Weapons Of Mass Destruction In Iraq: Doing My Part To Stir The Pot

Okay. If you know me, you know that I support troops, I don't like Bush, and I know that we as a collective in this country have been mislead into thinking that this was has been just, and that nearly every reason we have been given to justify it is..., well, a lot of bull droppings.

I know some of you are saying "But Eric, how can you say you're for the troops but against the war? That's contradictory!" And I'd respond by saying that you're probably the shallow sort of thinker that believes John Kerry (and don't get me wrong, I hate this guy too) was flip-flopping when he said that he "voted for the war before he voted against it." I have friends and know people in the military and they're all good people. That's why it really tears me up inside to think that they're over fighting a battle that we've been mislead by the nose into fighting.

The country stays divided on this, due mainly to the contradictory stories released through most mainstream media sources. A lot of this comes through because of the network-in-question's particular slant on issues, and much of it comes through from White House press releases. Still, despite all this, even mainstream media screws up and lets some truth out from time to time.

To start with, let's go over a few of the base things that I take issues with concerning the war. We'll take a look at two issue a week for the next few weeks. Firstly, the issue of weapons of mass destruction. An article released through the Associated Press via MSNBC adresses this. Here's a link to the article here, and to preserve it for future posterity, I'll quote it below.

CIA’s final report: No WMD found in Iraq

Recommends freeing detainees held for weapons knowledge

Updated: 9:24 p.m. ET April 25, 2005

WASHINGTON - In his final word, the CIA’s top weapons inspector in Iraq said Monday that the hunt for weapons of mass destruction has “gone as far as feasible” and has found nothing, closing an investigation into the purported programs of Saddam Hussein that were used to justify the 2003 invasion.

“After more than 18 months, the WMD investigation and debriefing of the WMD-related detainees has been exhausted,” wrote Charles Duelfer, head of the Iraq Survey Group, in an addendum to the final report he issued last fall.

“As matters now stand, the WMD investigation has gone as far as feasible.”

In 92 pages posted online Monday evening, Duelfer provides a final look at an investigation that occupied over 1,000 military and civilian translators, weapons specialists and other experts at its peak. His latest addenda conclude a roughly 1,500-page report released last fall.

On Monday, Duelfer said there is no purpose in keeping many of the detainees who are in custody because of their knowledge on Iraq’s weapons, although he did not provide any details about the current number. A U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the ultimate decision on their release will be made by the Iraqi authorities.

Warnings about Saddam’s experts
The survey group also provided warnings.

The addenda conclude that Saddam’s programs created a pool of experts now available to develop and produce weapons and many will be seeking work. While most will probably turn to the “benign civil sector,” the danger remains that “hostile foreign governments, terrorists or insurgents may seek Iraqi expertise.”

“Because a single individual can advance certain WMD activities, it remains an important concern,” one addendum said.

Another addendum also noted that military forces in Iraq may continue to find small numbers of degraded chemical weapons — most likely misplaced or improperly destroyed before the 1991 Gulf War. In an insurgent’s hands, “the use of a single even ineffectual chemical weapon would likely cause more terror than deadlier conventional explosives,” another addendum said.

And still another said the survey group found some potential nuclear-related equipment was “missing from heavily damaged and looted sites.” Yet, because of the deteriorating security situation in Iraq, the survey group was unable to determine what happened to the equipment, which also had alternate civilian uses.

“Some of it probably has been sold for its scrap value. Other pieces might have been disassembled” and converted into motors or condensers, an addendum said. “Still others could have been taken intact to preserve their function.”

Small team still in place
Leaving the door to the investigation open just a crack, the U.S. official said a small team still operates under the U.S.-led multinational force in Iraq, although the survey group officially disbanded earlier this month. Those staying on continue to examine documents and follow up on any reports of weapons of mass destruction.

In a statement accompanying the final installment, Duelfer said a surprise discovery would most likely be in the biological weapons area because clues, such as the size of the facilities used to develop them, would be comparatively small.

Among unanswered questions, Duelfer said a group formed to investigate whether WMD-related material was shipped out of Iraq before the invasion wasn’t able to reach firm conclusions because the security situation limited and later halted their work. Investigators were focusing on transfers from Iraq to Syria.

No information gleaned from questioning Iraqis supported the possibility, one addendum said. The Iraq Survey Group believes “it was unlikely that an official transfer of WMD material from Iraq to Syria took place. However, ISG was unable to rule out unofficial movement of limited WMD-related materials.”

© 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.