cheney and Chalabi are probably still best buddies - so Chalabi is still spoon feeding Cheney w/bogus info. I just can't wait 'til all of these goons are OUT of office.
lil' Dick should get out of Politics and go into comedy- he could be the next Bob hope
No, Bob had respect for the troops.
More like the next Baghdad Bob.
All I can figure is that Cheney is still in love with Chalabi - and that's who is constantley giving him bogus information. What a jerk
Cheney is in love with his Halliburton stock portfolio which goes up in value so long as we keep on making more war. Whether its against Syria or Iran doesn't matter.
How right you are. Holding 433,333 stock options in Haliburton, Cheney has made Iraq his very own profit center. More war means more wealth for him and his buds in the military industrial complex.
I'm usually a very left brained, fact based person.
But I have to say my primitive intuition is starting to shout about this strange obsession.
He freely admits his fascination and involvement with "the dark side", which makes me wonder if he knew more and was involved more in wmd's than we suspect.
Like:
1. Did we at some time or another when Saddam was a friend, give them some?
2. Did we plant some, but lose them?
3. or is he just trying to vindicate himself and the prez based on his own "gut" feeling?
Whatever it is, something smells bad.
"1. Did we at some time or another when Saddam was a friend, give them some?" You don't have to wonder about this. Its pretty much a well documented fact that we did. As documented in http://www.thenation.com/doc/20040112/scheer1230
"It was Rumsfeld and Shultz who told Hussein and his emissaries that US statements generally condemning the use of chemical weapons would not interfere with relations between secular Iraq and the Reagan Administration, which took Iraq off the terrorist-nations list and embraced Hussein"
The thing is that all the WMD that Saddam acquired with Rumsfield's help were destroyed by weapons inspectors after the first gulf war or just used up by the time of the Iraq invasion. Cheney is just doing what he has done since he was in the Reagan administration. Maintaining a "Team B" intelligence unit culled from suckups in the CIA and elsewhere who will invent the intelligence that he wants to hear.
Well we gave Iraq WMD and we were Saddams friend at one time
We probably planted some - I've thought of that
Cheney is nuts
Good points. Never really thought about it this way. To be honest however, I think Cheney is just a whack job, out of his mind. He's paranoid for sure, which is why he had google scrub his residence from google world. In part he's probably "projecting" i.e. if he were Saddam Hussein he would have nukes hidden all over the place. Regardless, I don't anyone other than the 25 percenters that believe anything he says anymore.
"Congress to sponge up Israeli intelligence assessments"
Gee, i'll bet that assesment isn't baised. Cheney believes only the information that backs up his pre-conceived notions. Disregards the rest. That's why he has destroyed the American brand name value.
Dementia. Must be the advanced artery disease.
Unlike Reagan who was clearly out of his mind toward the end of his administration and more or less got away with it, Cheney exuded a deranged mind from before he took over the fascist based Bush political tragedy. Perhaps the right wing nuts will press for his visage on Mt. Rushmore right next to Reagan's.
The more likely explanation for the U.S. invasion of Iraq is the neoconservative Bush regime's commitment to the defense of Israeli territorial expansion. There is no such thing as a neoconservative who is not allied with Israel. Israel hopes to steal all of the West Bank and southern Lebanon for its territorial expansion. An American colonial regime in Iraq not only buttresses Israel from attack, but also can pressure Syria and Iran not to support the Palestinians and Lebanese. The Iraqi war is a war for Israeli territorial expansion. Americans are dying and bleeding to death financially for Israel. Bush's "war on terror" is a hoax that serves to cover U.S. intervention in the Middle East on behalf of "greater Israel."
Israel is our best friend in the world. That's why they send spies to steal our secrets.
Once they got away with killing and maiming more than100 Americans on the USS Liberty during the six day war and getting away with it as a "mistake" there has been no way to keep them from using us for any purpose they wish, particularly with the fervent assistance of Joe Lieberman, the recognized senator from Israel.
It is hard to believe that anyone of average intelligence really believes that we are in Iraq for reasons other than oil and protection of Israel. Those of less than average intelligence, including Bush, may actually believe we are interested in bringing democracy to a bunch of desert dwelers.
Why don't we send the Dick Man to find those weapons?
You gotta be joking? I doubt seriously that he even knows what Iraq is?
So when the two pilots who actually flew them out of Iraq were interviewed and gave detailed accounts of both where and when they were moved, you didn't listen. But you'll listen to kooks who claim Saddam had no WMDs, even though Saddam was in material violation of UN Res. 1441.
