re: Source of the bad info for WMD in Iraq as told by CIA agent

quote:

---

VX nerve agents

---

quote:

---

In an MI6 report from September 2002, a “new source” with “phenomenal access” to Iraq’s biological and chemical weapons capabilities claimed that nerve agents VX, sarin and soman had been produced at a facility in Al-Yarmuk, and stored in containers including “linked hollow glass spheres. Eyebrows were soon raised inside MI6 after the report was circulated, with “one recipient” pointing out the similarities to the film.

According to the Inquiry, it was suggested that “glass containers were not typically used in chemical munitions; and that a popular move (The Rock) had inaccurately depicted nerve agents being carried in glass beads or spheres.”

But despite these doubts, the same source was again cited in a report claiming that Iraq was accelerating its chemical and biological weapons programs and had built more facilities.

”

---

quote:

---

Faux news was all in on the WMDS and people still watch that bullshite.

---

The NYT won a Pulitzer for pushing the same narrative.

quote:

---

For our greatest ally.

---

The people who attacked the USS Liberty and believe Jesus is in Hell boiling in excrement for eternity would never mislead us into untold loss of American blood and treasure simply for the regime change they desired in the armpit of Earth.

You sound like an antisemite.

quote:

---

The interesting question that to this day as far as I know has never been answered is why?

---

The military industrial complex was hungry.

quote:

---

John Kerry

---

"I was for it before I was against it."

quote:

---

and didn't have terrible BO

---

it’s worth something imo imho fwiw

Indians should take note

quote:

---

So this guy on the vid would have been 20-something at that time. And you think he was read into everything? You actually believe that? Amazing how YouTube just breeds gullibility.

---

John Kiriakou was 27 during the liberation of Kuwait and was recruited to the CIA while he was in grad school. 8 years of the start of his career was spent in the Middle East as an analyst specializing on Iraq.

It is plausible that what he's saying here is true

I would have an easier time believing there were WMD's in Iraq than believing there wasn't.

Here's why... (Also, I'm going off of memory so if something isn't factually correct, please correct me)

It is a fact that Iraq had chemical weapons as late as 1991. If I'm not mistaken, they were supplied to Iraq by the US for use in the Iran/Iraq war in the 80's. I suspect that we just used that as an avenue to dispose of the munitions the US was trying to get rid of.

I know Iraq had them as late as 1991 because they were discovered by US forces as part the invasion during Desert Storm. They were discovered in Kamisiyah, Iraq. and in the infinite wisdom of the US military, they were destroyed in place by blowing up a massive pile of chemical ordinance upwind of 100k US troops (my unit included). This effectively exposed 100k US troops to low doses of sarin and cyclosarin chemical agents. This is the cause of the mysterious "Gulf War Syndrome".

Considering we KNOW they had them in '91, the question becomes did the Iraq military move the remaining chemical weapons out of the country or is there a possibility that there were some left there?

quote:

---

You always have a choice. W and Cheney arrogantly thought we could reshape the ME by forcefully building a democracy. It costs thousands of lives and a trillion dollars. Small note: Obama stood out from the crowd in 2003 when he was the only Presidential hopeful to vote against the Iraq war

---

Of course you always have a choice, but let's not be a bunch of Monday morning QBs and judge after the fact almost 25 years later. I'm fully aware that it costs 1,000s of lives some of them were my friends, classmates, and soldiers I had served with prior to 9/11.

My personal belief is that we had bad intelligence. I don't buy off on all of the conspiracy theories that have consumed the internet the past 25 years.

After 9/11 the American people would not have stood for allowing Sadaam to stay in power while openly defying peace treaty from 1991. Let's not pretend that Sadaam didn't have a history of using WMDs.

Collin Powell, the man who supposedly stopped us from invading Iraq was literally the tip of the spear in selling the world that it was time invade Iraq and asking our Allies to join us.

Over 70% of congress and the senate were in favor. I'm not sure we have seen a bipartisan agreement of this magnitude since then. The vote in the House was 296-133 in favor, and in the Senate, it was 77-23. Hell the media seemed to be in favor of an invasion as well.


I believe the "nation building experience arrogance" probably came from the success that we were currently having in the Balkans. We were able to bring peace to a region and implement some form democracy with little pushback. The government that we helped establish via the Dayton Peace Accord build is still used today in Bosnia. Croatia is a thriving tourist destination today.

Yes we can all look back and second guess it and admit that is was a mistake, but don't pretend that with the information available and those of us who were adults at the time weren't in favor of the decision to invade then and given the similar circumstances wouldn't be in favor of again today.

quote:

---

Hussein could not admit he didn't have them and could not let inspectors in to confirm he didn't have them. To do so would have been his death sentence.

---

And to not let them in was ultimately his death sentence. "To be or not to be . . . "