Officials: U.S. didn’t find WMDs, despite claims

[Alicnwondrln]

from msnbc this a.m.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13480264/

NBC News and news services
Updated: 10:04 p.m. ET June 22, 2006
WASHINGTON - Senior U.S. intelligence officials said Thursday they have no evidence that Iraq produced chemical weapons after the 1991 Gulf War, despite recent reports from media outlets and Republican lawmakers.

Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania and Rep. Peter Hoekstra of Michigan on Wednesday pointed to a newly declassified report that says coalition forces have found 500 munitions in Iraq that contained degraded sarin or mustard nerve agents.

They cited the report in an attempt to counter criticism by Democrats who say the decision to go to war was a mistake.

But defense officials said Thursday that the weapons were not considered likely to be dangerous because of their age, which they determined to be pre-1991.

Pentagon officials told NBC News that the munitions are the same kind of ordnance the U.S. military has been gathering in Iraq for the past several years, and "not the WMD we were looking for when we went in this time."

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the issue.

"We were able to determine that [the missile] is, in fact, degraded and ... is consistent with what we would expect from finding a munition that was dated back to pre-Gulf War," an intelligence official told NBC. "However, even in the degraded state, our assessment is that they could pose an up-to-lethal hazard if used in attacks against coalition forces."

‘A bit suspicious’
Democrats said a report from the top U.S. weapons inspector contemplated that older munitions bearing traces of chemical agents would be found.

A leading Democrat on intelligence issues said Santorum's assertion that there were in fact weapons of mass destruction in Iraq was politically motivated.

"It's a bit suspicious that this was rolled out the night before" the debate and vote in the Senate on withdrawal from Iraq "by a senator in a close political race," said Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif.

Santorum is down 18 points in his Senate re-election contest, according to a poll released Wednesday.

Harman said it was "unfortunate" that people have "not learned the lesson about hyping ... and cherry picking" intelligence to suit their own aims.

For his part, Hoekstra, appearing before cameras on Thursday, reiterated his assertions of Wednesday evening, saying, "Iraq is NOT a WMD-free zone" and it "amazes me" that members of Congress still say that there was no WMD in Iraq.

 

[LisaB]

But they had the wmd so what if they are 10 yeards old

 

[rayelias]

WASHINGTON - Senior U.S. intelligence officials said Thursday they have no evidence that Iraq produced chemical weapons after the 1991 Gulf War, despite recent reports from media outlets and Republican lawmakers.

If you guys don't want to acknowledge Fox News, I'm not going to acknowledge MSNBC. (Just kidding, couldn't resist.) But, this above statement does show the left slant. I could be wrong, but I never got the impression from any of the media outlets and Republican lawmakers I listened to mentioned anything when they were produced.

And, the spin that the left is trying to put on that the checmicals were old and degraded is complete crap. People in Europe are still finding containers of Mustard Gas from decades ago that are still potent (just not 100%). I DARE anyone who claims that the chemicals are degraded to sit in a room and breath them in for 60 seconds. Put your money where your mouth is.

Also, remember only portions of the report were DECLASSIFIED (meaning, there are still some part of the report deemed too sensitive to release to the public - so we don't know what's in there). There is speculation that parts of the remaining document point to Russia, China & France - possibly other neighboring countries, as well (such as Syria). They remain classified in order to protect our "alliances" with those countries. There is a possibility that these classified portions discuss pre-Gulf War munitions.

Second, as part of the UN deal, Saddam was supposed to account for and destroy his chemical weapons. We did not find one or two that he missed. We found over 500. We also found missles capable of reaching further than was allowed under the UN resolutions.

This completely rebutts the arguements on the left like:
"There were no WMD's."
"The UN inspections were working."
"Saddam was no threat."

Even if the claim that no additional weapons were produced since 2001, Saddam still had the intelligence, the ability, and the intention to re-start up the program. This is evidenced in the tapes in Saddam's own voice.

It seems like the left is in panic, damage control mode trying to spin this teriffic victory for the troops and the war, to save their own political a$$es. Instead of worrying about winning the war, they're worried about winning an election.

 

[Laura]

Also, remember only portions of the report were DECLASSIFIED (meaning, there are still some part of the report deemed too sensitive to release to the public - so we don't know what's in there).

You're right. It might give us the location of Elvis Presley's secret hideout with the Abominal Snowman and the Roswell aliens.

 

[NewJersey]

If you guys don't want to acknowledge Fox News, I'm not going to acknowledge MSNBC. (Just kidding, couldn't resist.) But, this above statement does show the left slant. I could be wrong, but I never got the impression from any of the media outlets and Republican lawmakers I listened to mentioned anything when they were produced.

And, the spin that the left is trying to put on that the checmicals were old and degraded is complete crap. People in Europe are still finding containers of Mustard Gas from decades ago that are still potent (just not 100%). I DARE anyone who claims that the chemicals are degraded to sit in a room and breath them in for 60 seconds. Put your money where your mouth is.

Also, remember only portions of the report were DECLASSIFIED (meaning, there are still some part of the report deemed too sensitive to release to the public - so we don't know what's in there). There is speculation that parts of the remaining document point to Russia, China & France - possibly other neighboring countries, as well (such as Syria). They remain classified in order to protect our "alliances" with those countries. There is a possibility that these classified portions discuss pre-Gulf War munitions.

Second, as part of the UN deal, Saddam was supposed to account for and destroy his chemical weapons. We did not find one or two that he missed. We found over 500. We also found missles capable of reaching further than was allowed under the UN resolutions.

This completely rebutts the arguements on the left like:
"There were no WMD's."
"The UN inspections were working."
"Saddam was no threat."

Even if the claim that no additional weapons were produced since 2001, Saddam still had the intelligence, the ability, and the intention to re-start up the program. This is evidenced in the tapes in Saddam's own voice.

It seems like the left is in panic, damage control mode trying to spin this teriffic victory for the troops and the war, to save their own political a$$es. Instead of worrying about winning the war, they're worried about winning an election.

Please, please, please explain to me why president Bush hasn't jumped onto this bandwagon and held countless news conferences. Oh maybe he's being nice and letting the JUNIOR senator from PA, have all the limelight. Give me a break.

Did I mention it's election season?