The "open" neo-liberal mind is frightening.
if you can not supply a link to what you reference, than you are just lying. your lying, people are dying. the blood is staining your hands.
"But you'll listen to kooks who claim Saddam had no WMDs, even though Saddam was in material violation of UN Res. 1441. "
So UN weapons inspectors are now "kooks"......ok Karl Rove.
I'm sorry, but what you just said is not true. Saddam had no WMD after the early nineties. Bush`s own inspectors said that.
Chaney is not the President. But the President seems to allow
him lot's of leway. Syria confirmed Iran was listening in on Israel,
and presumably the US via Israel. Syria and Israel have been kicking
sand at each other for months. N. Korea and Iran just won't buckle under
to US or Israel pressures. Bush and Israel have been working out
how to "deal with" Iran since 2003. Bush has been pushing for more
and better nuclear arms for the US. Congress better pay attention.
As approval ratings continue to drop and time runs out, something tells me we still may not have seen the worst of the Bush administration. We would have done well to have a Congress with some spine to boot these frauds before these circumstances materialized, but alas, despite efforts from the younger more progressive generation, the Democrats continue to admire GOP-lite policies and remain inexplicably deaf to their constituents' growing anger.
The assertion that Iraq had WMD and sent them to Syria just before the U.S. invasion is absurd to all but American citizens.
Presumably, if one has WMD the perfect opportunity to use them would be to repel an invasion or save one"s own life. Cheney would have us believe that rather attempting to do this, Saddam was content to send them to Syria " for what purpose, no one ever says.
Hey Dick....wmd's are in your prison cell that you will be after 1-20-09
XXXPART 4
skip4Obama my main DUDE!, America; -you get it!!!! You now really are:-On the money!!
We"re not touching alleged WMD"s or lying or "doctored intelligence" trick; BECAUSE IT"S IRRELEVENT AT LAW!! And we're then going after Blair and Bush in an (ex parte) case. Our case is based on "the rule of law", -the only agreed way to seek justice in any jurisdiction! These people violated The UN Charter, UN Resolution 1441 and the USA Constitution.
We must see you fine Americans return to the centre of democratic morality you fought so hard for from WW1 until Bush destroyed it all, he's utterly destructive; no American deserves this after all you fought for and achieved in your magnificent world leadership.
The 'Impeachment Train' is now moving steadily with these major initiatives.
Glenn Floyd
Australia
Director www.iccaction.com
+61 (0)407 861 056
floydaubrey@bigpond.com
Not related to ICCACTION but also SEE also http://www.theworldwantsobama.org/
XXX PART 3
skip4Obama my main DUDE!, America; -you get it!!!! You now really are:-On the money!!
3. The monumental statesmanlike edict of Barack Obama that he would open dialogue with Iran, breaking Bush"s vilest demonizing of others "The Axis Of Evil" "manufacturing another WMD lie
Hey Skip, hey America, (Steve); -the world was expecting this! Cheney pointing to "the boss! it"s classic! there's one reason alone Mr. Cheney has done this, the WMD myth was the perfect PR stunt all along because it has an inbuilt (phony) PR defense. In human philosophy and communication, you can bleat forever "I truly believed" in anything! in WMD's, in Santa, in god or in anything you like!, because it's 'only belief', it can never be disproved, because it's never proven in the first place. That's why these people stuck to WMD's all along, trouble is -it's irrelevant at law, -it"s not a legal defense. To charge anyone with 'lying about WMD's' is futile, it can"t "be proven' "so why bother!. We know this because we are taking ICC action against Australian ex PM John Howard, thrown out of power 4 months ago for joining the neoconmen in Iraq " see website www.iccaction.com
XXXXSEE PART 4
Glenn Floyd
Australia
Director www.iccaction.com
+61 (0)407 861 056
floydaubrey@bigpond.com
Not related to ICCACTION but also SEE also http://www.theworldwantsobama.org/
XXX PART 2
skip4Obama my main DUDE!, America; -you get it!!!! You now really are:-On the money!!
Mr. Cheney is taking this 11th hour step "exactly" as all the Nuremberg generals under Hitler did when the weight of world scrutiny has gained major support against the vilest unacceptable criminal behavior. Mr. Cheney is "no fool" he too now witnesses the major institutional pillars of the establishment now openly turning against his administration"s criminal behavior and he"s lining himself up as did the Third Reich second command: It"s classic ""I Was Only Following orders" " So Bush takes the wrap, and Bush will regret
Posted April 24, 2008 | 09:59 AM (EST)