Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) took to the microphone today to announce a shocking discovery — that WMD have been found in Iraq:
Congressman Hoekstra and I are here today to say that we have found weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, chemical weapons. … Since 2003, coalition forces have recovered approximately 500 weapons munitions which contain degraded mustard or sarin nerve agent. Despite many efforts to locate and destroy Iraq’s pre-Gulf War chemical munitions, filled and unfilled pre-Gulf War chemical munitions are assessed to still exist.
The Bush administration commissioned the Iraq Survey Group to determine whether in fact any WMD existed in Iraq. After a year and half of meticulously combing through the country, here’s what the administration’s own inspectors reported:
While a small number of old, abandoned chemical munitions have been discovered, ISG judges that Iraq unilaterally destroyed its undeclared chemical weapons stockpile in 1991. There are no credible Indications that Baghdad resumed production of chemical munitions thereafter, a policy ISG attributes to Baghdad’s desire to see sanctions lifted, or rendered ineffectual, or its fear of force against it should WMD be discovered.
The White House should immediately announce whether it stands with Santorum or whether it stands behind the review conducted by Charles Duelfer and the Iraq Survey Group. Recall, in October 2004, Bush said of Duelfer’s analysis:
The chief weapons inspector, Charles Duelfer, has now issued a comprehensive report that confirms the earlier conclusion of David Kay that Iraq did not have the weapons that our intelligence believed were there.
Fox News isn’t waiting for an administration statement. Their right wing pundits are already peddling the story as truth. Host John Gibson: “Sen. Rick Santorum announcing a startling find … In fact, WMDs were found in Iraq.”
you mean rick (I’m points behind) santorum?
June 21st, 2006 at 7:00 pmLil Ricky is tanking in the polls. Whaddya expect? Hail Mary faux as hell ” WMD” story. Sorry Ricky, you going down in Nov.
June 21st, 2006 at 7:05 pmHe is so full of sh*t. I am so tired of hearing these republicans lie. Don’t they have any sense of decency? Do they have no shame? I cannot understand how anyone can still be following blindly behind this Administrations and their coconspirators in congress.
June 21st, 2006 at 7:08 pmThis has the Freepers all in a tizzy. The war is now justified at a cost of 5 dead and 36 wounded US soldiers ($and $600,000,000) per shell. Yay!
Many are questioning, though, why the information was not released earlier. Speculation is that we kept it a secret to prevent al-Qaeda from knowing that such armaments might still be found and used. (Of course, if that’s the case, either Santorum has independently determined that these are ALL the weapons we’re ever going to find, or he has revealed state secrets to al-Qaeda in a cynical attempt to boost his polls against Casey.)
Personally, I’ll assume these shells are long-past-their-freshness-date junk, until more details emerge.
June 21st, 2006 at 7:11 pmOf course, they found them.
June 21st, 2006 at 7:12 pm#5 Also “up, down and yonder a piece.”
June 21st, 2006 at 7:15 pmRick Santorum
June 21st, 2006 at 7:16 pmI’m so sick of Congress I could vomit.
June 21st, 2006 at 7:16 pmwell, let’s see ‘em!
June 21st, 2006 at 7:18 pmAnd the immediate follow-up question should be “so what about nuclear weapons? You know, the ones that cause the mushroom clouds we were warned about?” Because guess what, when we talk about “WMD,” the nuclear weapons should be the biggest piece of that, given the Bush administration’s run-up to war. Mushroom clouds, nuclear weapons materials, etc.
June 21st, 2006 at 7:19 pmSeriously, I really dont understand Bush&Co. If they were smart enough and knowing that opposing democrats are suffering a political slumber, why they dont just seed some old, useless, rotten nuclear missile that can borrow from the backyard of Lockheed Martin in Flint? They have gotten away a lot of times…why they dont just do that?
June 21st, 2006 at 7:22 pmHey, if they blew their own WTC to get the Patriot Act marching, you can expect anything from these people.
Does this mean the freepers will be over here tomorrow like a bunch of sore losers too stupid to know that they are being played yet again?
June 21st, 2006 at 7:23 pmHey lookie! Weapons of mass distraction, yonder!
June 21st, 2006 at 7:23 pmWTF is Sanitorium yapping about?
June 21st, 2006 at 7:25 pmWeapons of mass distraction are so five minutes ago.
OK. Great. We found em’. Can our soldiers go home now?!?!
June 21st, 2006 at 7:25 pmThe stink of desperation is pouring out of Congress.
June 21st, 2006 at 7:25 pm#12 Make it an hour.
June 21st, 2006 at 7:26 pm“The weapons did not exist, we’ve got to deal with that. Anyone out there holding - as I gather Prime Minister Blair has recently said - the prospect that, in fact, the Iraq Survey Group is going to unmask actual weapons of mass destruction, are really delusional,” - Former US weapons inspector David Kay
“It was a surprise to me then, it remains a surprise to me now, that we have not uncovered weapons. It’s not for lack of trying. We’ve been to virtually every ammunition supply point between the Kuwaiti border and Baghdad, but they’re simply not there.” - Lt. Gen. James Conway, commander of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force
June 21st, 2006 at 7:27 pmOh come on guys don’t you know? This is just all the old shells that were scattered around the country that we’ve been finding for the past three years. The stuff Saddam hid and then either forgot about or just never moved because it was mixed in with conventional ammunition and the chances of UNSCOM finding a few dozen or hundred chemical shells in the middle of tens of thousands of conventional ones at an ammunition depot was effectively nil and moving them might have attracted UNSCOM attention.
Which doesn’t change the fact that Saddam did in fact hide WMD when everyone from George H.W. Bush to Bill Clinton to Kofi to Dubya said that doing so would mean he was through whether you like it or not. And, whether you agree or disagree, those were the conditions given to Saddam in order to avoid war, from the end of Desert Storm on: give it all up, don’t keep the ability to make it, and never try to make it again. The only part of the deal Saddam apparently kept was the last one.
Saying “No WMD” is deliberately lying, but of course you guys don’t care about that. Of course Bush talking about stockpiles three years ago was “getting ahead of the news cycle” too…
Jules maybe you’re too dumb to understand that a shell filled with sarin is indeed a weapon of mass destruction according to the definition of that rather Orwellian phrase, but I doubt it. You’re just scared that that great herd of sheeple known as the American people will hear about this and start liking Dubya again. I’d be scared of that too, since this basically means that both sides either were wrong in 2003 (Bush) or are wrong today (you). Dubya already got away with being wrong… will the Left? Who knows =)
June 21st, 2006 at 7:27 pmBill Frist will now test the shells on cats he adopted from the shelter. If the shells are filled with nerve gas, the cats eyes will no longer be able to follow the balloon around the hospital room.
Or something. This shit is just becoming surreal.
June 21st, 2006 at 7:29 pmYeah, right.
June 21st, 2006 at 7:30 pmSantorum is Latin for bat shit crazy. Santorum is as “factually challenged” as any GOP hack can be. But he’s also the poster-boy for the sloppy, sleazy, corrupt, manipulative and factually-challenged clowns who’ve been running this nation for the past few years, but his and their time will come. When they have to stand tall before the man, they’ll have more to explain than a few empty, worthless shells Reagan sold to Saddam Hussein 25 years ago.
