Why Is Bush Still Here?

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Bush Statement

Truth

1

UN concluded in 1999 that Saddam Hussein (SH) had bioweapons materials sufficient to produce 25K liters of anthrax—enough to kill several million people.

Bush source: 1999 UN Special Commission (UNSCOM) report.  Report is based on estimates and guesses, not facts.  Report only mentions "precursor materials" that might be used to develop anthrax, and that it was believed Iraq produced these precursor materials.

2

UN concluded SH had materials sufficient to produce 38K liters of botulinum toxin—enough to kill subject millions of people to death by respiratory failure.

Bush source: 1999 UN Special Commission (UNSCOM) report.  Report is based on estimates, or best guesses based on work of UNSCOM inspectors and informants of uncertain reliability.  Iraq declared 19K liters; State Dept. states UN believes it could have produced more than double that.

3

Our intelligence sources estimate that SH had the materials to produce as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard and VX nerve agent that can kill thousands.

Though Bush at least acknowledges these are estimates, he neglects the uncertainty of his sources.  CIA and other sources qualified their statements with probably, and strongly suggest.  Bush removed the caveats on his statement.

4

US intelligence suggested that SH had > 30K munitions capable of delivering chemical agents.  Inspectors turned up 16 of them.

Probably vague reference to intelligence sources is UNSCOM.  Best estimate is 15K artillery shells unaccounted for.  UNSCOM supervised the destruction of 40K chemical munitions.  No declassified info supports 30K munitions capable of delivering chemical weapons remain unaccounted for.  Nor has any news organization found evidence for the validity of Bush' claim.

5

Three defectors give us knowledge that Iraq had several mobile biological weapons labs.

Defectors have never been identified, even though the administration now can offer them effective asylum.  Evidence has not been found of these labs.  Bush presented them as fact with a certainty entirely unjustified.

6

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed in the 1990s that SH had an advanced nuclear weapons development program, had a design for a nuclear weapon, and was working on five different methods of enriching uranium for a bomb.

By 1998, IAEA was convinced SH nuclear program was utterly ineffective.  Head of IAEA inspection team, Garry Dillon, stated, "there were no indications of Iraq having achieved its program goals of producing a nuclear weapon; nor were there any indications that there remained in Iraq any physical capability for production of weapon-usable nuclear material of any practical significance.  This was confirmed in the 2003 IAEA report.  Bush deception was blatant.

7

The British government has learned SH recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.

The British information was known to be false.  Bush did not make the assertion in an October 7, 2002, speech.  Colin Powell refused to use the information in his United Nations speech days later, because he knew the assertion had been shown to be false by investigation of former ambassador Joe Wilson (whose wife, Valerie Plame, was a CIA covert agent dealing with weapons of mass destruction).

8

Our intelligence services tell us that SH has attempted to purchase high-strength aluminum tubes suitable for nuclear weapons production.

Also ignores the caveats made by the CIA report; some believed these tubes were for conventional weapons.  IAEA by January 20, 2003, concluded these tubes were part of a conventional rocket program.  Today, of course, with no nuclear facilities having been found in Iraq, it is clear the information from IAEA was correct.