thedrifter
05-25-06, 10:06 AM
Sent to me by hubby... fontman
Ellie
Who thought Iraq had WMD? Most everybody
May 25, 2006
by Larry Elder
As Memorial Day approaches, 51 percent of Americans, according to a
CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll, think the commander in chief "deliberately
misled" us about Iraq and
weapons of mass destruction. "Deliberately misled"? Once again, let's
go to the videotape:
Clinton Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, February 1998: "Iraq is
a long way from [here], but what happens there matters a great deal
here. For the risks that the leaders of a
rogue state will use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons against us
or our allies is the greatest security threat we face."
Clinton National Security Adviser Sandy Berger, February 1998: "He will
use those weapons of mass destruction again, as he has 10 times since
1983."
Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Manuel Durao Barroso, October 2003:
"When [former President Bill] Clinton was here recently he told me was
absolutely convinced, given his
years in the White House and the access to privileged information which
he had, that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction until the end
of the Saddam regime."
French President Jacques Chirac, February 2003: "There is a problem --
the probable possession of weapons of mass destruction by an
uncontrollable country, Iraq. The
international community is right . . . in having decided Iraq should be
disarmed."
President Bill Clinton, December 1998: "Other countries possess weapons
of mass destruction and ballistic missiles. With Saddam, there is one
big difference: He has used them,
not once, but repeatedly -- unleashing chemical weapons against Iranian
troops during a decade-long war, not only against soldiers, but against
civilians; firing Scud missiles at
the citizens of Israel, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Iran. Not only
against a foreign enemy, but even against his own people, gassing Kurdish
civilians in Northern Iraq. . . . I have no
doubt today that, left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will use these
terrible weapons again. . . . "
Clinton, July 2003: " . . . [I]t is incontestable that on the day I
left office, there were unaccounted for stocks of biological and chemical
weapons. We might have destroyed them in '98.
We tried to, but we sure as heck didn't know it because we never got to
go back there."
Gen. Wesley Clark, September 2002, testimony before the House Armed
Services Committee: "There's no question that Saddam Hussein is a threat.
. . . Yes, he has chemical
and biological weapons. . . . He is, as far as we know, actively
pursuing nuclear capabilities, though he doesn't have nuclear warheads yet.
If he were to acquire nuclear weapons,
I think our friends in the region would face greatly increased risks,
as would we."
Vermont Gov. Howard Dean [D], September 2002: "There's no question that
Saddam Hussein is a threat to the United States and to our allies."
Dean, February 2003: "I agree with President Bush -- he has said that
Saddam Hussein is evil. And he is. [Hussein] is a vicious dictator and a
documented deceiver. He has
invaded his neighbors, used chemical arms, and failed to account for
all the chemical and biological weapons he had before the Gulf War. He
has murdered dissidents and
refused to comply with his obligations under UN Security Council
Resolutions. And he has tried to build a nuclear bomb. Anyone who believes in
the importance of limiting the
spread of weapons of mass killing, the value of democracy and the
centrality of human rights must agree that Saddam Hussein is a menace. The
world would be a better place if
he were in a different place other than the seat of power in Baghdad or
any other country."
Dean, March 2003: "[Iraq] is automatically an imminent threat to the
countries that surround it because of the possession of these weapons."
Robert Einhorn, Clinton assistant secretary of state for
nonproliferation, March 2002: "How close is the peril of Iraqi WMD? Today, or at most
within a few months, Iraq could launch
missile attacks with chemical or biological weapons against its
neighbors (albeit attacks that would be ragged, inaccurate and limited in
size). Within four or five years it could
have the capability to threaten most of the Middle East and parts of
Europe with missiles armed with nuclear weapons containing fissile
material produced indigenously -- and to
threaten U.S. territory with such weapons delivered by nonconventional
means, such as commercial shipping containers. If it managed to get its
hands on sufficient quantities of
already produced fissile material, these threats could arrive much
sooner."
Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., and others, in a letter to President Bush,
December 2001: "There is no doubt that . . . Saddam Hussein has
invigorated his weapons programs. . . . In
addition, Saddam continues to redefine delivery systems and is
doubtless using the cover of a licit missile program to develop longer-range
missiles that will threaten the United
States and our allies."
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., December 1998: "Saddam Hussein has been
engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology,
which is a threat to countries
in the region, and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection
process."
Sen. John Rockefeller, D-W.Va., ranking minority Intelligence Committee
member, October 2002: "There is unmistakable evidence that Saddam
Hussein is working aggressively
to develop nuclear weapons and will likely have nuclear weapons within
the next five years."
Any questions?
