Originally posted by rpm
But you can't show me one weapon inspector's report saying they had WMD prior to invasion, can you? Whether this is a good thing is yet to be determined. An anti-american regime is still a very strong possibility.
The way Iraq organized its chemical industry after the mid-1990s allowed it to conserve the knowledge-base needed to restart a CW program, conduct a modest amount of dual-use research, and partially recover from the decline of its production capability caused by the effects of the Gulf war and UN-sponsored destruction and sanctions.
ISG uncovered information that the Iraqi Intelligence Service (IIS) maintained throughout 1991 to 2003 a set of undeclared covert laboratories to research and test various chemicals and poisons, primarily for intelligence operations.
Saddam was trying to keep his WMD programs alive, that much is known.
What isnt known is where 1.5 tons of VX gas is, or where the missing R-400 aerial bombs are, or where the 550 artillery shells filled with mustard gas are, or where the thousands of tons of VX precursors are. Iraq admitted to having these things. Their destruction has never been accounted for. In fact, they havent been accounted for at all. These items are in fact missing. I believe they are out there somewhere.
RPM, show us some proof that these items are either irrelevant to WMD, or that they were destroyed, or accounted for. Fact is, you wont be able to. Even the UN weapons inspectors found these discrepancies.
I would bet the farm that if VX gas is ever used in a terrorist attack and the gas is traced to Iraq that you will be screaming for Bush's head (again) and blaming Bush for not finding the stuff. You are so blinded by your hatred for Bush and all things republican that you cant allow yourself to look at things objectively.