June 21st, 2006 at 7:31 pmA day late and a dollar short there Rick.
June 21st, 2006 at 7:31 pm#12 Make it an hour.
Comment by Juan C — June 21, 2006 @ 7:26 pm
Lovely…
June 21st, 2006 at 7:32 pmLt. Gen. James Conway
T
hen, a 3 y/o kid can kick your ass in a poker game, Lt.
Lt. Gen. James Conway
I am as shocked as you are.
#18 It would be nice to know what did Blix or Kofi Annan said at that time. Do you have some post about it? Thanks.
June 21st, 2006 at 7:32 pmI can’t wait for whiney Mike DeWine to get into his cache too. Chicken Little.
June 21st, 2006 at 7:34 pmAre we sure they didn’t just find the shell casings from OUR weapons of mass destruction that we used on Baghdad?
June 21st, 2006 at 7:35 pm#24 Unbelievable. See post #19. You were just so right about it, woman. ;P
June 21st, 2006 at 7:35 pm#18 Oh, sorry…I thought this was about “threatening” weapons and endangered American lives.
2500 Americans and $300,000,000 is rather a bad bargain in exchange for a “gotcha” on a technical violation.
I think Americans are pretty sick of the war, and smart enough to see this for what it is. Nice try, though.
June 21st, 2006 at 7:35 pmSee, this is what happens someone fails to lock the doors at the sanitarium. It’s true, a waste is a terrible thing to mind!
June 21st, 2006 at 7:37 pmMaybe Santorum can tell John Gibson that they’ve found Natalee Holloway and then Fox News will really be happy.
June 21st, 2006 at 7:37 pmSantorum = Colbert
except Stephen is joking
June 21st, 2006 at 7:37 pm“29 That’s $300,000,000,000. My bad.
Oh, and a pisspot full of dead Iraqi civilians. Yay team!
June 21st, 2006 at 7:38 pmJuan,
They are predictable… Now if I could just guess as well on the stock market… :)
June 21st, 2006 at 7:39 pmOnly Fox is reporting on this right now. Santorum’s going to be on Hannity tonight to astound the world with this earth-shattering news.
I wish I still had cable. Damn.
June 21st, 2006 at 7:39 pmComment by Chaos
Well, Ok. Bring back the troops now. Mission accomplished, right?
Comment by Chaos
June 21st, 2006 at 7:40 pmyou are wrong, he is wrong, she is wrong, I am wrong…meanwhile, people die. But who cares, I wanna win!… right?
That Saddam must have been busy, singlehandedly hiding those old, useless shells around the country so that an asshole like Santorum could play gotcha. Or maybe the people who worked for him, like the US army that works for Cheney, never make any mistake or screwups. Lame, lame, lame. But big daddy chaos says eat every bite, or no dessert. putz.
June 21st, 2006 at 7:41 pmWow, 18 comments before a lying Republican showed up. I think this bodes well For November.
June 21st, 2006 at 7:42 pmapproximately 500 weapons munitions which contain degraded mustard or sarin nerve agent
Doesn’t ‘degraded’ mean not functional? Impotent? Like Santorium himself?
June 21st, 2006 at 7:42 pmWhy can’t Bush see the WMD picture anew, given new developments? New facts mean that opinions can change in response to the new facts.
June 21st, 2006 at 7:42 pm“getting ahead of the news cycle†cost 2500 of ours, and how many of their’s exactly?? Yeah real UN-american dipshit.
June 21st, 2006 at 7:44 pm#34 Unbelievable. Get yourself a big corporation, have some really powerful friends like the one who runs the NASDAQ just to begin with, be suspicious of everybody, thread on anyone to accomplish your goals, and then, I bet you will get lucky.
June 21st, 2006 at 7:45 pmI think this bodes well For November
June 21st, 2006 at 7:47 pmComment by Duane
Sadly, we are few…and I am in another country!
#19, you’re the only person here who said “no WMD”. The president sold this war on the premise that there were STOCKPILES, TONS, ABILITY TO LAUNCH WITHIN 45 MINUTES. No one here, or in the plethora of reports on the matter, has contested that there are a handful of aging shells scattered around the country. But that’s not what we went to war for.
Oh, and have you noticed that we haven’t even heard about “WMD related programs” since that canard dove into the gulf?
They had no capability to hurt us with WMD. They had nothing to supply those who would hurt us. Our president lied. About war. That is why no one buys your shit any more.
June 21st, 2006 at 7:48 pmlinking hussein and bin laden, capturing zarqawi, and finding WMD’s…….
It took 5 long years of nonsense, but they’ve finally managed to fabricate each one just before major midterms.
They should feel a real sense of accomplishement.
June 21st, 2006 at 7:48 pmOooooo, what was he wearing?
June 21st, 2006 at 7:50 pmI remember an episode of”Roseanne” where she and Dan find some weed they lost way back before they had kids.
June 21st, 2006 at 7:51 pmComment by Mushuweasel
June 21st, 2006 at 7:53 pmwhich is the very first reason why the invade at all. They knew Iraq had not WMDs. Why dont they attack India or Pakistan, North Korea, or even better, China? Besides being a low-class bully, US is a coward. See these very well-armed countries US invaded: Panama, Grenade, Oriental Timor, Somalia, Afghanistan, etc…
Little Ricky will be on HANNITY & colmes - telling these lies. But hey - Sean loves this stuff!
June 21st, 2006 at 7:59 pmWhat do you got to say now, Michael Moore?
June 21st, 2006 at 8:00 pmYou’ll see the light one day Jules!
June 21st, 2006 at 8:00 pm2500 soldiers were killed so Santorum can go on FOX news and announce we found a few of the shells Reagan sold to Saddam Hussein? What a shame. The mushroom cloud Santorum and the GOP will see is what’s left of their credibility going up in smoke.
June 21st, 2006 at 8:00 pmMy guess is that Bush put these WMD there.
I don’t trust Bush, I don’t like Bush, I wish America would have at least notice that he is not a legitimat anything. Hell, he may even be an illegitimate son.
June 21st, 2006 at 8:02 pmAlso, a small dog was found impaled on the end of Senator Ricky’s cock.
June 21st, 2006 at 8:04 pmseems to me little ricki just pulled the WMD’s right out of his own mystical anus. excuse me while i have gay sex and burn a flag. this madness will never stop. will it?
June 21st, 2006 at 8:05 pmYou libs make are everything that is wrong with this country
June 21st, 2006 at 8:07 pmYou libs are everything that is wrong with this country
June 21st, 2006 at 8:07 pmdegraded. as in UNUSABLE Ricky. Their shelf life was expired… much like your senatorial career.
June 21st, 2006 at 8:10 pmi’m so angry about this that i’m calling on drew barrymore to use her god given fire-starter talents (thank you stephen king) and focus on that little bell jar of death that’s in his office. blow it up drew! make it explode! please!
