its funny how some people can ask questions/pose arguments on one thread...get responses to those questions, ignore the responses completely, and then start a whole new thread with the EXACT same questions/points. lets review the other thread of which i speak......
simon said:
I want to know how Saddam could be described as a threat to the world if they did not use WoMD even when they were being invaded?
Also, we heard a lot about the proof that the USA and UK claimed they had of WoMD and satellite photos of
bakerieschemical factories and such. Surely, finding them is just a case of driving up there? Maybe I'm being too naive?
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/14/49865/711861/post.ashx#711861
and here was my response:
simon-
I want to know how Saddam could be described as a threat to the world if they did not use WoMD even when they were being invaded?
its quite possible that we eliminated most of their capabilities to use these weapons early on in the war.....if saddam indeed had a "red line" drawn in the sand, where wmd were to be used once we crossed it...its highly probable that the leadership had been dismantled before we ever reached that point, not to mention the ground forces that would fire these weapons were mostly wiped out by that time. consider this possibility also: saddam could have been delusional enough to believe that he could drag this war out for a long period of time, getting bloodier by the day, with civilian casualties piling up, thus increasing world opinion and protests against the war, and forcing some sort of cease fire. in this highly unlikely (but possibly believable if youre a madman, or just a really poor military general) scenario, saddam wouldnt have wanted to use ANY wmd, as he could then maintain world support for his stance after the war, and also maintain the world opinion that the coalition actions in iraq were completely unjustified.
Also, we heard a lot about the proof that the USA and UK claimed they had of WoMD and satellite photos ofbakerieschemical factories and such. Surely, finding them is just a case of driving up there? Maybe I'm being too naive?
youre not being naive in thinking that it is a simple case of searching the suspected sites....but you might be naive in thinking this could or should have been done by now. weve got quite a lot to do over there, which now includes policing the cities (which you and others have pointed out should be a priority....btw, we have police forces in route to iraq), and of course maintaining control over the cities, airports, roads, bridges, etc, that we have captured, not to mention keeping up the supply lines, and staying on top of humanitarian aid.....and then we have to look for wmd on top of all that, and its only been 3 weeks! the 125,000 troops in iraq are too few to accoplish all of this as quickly as some would like......i find it completely absurd that anyone makes the implication that these weapons should have been unearthed by now. so, can we just "drive up there" and search them? sure...do you know how many sites we have to "drive up" to? here you go (bold/italic mine).......
As combat winds down in Iraq, the hunt for chemical and biological weapons or nuclear materials is rising on the priority list for American troops. There are more potential nuclear, biological or chemical weapons sites in Iraq than U.S. military teams to check them, Pentagon officials said Sunday.
U.S. forces have a list of 2,000 to 3,000 sites in Iraq that need to be checked, and weapons teams are checking up to 20 sites a day, said the war's commander, Gen. Tommy Franks. Iraqis ranging from common citizens to high-ranking officials have suggested other possible hiding places to be searched, Franks and other military officials said.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,84097,00.html
now, we are searching constantly, and new finds are being reported almost daily...but nothing is set in stone until extensive and conclusive tests are run by u.s. experts, as well as outside experts. i think the "smoking gun" will be confirmed soon, but its going to be some time before all the wmd are discovered.
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/14/49865/713309/post.ashx#713309 granted, thats been 3 weeks ago now....so that means according to franks, about 400 sites have been checked since then....only 2600 to go!
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