Friday, July 21, 2006

WMD and Iraq ? The answer lies in Syria

Another good reason to invade Syria

by StFerdIII

A good reason to invade Syria is not only to destroy a prime financier of terror and the political impetus behind Hizbollah, but also to root out WMD. Most sources including a spring 2006 intelligence study, Hussein’s tapes and recent cache finds in Iraq reveal that WMD did indeed exist in Hussein’s Iraq before the March 2003 invasion and plenty of it is now residing in Syria. In this vein we can make a new mantra for the liberal – left, ‘Bush did not lie but thousands still died!’ WMD is enough to wage pre-emptive war, but when you add in 22 other good reasons [as given in the US declaration of war], the moral imperative for action against not only Iraq but Syria is clear.

In Iraq alone about 500 tons of WMD have been found since 2003. According to Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., chairman of the House Intelligence Committee commenting on a recently released National Security Intelligence briefing outlining the details and categorization of the found WMD: "This [the report] says weapons have been discovered, more weapons exist and they state that Iraq was not a WMD-free zone, that there are continuing threats from the materials that are or may still be in Iraq.” This report and the physical stockpiles of WMD discovered have elicited barely a mention in the anti-war, anti-Bush mainstream media. Quel surprise.

It is hard to understand why the Bush administration which foolhardily, thanks to the State department, rested the necessary war in Iraq upon the single issue of WMD, does not pursue the case of the discovered WMD further. The purblind Bush policy of using one single issue as the rationalie for war intended to coax the feminine Europeans into battle and appease the media. After all scare mongering that Iraq could launch rockets into Berlin full of mustard gas would make even the anti-reality European elites take notice. But of course it backfired. Iraq had limited distribution capability and no technical skills to affix WMD to rockets or long range missiles. By only focusing on WMD the Bushies opened themselves up for devastating, if hyper irrational criticism. The Iraq war resolution passed by Congress lists 23 good reasons to invade Iraq. Yet only one – WMD – was given publicly as casus belli. This is not very smart nor is it honest. In any event now that 500 tons of various grades of chemicals have been discovered the Bushies are silent. This strikes the observer as rather strange.

One reason is that Bush probably does not trust the information on discovered WMD and senses another PR debacle if any part of the intelligence report is proven false. Bush quite rightly is waiting for reconfirmation of the confirmation of the affirmed before making a statement on WMD. Another reason might that some of the 500 tons are pre-1991 chemical grade calling into question the lethality of the threat and the Bush administrations claim that post 1991 chemical production was a reality. Another reason might be internal fighting by the intelligence community which has been caught unawares by these tapes and can’t with their hundreds of thousands of workers, and billions of dollars in funding, track, locate and identify the WMD, would suggest why they are not keen on having them revealed to the greater public. Perhaps Bush chooses to ignore WMD in his quest to build a democratic and secure Iraq and calculates that entering into a debate on the exact time of chemical manufacture is counter productive.

But whatever the impetus is for his administration’s silence Bush is making a grave mistake by not pursuing the uncovered WMD and making it a key news feature.

WMD was produced post 1991 and the recent finds and evidence support this. Not all of the discovered grade is weak or pre-1991 and certainly more chemical weaponry will be found confirming that Iraq was actively pursuing chemical weapons production during the 1990s. As late as 2000, Saddam can be heard in his office talking with Iraqi scientists about his ongoing plans to build advanced weapons – chemical and nuclear. At one point, he discusses Iraq's plasma uranium program — something that was missed entirely by U.N. weapons inspectors combing Iraq for WMD. This is particularly troubling, since it indicates an active, ongoing attempt by Saddam to build an Iraqi nuclear bomb. Perhaps most chillingly, the tapes record Iraq Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz talking about how easy it would be to set off a WMD in Washington. The comments come shortly after Saddam muses about using "proxies" in a terror attack. This threat is certainly enough to justify an invasion.

But to find the real story on WMD we need to go into Syria. As many analysts have commented the Iraqi’s in the 1990s were expert in moving WMD to avoid UN inspectors and satellite photos publicly available show Iraqi convoys moving into Syria in from January to March of 2003 carrying it is to be assumed not chocolates, flowers or birthday cards, but most likely, sensitive papers, frightened men, and weapons of various flavors.

‘The short answer to the question of where the WMD Saddam bought from the Russians went was that they went to Syria and Lebanon,’ states John Shaw, a former deputy undersecretary of defense. ‘They were moved by Russian Spetsnaz (special ops) units out of uniform that were specifically sent to Iraq to move the weaponry and eradicate any evidence of its existence,’ he said. These are extraordinary developments. They deserve a full airing in the media, since they essentially validate part of Bush's casus belli for invading Iraq and deposing the murderous Saddam.

WMD is another reason to widen the current war and enter into Syria. Lebanon can and should be dealt with by the Israelis. Not only should Hizbollah be destroyed but southern Lebanon should be under Israeli occupation until the do-nothing Lebanese government actually begins to govern and control its territory. But this is not enough. Without destroying Syria and locating and corralling WMD we put ourselves and the Israeli state at risk. Hussein and Iraq had WMD and a large portion of that arsenal is in the hands of the terrorist Assad regime in Damascus.