June 21st, 2006 at 8:12 pmThis is the same flat-earth crap that’s been circulating on right-wing blogs since 2003. Amazing how Bush is apparently part of the liberal conspiracy to suppress this information.
June 21st, 2006 at 8:16 pm“pre-Gulf War chemical munitions, filled and unfilled pre-Gulf War chemical munitions”
OK to be ‘fair’ to little Ricky:
Dr. Moonie: “The stability of these materials depends very much on the initial purity and the precise storage conditions. Their usable lifetime as chemical or biological warfare agents, can range from a few months to several tens of years. It should be noted that even partially degraded material may still pose a significant hazard.”
from http://www.publications.parliament.uk/ pa/ cm200203/ cmhansrd/ vo030320/ text/ 30320w06.htm
Now to be less fair: These munitions were BURIED in dirt, and found usually in small amounts, not as one huge stockpile of 500 rounds - rusting and rotting - hardly ‘precise storage conditions.’
June 21st, 2006 at 8:16 pm#44: your “45 minutes” statement is a lie, a lie i’ve heard from any number of lying liberals. if you can prove it with a quote from a transript, do so. what will you do now that your “no wmd” lie has been exposed?
June 21st, 2006 at 8:18 pmTerra terra terra - 24/7 - keep it going. Geez, I could look under my sink and find a box of rat poison and claim that it’s WMD (in mass quantities, it would be). But, pRick Santorum is just trying to get votes - he’s soooo behind in the polls that he’s desparate.
What is with these people?
As for the on-going comment about “liberals” - I am sick and tired of my government telling me that I should be afraid when every action they take in foreign policy truely MAKES me afraid. Americans would be welcomed abroad if we weren’t bombing the crap out of countries we didn’t like. I am truely tired of this shot-gun diplomacy. If that makes me a “liberal” - cool, I like to associate with a better class of people. :)
June 21st, 2006 at 8:20 pm# 63
June 21st, 2006 at 8:22 pmwhat about the 3 years and no trace of a WMD?
Hey, did any of the few wingnut fools wandering in here to troll (#19) bother to check their science, and recognize that sarin precursors degrade within a few years, as does mustard gas (though at a slower rate)? Those shells, from before 1991, were useless. Remember the IED made with one of the old sarin shells that went off a couple years back? The bombers didn’t know it wasn’t a regular shell, and the thing just popped–the chemicals were virtually inert.
So although these shells may have been WMD at one time, they sure as hell aren’t now. Besides, what kind of idiot attacks a city with a chemical warhead? The Tokyo subway attack showed that even in an enclosed space Sarin is far from an ideal way to kill large numbers of people.
June 21st, 2006 at 8:27 pm#63: Some may be misattributing it to Bush. The 45 minutes quote was Blair’s particular brand of the same shit-shovelling. Can you seriously deny that the threat was incredibly overblown, and knowingly so? Anyone with actual knowledge of geopolitics before 2003 saw that long before the war went down.
June 21st, 2006 at 8:29 pmSecretive military unit sought to solve political WMD concerns prior to securing Iraq, intelligence sources say:
http://rawstory.com/ news/ 2005/ Secretive_military_unit_sought_to_solve_0105.html
“‘Our President is in trouble. He went to war saying there are WMD and there are no WMD. What can we do? Can you help us?”
The Bush Administration on Iraq’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Capabilities (quotes):
June 21st, 2006 at 8:31 pmhttp://www.carnegieendowment.org/ static/ npp/ bush_admin_quotes.cfm
“Some of these weapons are deployable within 45 minutes of an order to use them.”
#20: that’s the funniest thing I’ve read in weeks! Bwaaaahahaha!
June 21st, 2006 at 8:32 pm#57: Bwaaahahaha! I guess if believing in the Constitution is wrong, then you may have a point.
June 21st, 2006 at 8:34 pmjxn: it’s part of that “Weapons of Mass Destruction Program Activities” thingie. There is no doubt that people in the middle-east hate America - but it’s pretty clear that bombing the crap out of their country isn’t going to win any friends. My first witness: Iraq. Next?
June 21st, 2006 at 8:35 pmThere sure seems to be a lot of bitterness on this site. Sadam Hussein was a scarey guy who attempt to kill a former US president. It seems obvious that prewar intelligence was hyped, but it also seems obvious that Sadam Hussein was no saint, rather a very evil dictator who would gladly destroy all Americans, both liberal and conservative. Americans should be happy that at least there is a little bit of evidence of WMD, although it isn’t particularly great evidence. Hopefully it will improve our prestige abroud a little. Any American who is not happy that there is a little bit of evidence justifying the actions of its country (although the actions may have been an ‘overkill’) smacks of someone who is much more partisan than American. Please decide which team you are on, America’s or a given political party.
June 21st, 2006 at 8:43 pmHmmm. It’ll be interesting to see what Santorum provides as evidence.
June 21st, 2006 at 8:43 pm#57: Bwaaahahaha!
Comment by And You Thought REAGAN Was Stupid. — June 21, 2006 @ 8:34 pm
i thought that #56 was even funnier, more appropos…
June 21st, 2006 at 8:46 pmWhat?!
June 21st, 2006 at 8:47 pmFox’s John Gibson is wrong about the WMDs being recently found?
I guess he had better go back to trying to produce lots of white babies.
Degraded sarin is only 10% effective after two years. Assuming the shells were from
the time of the Iraq-Iran war, the sarin would be almost neutralized;
Iraq mass produced sarin during the Iran-Iraq war with the expectation that it would be used quickly, and they therefore skipped several purification steps. Fresh agent was about 60% pure and heavily contaminated with hydrogen fluoride (which, of course, also causes health problems in exposed individuals). When production caught up with demand, the Iraqis started storing their sarin in refrigerated “igloos” to prolong its storage life. However, even when stored in the igloos, the material rapidly degraded, becoming less than 10% pure within 2 years.
This was one of the factors that lead the Iraqis to investigate binary weapons, for which sarin is particularly well suited. A project (described in the revised “Full, Final, and Complete” disclosures issued by Iraq after the defection of Hussein al Kamal) was established which achieved some success in the design and construction of binary munitions using 122 mm rockets and 155 mm artillery shells, although the project does not seem to have progressed to full scale manufacture. This is not so surprising - as can be inferred from the seven year gap between the first successful U.S. binary shell test firing and the standardization of a design, the actual implementation of the binary concept is somewhat complex. There is no evidence that more than a few hundred binary shells were produced - more than were needed as prototypes, perhaps, but nowhere near what would have been needed for use against the Iranians had the war continued.
But, while they still had not mastered the art of manufacturing binary munitions in which the mixing of the precursors occured after firing (”mix-in-flight”) at the time of the invasion of Kuwait, they had developed a simple process for generating the agent immediately before use: a warhead or bomb would be given a partial fill of isopropanal (and often cyclohexanol, a precursor for the related nerve agent GF, sometimes known as cyclosarin) and stored along with plastic containers of methylphosphonic difluoride (DF). Shortly before the munition was to be used an Iraqi soldier would be provided with a gas mask and would pour an appropriate amount of the DF into the munition. This reduced storage issues.
