While "yellowcakegate" continues to play out on the front page, the other lie about Iraq's alleged nuclear capability has gone, quietly, completely down the tubes.
In late June top Iraqi nuclear scientist Mahdi Shukur Obeidi dug up some centrifuge parts in his garden. The White House, of course, claimed this was proof Saddam Hussein intended to revive his nuclear weapons program once sanctions were lifted, a claim later debunked by a top U.N. weapons inspector.
While Obeidi was harvesting old centrifuge parts and incorrect blueprints on how to make a bomb, he was also telling U.S. officials -- something they've withheld until now -- that the infamous aluminum tubes were not meant for nuclear bomb production. (He also said that since '91 Iraq had not resurrected a nuclear weapons program. But you knew that already.)
For those keeping score at home, the aluminum tube claim goes something like this:
Tubes were for The Bomb:
Tubes were not for The Bomb:
They are DONE, COOKED, ATOMIZED! We know from January that this uranium story was all fake among a lot of other lies. I was always surprised that this was not enough to question Bush administration. But now, as I see the mayonnaise picking up, I am very very happy. "Bring them on!" and impeach them! That will prove that democracy can be self fixing! Again, I am happy.
The french (living in US)
Posted by: Jacques on July 19, 2003 07:58 AMsmells like hollywood
"nobody knows nothing"
god i wish i could remember where i read it but here is a good hypothesis. What if Saddam thought he did indeed have WMD and was actually being duped by his own party. What if the deception went that far. The US neocons thought Saddam had storehouse of WMDs and upcoming nuclear capabilities because Saddam himself thought he had them. And then the fact that Baghdad fell so easily suggested some sort of last minute deal was brokered between the US and Saddam. And what about the fact that Rummy sat on the board of directors that sold N. Korea nuclear technology? This whole administration reeks of enemy arming.
Posted by: bruno on July 19, 2003 03:16 PM