--- Larry Elder is an accomplished attorney, radio personality,
syndicated columnist, best-selling author and host of daytime television's The
Larry Elder Show
-30-
Semper Fidelis,
Mark
Ellie
Who thought Iraq had WMD? Most everybody
May 25, 2006
by Larry Elder
As Memorial Day approaches, 51 percent of Americans, according to a
CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll, think the commander in chief "deliberately
misled" us about Iraq and
weapons of mass destruction. "Deliberately misled"? Once again, let's
go to the videotape:
Clinton Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, February 1998: "Iraq is
a long way from [here], but what happens there matters a great deal
here. For the risks that the leaders of a
rogue state will use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons against us
or our allies is the greatest security threat we face."
Clinton National Security Adviser Sandy Berger, February 1998: "He will
use those weapons of mass destruction again, as he has 10 times since
1983."
Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Manuel Durao Barroso, October 2003:
"When [former President Bill] Clinton was here recently he told me was
absolutely convinced, given his
years in the White House and the access to privileged information which
he had, that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction until the end
of the Saddam regime."
French President Jacques Chirac, February 2003: "There is a problem --
the probable possession of weapons of mass destruction by an
uncontrollable country, Iraq. The
international community is right . . . in having decided Iraq should be
disarmed."
President Bill Clinton, December 1998: "Other countries possess weapons
of mass destruction and ballistic missiles. With Saddam, there is one
big difference: He has used them,
not once, but repeatedly -- unleashing chemical weapons against Iranian
troops during a decade-long war, not only against soldiers, but against
civilians; firing Scud missiles at
the citizens of Israel, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Iran. Not only
against a foreign enemy, but even against his own people, gassing Kurdish
civilians in Northern Iraq. . . . I have no
doubt today that, left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will use these
terrible weapons again. . . . "
Clinton, July 2003: " . . . [I]t is incontestable that on the day I
left office, there were unaccounted for stocks of biological and chemical
weapons. We might have destroyed them in '98.
We tried to, but we sure as heck didn't know it because we never got to
go back there."
Gen. Wesley Clark, September 2002, testimony before the House Armed
Services Committee: "There's no question that Saddam Hussein is a threat.
. . . Yes, he has chemical
and biological weapons. . . . He is, as far as we know, actively
pursuing nuclear capabilities, though he doesn't have nuclear warheads yet.
If he were to acquire nuclear weapons,
I think our friends in the region would face greatly increased risks,
as would we."
Vermont Gov. Howard Dean [D], September 2002: "There's no question that
Saddam Hussein is a threat to the United States and to our allies."
Dean, February 2003: "I agree with President Bush -- he has said that
Saddam Hussein is evil. And he is. [Hussein] is a vicious dictator and a
documented deceiver. He has
invaded his neighbors, used chemical arms, and failed to account for
all the chemical and biological weapons he had before the Gulf War. He
has murdered dissidents and
refused to comply with his obligations under UN Security Council
Resolutions. And he has tried to build a nuclear bomb. Anyone who believes in
the importance of limiting the
spread of weapons of mass killing, the value of democracy and the
centrality of human rights must agree that Saddam Hussein is a menace. The
world would be a better place if
he were in a different place other than the seat of power in Baghdad or
any other country."
Dean, March 2003: "[Iraq] is automatically an imminent threat to the
countries that surround it because of the possession of these weapons."
Robert Einhorn, Clinton assistant secretary of state for
nonproliferation, March 2002: "How close is the peril of Iraqi WMD? Today, or at most
within a few months, Iraq could launch
missile attacks with chemical or biological weapons against its
neighbors (albeit attacks that would be ragged, inaccurate and limited in
size). Within four or five years it could
have the capability to threaten most of the Middle East and parts of
Europe with missiles armed with nuclear weapons containing fissile
material produced indigenously -- and to
threaten U.S. territory with such weapons delivered by nonconventional
means, such as commercial shipping containers. If it managed to get its
hands on sufficient quantities of
already produced fissile material, these threats could arrive much
sooner."
Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., and others, in a letter to President Bush,
December 2001: "There is no doubt that . . . Saddam Hussein has
invigorated his weapons programs. . . . In
addition, Saddam continues to redefine delivery systems and is
doubtless using the cover of a licit missile program to develop longer-range
missiles that will threaten the United
States and our allies."
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., December 1998: "Saddam Hussein has been
engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology,
which is a threat to countries
in the region, and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection
process."
Sen. John Rockefeller, D-W.Va., ranking minority Intelligence Committee
member, October 2002: "There is unmistakable evidence that Saddam
Hussein is working aggressively
to develop nuclear weapons and will likely have nuclear weapons within
the next five years."
Any questions?
--- Larry Elder is an accomplished attorney, radio personality,
syndicated columnist, best-selling author and host of daytime television's The
Larry Elder Show
-30-
Semper Fidelis,
Mark