While sarin does not appear to have been intentionally released during the Gulf War, a link between Gulf War Syndrome and the possible release of sarin during bombing raids and during the destruction of weapons depots following the war has been suggested. The issue, at this writing, is far from settled.
June 21st, 2006 at 8:50 pmAnyone care to guess which electronic voting machines are used in Pennsylvania? The fix is in. Republicans need not even show up to vote. My guess is 51% R to 49% D, as always.
June 21st, 2006 at 8:53 pmYou libs are everything that is wrong with this country
Comment by shootTHElibs
June 21st, 2006 at 8:53 pm====================
I’m certain that most KKK members,skinheads,and Nazis would agree with you.
This shit came out a couple of years ago and was debunked for being in such small and degraded amounts. My guess is that Santorum is hoping people forgot.
There sure seems to be a lot of bitterness on this site.
Yeah, people are dying.
June 21st, 2006 at 8:59 pmFox News is eating this up like super-sweet candy! Sean Hannity is having orgasms on the air as this is reported…. go figure. WMDs - yeah right.
June 21st, 2006 at 9:01 pmBen–What little credibility America had was gone with our decision to invade a soveriegn nation who posed absolutely no threat to us. As I have said many times on many blogs, we need our leaders to be strong–the world needs this Administration to be strong. Sadly, they just are not up to the task. After 9-11 we had thew whole world behind us–our choice was to make 9-11 a political tool so Rove could divide America “You’re either with us or with the terrorists.” Our only real choice is to get the hell out of Iraq and say “Sorry.” This is really a sorry bunch we have leading us.
June 21st, 2006 at 9:01 pmSantorum has lost his following, and he is now reduced to pandering to the wacked-out loonies who remain in his camp.
June 21st, 2006 at 9:02 pmEven the Preznut said there are no WMDs in Iraq. After Blix, ElBaradei, Kay, Ritter, Duelfler and others have said there are none, nada, zero.
Ricky is not feeling well - let him go lie down and rest.
Gibson, go get him a cold cloth for his head - and one for yourself while you’re at it.
[…] just make shit up, and no one ever calls them on it. Permalink| […]
June 21st, 2006 at 9:04 pmpathetic… keep the lies
June 21st, 2006 at 9:04 pmBluto’s Beard,
Its even on his own Website:
“The danger to our country is grave and it is growing. The Iraqi regime possesses biological and chemical weapons, is rebuilding the facilities to make more and, according to the British government, could launch a biological or chemical attack in as little as 45 minutes after the order is given. The regime has long-standing and continuing ties to terrorist groups, and there are al Qaeda terrorists inside Iraq. This regime is seeking a nuclear bomb, and with fissile material could build one within a year.” - President Bush 9/28/2002
http://www.whitehouse.gov/ news/ releases/ 2002/ 09/ 20020928.html
June 21st, 2006 at 9:06 pmI havn’t read even half off all of your cockimammy comments! Why you hate the U.S., our troops and yes - unborn babys I’ll never know! Go Bush! Go Santorum! I’m voting for you, and because you are pro-life! Thank you for speaking the truth!
Female
June 21st, 2006 at 9:07 pmPhoenixville, PA
[…] Think Progress has the full rundown. My favorite part: Think Progress calls on the White House to immediately state its position on what Santorum and, apparently, Michigan Congressman Pete Hoekstra are claiming. Was the Duelfer Report right, or is Ricky right? Official administration investigation on WMD in Iraq, or out-of-context, declassified document written by a Defense Department lie factory in 2003? That's quite an awkward position for them. […]
June 21st, 2006 at 9:08 pmI havn’t read even half off all of your cockimammy comments! Why you hate the U.S., our God-fearing President, our troops and i’m sure - unborn babys I’ll never know! Go Bush! Go Santorum! I’m voting for you, and because you are pro-life! Thank you for speaking the truth!
Female
June 21st, 2006 at 9:08 pmPhoenixville, PA
Let me guess - Limbaugh, Hannity, Fox News, + the Wall STreet Journal will pass this off as truth as tomorrow’s main story, CNN will follow by the weekend, + the NY Times will blast “The Left” (anybody who disagrees with Faux News) for being wrong by TUesday.
June 21st, 2006 at 9:14 pmWow supporting the killing of 2500+ innocent American soldiers and 100,000+ innocent civilians is “pro life” in the skull of a right winger. (Just like Bush’s environmental and health care policies as well huh)
June 21st, 2006 at 9:17 pmthis is the most sexed up propaganda ploy in days, weeks, months, even.
right after the frontline program too, by golly.
give it up repukes, it’s over. go home and cry about it.
the war is lost. it cannot be won. a war that was to last six weeks, six months at the most and at a cost of sixty billion dollars is a complete flop.
i guess if the ‘republicans’ want to believe their own lies, they can. they’re out in left field with this silly war business.
thanks for bankrupting the country too, ya dumbasses.
June 21st, 2006 at 9:18 pmEven if true, does this even matter anymore? aWol’s bogus war has proved to be the wrong war at the wrong time, diverting energy away from rooting out OBL from his mountainous spider hole. It has proven to be a major source of funds for the military-industrial complex that Ike warned us against, and a killer of innocents.
June 21st, 2006 at 9:22 pmWhy you hate the U.S., ,
Don’t believe the hype. We LOVE our country. That’s what this is all about.
our God-fearing President
He had better fear God for all of the Murders he is responsible for, but somehow it doesn’t seem like enough for him to stop, now does it.
Honestly, (and I only ask that you ask yourself this question). What actions or policies do you think make Bush a true follower of Christ?
our troops
We do, that’s why we want to see an end to this war of deceit and lies. Do you hate our troops? Do you want to see to it that they all become murderers? In that case, all you have to do is keep it up and stay willfully ignorant of the truth. Or, you can join those of Conscience and start to probe and question for the Truth.
and i’m sure - unborn babys I’ll never know!
Not everyone here is Pro-Choice. I am sure that it would help you to see the world beyond terms of Black and White. They use the issue of Abortion to get you to come out and vote for them and nothing more. Looks like you fell for it hook, line and sinker.
Thank you for speaking the truth!
Not a chance. Please wake up.
June 21st, 2006 at 9:22 pmLike his announcement makes any difference. I know people who still think (even before lil’ ricky’s announcement) that we found WMD’s. Those who want to believe will believe.
June 21st, 2006 at 9:27 pmComment by Ben
June 21st, 2006 at 9:28 pmRumsfeld didnt seem so affected by that fact when he was shaking his hand. You know…as friends.
The Pharohs killed slaves who worked on and knew the secrets ot the Pyramids.
Look for a spate of special opts people disappearing, the ones who planted these munitions months ago.
In the event these are really Saddam’s munitions, it doesn’t change that fact that Bush is a liar and an illegitimate holder of the office. He is still the “little wooden head” Pinnochio with the strings still attached.
June 21st, 2006 at 9:29 pmComment by Pro-voke me nausea
June 21st, 2006 at 9:31 pmpost 1991 war this just plain stupid, 500 cannester. WOW!!!!
June 21st, 2006 at 9:34 pmLOL…Yeah, right Rick “Come Play With Your Dead Brother” Santorum, whatever comes out of your mouth is sure of nothing but the truth Rick. There were no WMD’s in Iraq in the first place man…
June 21st, 2006 at 9:36 pmYou can be sure this refuse will also get heavy play on the festered butt pimple show as well as newsmax and gopusa.
June 21st, 2006 at 9:39 pm“degraded” means they were no longer functional. So what is little Ricky’s point? Why is he trying to mislead the American people?
June 21st, 2006 at 9:40 pm“DEGRADED” is the key word here.
There are more mustard gas shells off Assateague National Seashore than that — and in better shape. They were dumped all over the place off the US coast after WWI.
June 21st, 2006 at 9:42 pmSantorum: We found the WMD. They were next to the holy grail and Jimmy Hoffa´s body and
June 21st, 2006 at 9:43 pm19) “Jules maybe you’re too dumb to understand that a shell filled with sarin is indeed a weapon of mass destruction according to the definition of that rather Orwellian phrase, but I doubt it.”
Maybe I’m just reading this wrong.. but how the hell is “weapon of mass destruction” an Orwellian phrase? Maybe if they were instead referred to as “puppies and kitties bombs” it would be Orwellian.. I read this guy’s post four times trying to figure out what the hell he is talking about.
Does the right simply believe that Orwellian means “very scary”? See this is what happens when right wingers try to use concepts from classic literature. Next we’ll find someone in here talking about how this is like blood on Macbeth’s hands, or how it’s like a sleeping princess has been woken up by the kiss of the prince.
June 21st, 2006 at 9:46 pmLet’s see: latest poll that just came out has Ricky down by 18 points and falling. Whallah!! WMD’s he finds. And where did Rick find them. I thought he was still in S. Philly eating a cheesesteak at Geno’s.
June 21st, 2006 at 9:51 pmNext he’ll have the terror alert code raised to red. Wasn’t that what Tom Ridge did every time Bush dropped in the polls before the 2004 election?
BTW, there are no unborn babies. There are fetuses. Born fetuses are babies. No one hates unborn babies. They hate politicians who demand you live the way they want you to live.
Hey man… like wow ahaahhhaahaa this sounds like the cops busting ya for finding seeds under your car’s floor mats and stuff.uhaa haaa hahahahaa
June 21st, 2006 at 9:55 pmWikipedia has a good entry on this topic. Here is a quote:
As of May 2005, small quantities of chemically degraded mustard gas had been found in old munitions. These are generally regarded as left-overs from the pre-sanction era before the 1991 Gulf War which were not destroyed by the Iraqi regime.
June 21st, 2006 at 10:03 pmWith all of the spy drones that flew around freely, intel and weapons inspection searches, they found nothing within the first three months. It would be an honerable thing to tar and feather this idiot. I’m tired of the lies and the spreading of fear, uncertainty and doubt by people like this. Anyone fitting the FUD factor should be swept out of all areas that pertain to leadership in our government.
June 21st, 2006 at 10:10 pmThe report says they’ve found ‘degraded’ sarin and mustard gas, as well as ‘filled and unfilled’ shells. Why they’d count empty shells is beyond me.
And ‘degraded’ means stale. It’s likely that this is stuff left over from the Iran/Iraq war and probably poses as much of a health risk as working at a chemical plant. Santorum’s stretching the definition of Weapon of Mass Destruction to include weapons extremely unlikely to cause any destruction.
It’s bullshit, pure and simple, from a desperate rightwing fool sinking like a stone in the polls during an election year.
—–
June 21st, 2006 at 10:11 pmhttp://griperblade.blogspot.com - grumblings from the heartland
Our local fox affiliate here in Minnesota ran the substantially the same story that little Ricky is trumpeting. Santorum wasn’t mentioned in the story so it looks like the RNC is trying to muddy the waters with recycled talking points.
June 21st, 2006 at 10:16 pmWhat garbage is this? Do they really expect people to believe this? Well, besides those who watch Fox News, which gave this discovery top billing. This is just a sick publicity stunt by Santorum.
http://www.sunstateactivist.org
Check out the BRAND NEW SSA: BLOG at SSA. Fresh and insightful opinions and analysis of the latest news.
Also - Has there been another Haditha?
June 21st, 2006 at 10:19 pmhttp://www.sunstateactivist.org
#86 & 88 - How many adopted children live in your house?
June 21st, 2006 at 10:21 pmGet over it, you all were for it years ago when the lib went in. Good man to get rid of. Quit all the hating. How about joining together.
June 21st, 2006 at 10:21 pmQuit all the hating. How about joining together.
Comment by NormalOne — June 21, 2006 @ 10:21 pm
should’ve thought of that when it was just a blowjob…
June 21st, 2006 at 10:27 pmfool.
#63, as #85 and others pointed it out above, the 45 minute claim was made BY YOUR PRESIDENT. I’m glad you agree that he’s a liar. But tell me, does it ever actually physically hurt to be so uninformed?
June 21st, 2006 at 10:27 pmshould’ve thought of that when it was just a blowjob…
fool.
Blowjob? I could careless, how about NAFTA and the slight military adjustment. Think
June 21st, 2006 at 10:30 pmI’m on America’s side. Which is still the side of truth, fairness and decency. Which makes it not the side this administration is on.
Not only was that gas useless, but Iraq had declared it in the 1990s (they calculated the figures from estimates).
In 1998 10 artillery shells filled with mustard gas were found by UNSCOM. They asked Iraq to keep them where they were. In 2002 when they went back they were still there and UNSCOM destroyed them.
June 21st, 2006 at 10:33 pmRick Santorum is a good senator…
June 21st, 2006 at 10:37 pmfor me to poop on.
[…] Today, Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) and Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-MI) held a press conference and announced “we have found weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.” Santorum and Hoekstra are hyping a document that describes degraded, pre-1991 munitions that were already acknowledged by the White House’s Iraq Survey Group and dismissed. […]
June 21st, 2006 at 10:43 pmMy favvvvvorrrrite part about all this is that Rick is losing so terribly in the polls, but happens to be the only person with the knowledge to get this intelligence out. This WMD matter if true would be huge, and a press conference and giant deal would be made. Not some dumb speech on C-SPAN. :|
June 21st, 2006 at 10:54 pmWMD Found In Iraq!…
Well, at least that is what Rick Santorum and Captain’s Quarters want you to think. And it is all based on a *.pdf (signed by John Negroponte, of course) that says this:
June 21st, 2006 at 10:59 pm* Since 2003 Coalition forces have recovered approximately 500 weapons munitions…
For anyone who follows what is going on, this is not new information. There have been findings of chemical munitions shells ever since we entered Iraq in 2003. Most people don’t know this, because they get their news from cartoon characters.
June 21st, 2006 at 11:01 pmIf there was anything to this at all no way would Santorum be announcing it. Cheny, Rumsfeld, and Condi would be holding multiple press conferences. Let Santorum have the glory? When hell freezes over. (and those three will be there for that, too)
June 21st, 2006 at 11:03 pmRemeber people, 52% of Bush voters in 2004 REALLY and TRUELLY thought that Iraq attacked us on 911…The PITA(sp) survey bore this out.
The people who vote for Bush aren’t the sharpest tool in the shed so dont use words like “degraded” to describe what was found because the word is one syllable to long.
Us words like “useless” or “dont work”
thx
June 21st, 2006 at 11:09 pmOh my god!!! Who, other than the lowliest right winger would believe that if this was an actual story that fricking Santorum would be the one to break the news??? Run away from this story wingers, there is nothing to see here.
June 21st, 2006 at 11:13 pm[checks wristwatch]
… way too early in the campaign season for this crap to be flung out already, isn’t it?
June 21st, 2006 at 11:16 pmLet Santorum have the glory? When hell freezes over. (and those three will be there for that, too)
Comment by ss
That should have been Santorum’s first clue — but he’s clueless, so there you have it.
June 21st, 2006 at 11:21 pmBy the way Normal, how about taking that ESL class you have always wanted.
June 21st, 2006 at 11:21 pmOh, and Pro-life, Pro-Bush, nobody is surprised that you would vote for Santorum. It is really too bad NCLB is such a failure.
June 21st, 2006 at 11:24 pmI have never seen so many people hold on to a fantasy as long as these people have over WMD’s. They probably still believe in Santa Claus too.
June 21st, 2006 at 11:51 pm[…] Rick Santorum, one of the Republican senators facing reelection this November makes a profound announcement today [via]: Congressman Hoekstra and I are here today to say that we have found weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, chemical weapons. … Since 2003, coalition forces have recovered approximately 500 weapons munitions which contain degraded mustard or sarin nerve agent. Despite many efforts to locate and destroy Iraq’s pre-Gulf War chemical munitions, filled and unfilled pre-Gulf War chemical munitions are assessed to still exist. […]
June 22nd, 2006 at 12:11 amAre these the shells that say “Made in the USA” on them?
You know, the ones that have a packing list that says payment required, net 30 days - send invoice to Don Rumsfeld…..
June 22nd, 2006 at 12:33 amCaption Contest
Santorum: We Found the WMD
True but they’re in North Korea.
June 22nd, 2006 at 12:37 amWhy are most libs so dumb. The vast majority of leftist comments I read on this post are just stupid. All you do is keep repeating your cute little bumper sticker slogan’s like “Bush lied, People Died”. The only thing you care about is blaming Bush and making him look bad, regardless of actual facts. So I’m not even going to attempt to speak to the dumb ones. For the few intelligent libs who may read this, I have a couple points I’d like you to ponder:
1. The Bush Administration didn’t want this report published because it doesn’t substantiate the WMD claim. I don’t agree with these two republicans trying to make a point out of this.
2. Why are libs so down on President Bush, somehow you have to find a way to personally blame him for everything that is wrong in the world. Let me tell you, personally I didn’t like Clinton that much, I didn’t agree with a lot of his decisions, but I respected the man and supported him because he was the President. I kneeled down and prayed for him many times that he would have wisdom and make good choices, even though I was politically on the other side of fence. Because here’s the thing, the president gets the best info he can and then makes the best decision he can.
3. The war was totally necessary regardless of WMDs, and Bush knew it. If it was your job to fight the war on terror how would you go about it? How about establishing a Democracy in the freakin middle of the middle east. It’s a brilliant idea and it took a lot of balls to accomplish, and guess what, it’s working. The middle east will never be the same.
4. The troops can’t come home yet. This one is so completely obvious I’m stunned that we even have to talk about it. I guess I am going to talk to the dumb libs after all. Regardless of whether we were right to go in or not, now that we have we are committed. You don’t go into another country, topple the goverment and then leave. I’m sorry but you’re an idiot if you think otherwise and this has nothing to do with politics. It is so obvious what would happen if we left early and you smart libs must know it. I want to hear a smart libs opinion on this. Why pull out now? After the controversial decision, after the lives have been lost, and the money has been spent, why pull out now that the large costs have already been paid?
June 22nd, 2006 at 1:10 am“Why are most libs so dumb.”
Did you mean: Why are most libs so dumb?
You asked the question, you can answer it.
It is a no brainer that the war is a war of choice. The neocons wanted the war. They have made their own bed, and they can sleep in it.
It may be true that that the US military can’t pull out of Iraq now. It also might be a distinct possibility that they may never get out. It is war. War is hell.
The Bush Cabal and the neocons underestimated the strength of the freedom fighters. There are no guarantees. None. Period. When you go to war, there is a chance you can lose the war, especially when you invade. Aggressors have the odds against them from the getgo.
General Sherman’s words:
HEADQUARTERS MILITARY DIVISION of the MISSISSIPPI in the FIELD
Atlanta, Georgia,
James M. Calhoun, Mayor,
E.E. Rawson and S.C. Wells, representing City Council of Atlanta.
Gentleman: I have your letter of the 11th, in the nature of a petition to revoke my orders removing all the inhabitants from Atlanta. I have read it carefully, and give full credit to your statements of distress that will be occasioned, and yet shall not revoke my orders, because they were not designed to meet the humanities of the cause, but to prepare for the future struggles in which millions of good people outside of Atlanta have a deep interest. We must have peace, not only at Atlanta, but in all America. To secure this, we must stop the war that now desolates our once happy and favored country. To stop war, we must defeat the rebel armies which are arrayed against the laws and Constitution that all must respect and obey. To defeat those armies, we must prepare the way to reach them in their recesses, provided with the arms and instruments which enable us to accomplish our purpose. Now, I know the vindictive nature of our enemy, that we may have many years of military operations from this quarter; and, therefore, deem it wise and prudent to prepare in time. The use of Atlanta for warlike purposes in inconsistent with its character as a home for families. There will be no manufacturers, commerce, or agriculture here, for the maintenance of families, and sooner or later want will compel the inhabitants to go. Why not go now, when all the arrangements are completed for the transfer, instead of waiting till the plunging shot of contending armies will renew the scenes of the past month? Of course, I do not apprehend any such things at this moment, but you do not suppose this army will be here until the war is over. I cannot discuss this subject with you fairly, because I cannot impart to you what we propose to do, but I assert that our military plans make it necessary for the inhabitants to go away, and I can only renew my offer of services to make their exodus in any direction as easy and comfortable as possible.
You cannot qualify war in harsher terms than I will. War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it; and those who brought war into our country deserve all the curses and maledictions a people can pour out. I know I had no hand in making this war, and I know I will make more sacrifices to-day than any of you to secure peace. But you cannot have peace and a division of our country. If the United States submits to a division now, it will not stop, but will go on until we reap the fate of Mexico, which is eternal war. The United States does and must assert its authority, wherever it once had power; for, if it relaxes one bit to pressure, it is gone, and I believe that such is the national feeling. This feeling assumes various shapes, but always comes back to that of Union. Once admit the Union, once more acknowledge the authority of the national Government, and, instead of devoting your houses and streets and roads to the dread uses of war, I and this army become at once your protectors and supporters, shielding you from danger, let it come from what quarter it may. I know that a few individuals cannot resist a torrent of error and passion, such as swept the South into rebellion, but you can point out, so that we may know those who desire a government, and those who insist on war and its desolation.
You might as well appeal against the thunder-storm as against these terrible hardships of war. They are inevitable, and the only way the people of Atlanta can hope once more to live in peace and quiet at home, is to stop the war, which can only be done by admitting that it began in error and is perpetuated in pride.
We don’t want your Negroes, or your horses, or your lands, or any thing you have, but we do want and will have a just obedience to the laws of the United States. That we will have, and if it involved the destruction of your improvements, we cannot help it.
You have heretofore read public sentiment in your newspapers, that live by falsehood and excitement; and the quicker you seek for truth in other quarters, the better. I repeat then that, bu the original compact of government, the United States had certain rights in Georgia, which have never been relinquished and never will be; that the South began the war by seizing forts, arsenals, mints, custom-houses, etc., etc., long before Mr. Lincoln was installed, and before the South had one jot or title of provocation. I myself have seen in Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi, hundreds and thousands of women and children fleeing from your armies and desperadoes, hungry and with bleeding feet. In Memphis, Vicksburg, and Mississippi, we fed thousands and thousands of the families of rebel soldiers left on our hands, and whom we could not see starve. Now that war comes to you, you feel very different. You deprecate its horrors, but did not feel them when you sent car-loads of soldiers and ammunition, and moulded shells and shot, to carry war into Kentucky and Tennessee, to desolate the homes of hundreds and thousands of good people who only asked to live in peace at their old homes, and under the Government of their inheritance. But these comparisons are idle. I want peace, and believe it can only be reached through union and war, and I will ever conduct war with a view to perfect an early success.
But, my dear sirs, when peace does come, you may call on me for any thing. Then will I share with you the last cracker, and watch with you to shield your homes and families against danger from every quarter.
Now you must go, and take with you the old and feeble, feed and nurse them, and build for them, in more quiet places, proper habitations to shield them against the weather until the mad passions of men cool down, and allow the Union and peace once more to settle over your old homes in Atlanta. Yours in haste,
W.T. Sherman, Major-General commanding
http://www.rjgeib.com/ thoughts/ sherman/ sherman-to-burn-atlanta.html
General Sherman wanted peace not war. The neocons could learn a lesson from his wisdom. Too bad that it is too late.
The US military is defeated already in Iraq. The time to get out is now, while the getting is good.
Have a nice evening.
June 22nd, 2006 at 1:40 amThis news is so damaging to the left that they, like always, have to tie in their conspiracies so that they don’t have to admit that they were wrong.
If it was O.K. to impeach Bush over ‘lying’ about WMD’s in Iraq, is it now O.K. to impeach the House dems for lying about them? I think it’s time!
June 22nd, 2006 at 2:57 amWait, I thought the weapons were moved to Syria (another country the PNAC people want to invade, wink wink ;) )
June 22nd, 2006 at 3:44 amAn interesting response (#135), you didn’t exactly state your position on the war except:
“The time to get out is now, while the getting is good.”
This doesn’t seem to me the same sentiment that General Sherman would have, based on the statements you quote above:
“To secure this, we must stop the war that now desolates our once happy and favored country. To stop war, we must defeat the rebel armies which are arrayed against the laws and Constitution that all must respect and obey. To defeat those armies, we must prepare the way to reach them in their recesses, provided with the arms and instruments which enable us to accomplish our purpose. Now, I know the vindictive nature of our enemy, that we may have many years of military operations from this quarter;”
General Sherman wanted peace, but we was prepared to “reach them in their recesses” and notes quite likely there would be “years of military operations from this quarter”, and yet he was quick to condem those who started the war by saying they “deserve all the curses and maledictions a people can pour out”.
So to summarize, he was for peace, but was prepared to do what it took to accomplish it. Which meant more warfare for years to come, the relocation of the inhabitants of Atlanta and the burning Atlanta.
So it’s a matter of semantics at this point. We both agree with Sherman. But if I have interpreted your statements correctly you believe that Bush, or the Neocons started the war and I believe that Iraq is a mere battle in a larger war that we did not start. Iraq is just like Atlanta, we need to go in so we can “reach them in their recesses”. And because this is not a conventional war we can’t simply go destroy them and go home. They do not come out in the open or reveal themselves. That is why we have created a democracy in Iraq. This is how we are fighting the enemy and this is why it is absolutely crucial that we remain in Iraq, until we have accomplished our goal. Of course it might not work, as you stated, “There are no guarantees. None. Period. When you go to war, there is a chance you can lose the war”. But what choice is there? Shall we sit back and do nothing and wait for another attack on our own soil? Or will we do as Sherman stated he would do, “I want peace, and believe it can only be reached through union and war, and I will ever conduct war with a view to perfect an early success.”
You quote Sherman and yet absolutely contradict him with your last statement, “The US military is defeated already in Iraq. The time to get out is now, while the getting is good.” Please explain this.
The progress in Iraq is going faster then expected in my opinion. They have formed a goverment faster then New York has been able to agree on how to rebuild the WTC, and there are many other good indicators that the situation there is improving, if you’re willing to see them. Also, by what logic can you possibly call the insurgents in Iraq “freedom fighters”? Iraq is free… now. It is governed by the Iraqis for the Iraqis… now. So by what qualification do you call those that oppose the new free Iraq “freedom fighers”? They are not fighting for freedom. They are fighting for Jihad. Which isn’t really a reason, it’s just what they’ve been told to do by those who wish to establish a new dictatorship or theocracy.
Sherman declared he would “ever conduct war with a view to perfect and early success” for the cause of peace. He was determined to fight and win. Losing was not an option. Sherman did not say that we should get out now, while the getting is good, the liberals and democrats who oppose the nation’s efforts to win this war could “could learn a lesson from his wisdom”.
We have the greatest military might and the greatest economy in the world. There is likely only one way we can lose this war, and that would be if we decide give up.
June 22nd, 2006 at 3:49 amSince we are supposed to believe that this alleged discovery is a fact, we need to know all of the details. Sen.Santorum said that he and Rep.Hoekstra FOUND the WMD in Iraq. I wasn’t aware that they were over there conducting a search for them, how brave of them. And THEY were able to find what 3 different teams of real weapons inspectors, and the US Military could not. WOW, that is just so … hard to believe, and I don’t. I wonder if he would agree to take a lie detector test? Probably not, as he is a crappy liar. Even BushCo finally gave up on this one.
June 22nd, 2006 at 4:54 amWE HAVE THE POWER TO MAKE A CHANGE….KICK THEM OUT, VOTE
June 22nd, 2006 at 5:55 amThe large costs have already been paid, huh?
So that’s why electricity and oil ouputs are back up above pre-war levels! That’s why the Iraqi army is fully trained and standing up! That’s why we’ve been able to cut our reconstruction spending! That’s why the newly formed democratic Iraqi government is on top of things and running in the black!
Oh wait. No.
We have the greatest military might and greatest economy in the world.
What we don’t have is a military branch dedicated to peace keeping and nation building. Our military doesn’t do that. It wasn’t designed to do that. The UN, for its entire history, has been the leader on those fronts. But they’re not in Iraq. Why? Because rather than access their resources, we decided to keep it In House. We’ve pieced together an ineffective, corrupt patchwork of companies that has been a leach on the reconstruction effort. Billions upon billions of dollars have been soaked up, but the Iraqis see little to no reconstruction, high unemployment, and wealthy foreigners getting wealthier by the day. And since the fall of Saddam’s government, I see no evidence that our military is there for anything other than protecting this racket.
Oh, and by the way, the war that the administration said would cost $50-60 billion, worst case, and likely pay for itself has blown past $300 billion on a breakneck pace toward $1 trillion and beyond. At the same time Bush and his rubber stamp Congress pushes tax cut after tax cut putting us trillions more in the hole. Do you know how many times the federal debt limit has been increased in the last 5 years? Are you looking forward to the day when the federal government can afford to pay the interest on the debt and NOTHING ELSE (not even the military). Conservative trend lines put that point 40 years away. How old are you? Do you have children?
I’m sick of this. Good night.
June 22nd, 2006 at 6:27 amSo, if these recently discovered WMDs are so inert, so harmless, will any of you Bush critics be willing to be enclosed in a room with them and have them release their contents? I mean, after all, Bush is full of it and so obviously these shells are 100% harmless, right? Oh, can you invite Hillary to join you in this enclosure?
Come on, put your life where your mouth is. Go for it!
June 22nd, 2006 at 7:42 ampretty funny. You would have to bring the wmds individually to the shut-ins house. these freaks aint been outta the basement in a long time
June 22nd, 2006 at 8:22 am#142- Alright, I will. Can you make the arrangements? Although, the ‘WMD’can only be handled by Scott Ritter, or someone he trusts. Cause those ‘Righties’ will do ANYTHING to ‘win’, and cannot be trusted to not tamper with things. But then, if I live, I want BushCo to capture Osama, like he swore he would do more than 5 years ago. And they will have to do it in 30 days. If they don’t, the entire Bush administration must resign from office immediately, and all Bush appointees must resign as well. Do we have a deal?
June 22nd, 2006 at 9:18 amHave some compassion for them. Psychologically it’s a whole lot easier to cling to the fiction that they were right on WMD than to admit responsibility for hundreds of thousands of people.
June 22nd, 2006 at 9:27 am#142. Here’s a deal, we’ll send Santorum to get them. Then you can take pictures of them. Then you show them to the families of soldiers who were killed, and explain that getting these 20 year-old rusty things was worth their deaths.
June 22nd, 2006 at 9:31 amPsychologically it’s a whole lot easier to cling to the fiction that they were right on WMD than to admit responsibility for hundreds of thousands of people.
Comment by clb72 — June 22, 2006 @ 9:27 am
DING! DING! DING!
June 22nd, 2006 at 9:39 am[…] The last embarassing bit was his recycling of a years-old report of our discovery in Iraq of buried and degraded 25+ year old mustard and nerve gas, left over from the Iran-Iraq War, no doubt delivered via Donald Rumsfeld and stamped with "Made-in-the-USA". These reports have been throroughly discredited by everyone and their grandmother, but to a member of the legislature, especially one is trouble in an election year, anything looks like a lifeline. You know it's bad when both FOXNEWS and the Department of Defense discredits you. […]
June 22nd, 2006 at 9:59 am[…] Think Progress is outraged, noting correctly that WMD in Iraq had never been found in large quantities, as shown by the Kay and Duelfer reports. And until Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi was recently blow’d up, he was alive. TP’s problem is probably that big, internationally-backed “survey groups” were again unable to find WMDs that ordinary US soldiers and Iraqis discovered. […]
June 22nd, 2006 at 10:18 am[…] ThinkProgress.org […]
June 22nd, 2006 at 10:22 am[…] Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) and Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-MI) are hyping a document that describes degraded, pre-1991 munitions that were already acknowledged by the White House’s Iraq Survey Group and dismissed. […]
June 22nd, 2006 at 10:23 am138:
You select various quotes from General Sherman’s letter to support your position. However, here is one that you did not use:
“I know I had no hand in making this war, and I know I will make more sacrifices to-day than any of you to secure peace.”
George Bush and the neocons cannot make the same statement. Contrary to what you may think, it was the Bush Cabal that advocated going to war with Iraq.
Saddam Hussein was recruited by the CIA way back in the late fifties to do their dirty work. He was their man during the Iran/Iraq war. Donald Rumsfeld was slobbering all over Saddam when he shook his hand in the infamous photo.
When the time came for Saddam to be discarded, the Bush regime didn’t hesitate.
Who is responsible for this war? The neocons and the Bush Cabal.
General Sherman also stated that he did not want anything that the residents of Atlanta had.
Not so with the US government as it now exists. That new embassy in Baghdad has plans and desires for the resources in Iraq.
You built a strawman. They’re not hard to knock down.
The war could have been prevented by simply not invading Iraq and by simply using diplomacy. That is not what the neocons wanted to do. War was their choice. They have bit off more than they can chew. They’re guilty of being wrong-headed and foolhardy. Wisdom is something they don’t have. Their interpretations of the ‘National Intelligence Estimate’ is woefully lacking.
They don’t know if they are afoot or horseback.
General Sherman knew exactly what he was going to do. He was going to share a cracker. The neocons don’t even want to share a crumb. They are going to lose, and it isn’t going to be pretty.
Again, I will reiterate, the war was to last six weeks, maybe six months at the most, and at a cost of sixy billion dollars. Anybody gullible enough to think that is just plain stupid.
If somebody bombed your home or farm, killed your wife and children, would you thank those who bombed your property and made you grieve and suffer? Or, would it anger you? Would you forgive them or would you want revenge? Adjust your priorities to meet the realities, not concocted ‘realities’ by some nitwits who want to wage war for profit and greed.
wise up
June 22nd, 2006 at 10:51 amdang, only dumb libs now, where did the smart lib go? I was looking forward to his response to #138. The rest of you bunch stop yapping, you make me sick. You just like to hear yourselves talk and won’t participate in a real conversation where things are actually discussed.
June 22nd, 2006 at 12:07 pmoh Ron, you came back!
June 22nd, 2006 at 12:08 pm134 ssuede7:
1. Agreed!
2. Not to be disrespectful, but please get your head out of the sand inre to bush doing the best he could with the info he received. bush is a puppet doing what he’s told, period. With that said, you could rightfully say, “Hey the little dope was only following orders!” You would then be absolutely correct. You could also say bush didn’t have a full(or even partial)grasp on the situation, but absolutely NOT that he did what he thought was best given the intel, unless you think he was lied to by his handlers. Hmmmmm, that could be a distinct possibility, couldn’t it?
3. Why was the Iraq war totally necessary? Is that the answer when there’s a difficult situation? We had Saddam totally contained, limiting airspace, destroying radar and anti-aircraft emplacements, economic