The US, The UN and Iraq

OK, BillW.

I got the rest from war guy talking heads on TV.

I do have a question.
Are you mad that they were found?
If so, who draws your ire? The Inspectors? Bush? Maybe Saddam?

A look at the official webiste would show that:

"Today's inspection activity in Mosul will be reported tomorrow."
UN News Center

Now, this was the most important part of the article, IMHO:

From that same article:

Witnesses told Reuters that Hassan refused to hand over documents to inspectors at his house but after long discussion agreed to go with them to the Iraqi National Monitoring Directorate to have the papers copied and given to the experts.

Hassan and the inspectors did not speak to reporters.
Hassan heads al-Razzi State Company, which was founded in 1997 by Iraq's Military Industrialization Commission and employs several people who were involved in Iraq's past nuclear program, according to weapons inspectors' earlier reports.
Hassan had a box of documents with him as he got into a U.N. car with Dimitri Perricos, a team leader among the U.N. experts, and an Iraqi liaison officer.
"I'm not happy about all of this," Perricos could be heard telling Iraqi liaison officers before driving off.


I bet he's not happy about it.

The key is, or it appears to be - they had him alone. This is the situation (and they need a number of them) where they can get the most information - people alone and in different locations that they are not acustom to.

I know we've had testy conversations, BillW, so I wanted to preface by saying I'm not attempting to zing you, or be confrontational.

I think conditions that will yeild the most truthful, informative information is a good thing.

I see your comments, but I don't know your opinion about how the Inspectors are questioning the scientists. What is your opinion?

I don't know the conditions by any means, I do know that if they at least get them alone and in new accomadations they stand the chance of getting valid information. I want a peaceful outcome. I don't buy into the "Bomb them into oblivion for peace" spin of the adminstration.

Iraq has to be disarmed and it would be perferable for Saddam to be gotten rid of. I wouldn't care if they just killed him. But, I don't think there is any SMoking Gun or any other need to go to War!

BillW, Good link. However, it's still not definitive enoug as a breach, but Iraq protests too much~! If they had come forward with that information in their 12,000 page declarations, this would not have been necessary. Patience is the key; let the inspectors continue their search. c.i.

I value your comments.

I agree with you, in that I hope there can be a peaceful solution. May I ask further: If Inspectors do continue to find evidence of a chemical and nuclear program, which has yeilded useable weapons--proving Saddam has lied about his chemical and nuclear capabilities--and Saddam refuses to destroy them, would you consider strikes to destroy these weapons as a reasonable response?

And I appreciate the dialogue with you.

c.i.--Considering the wording of the UN, lying on the declaration is legally 'a breach'. You may not think it should be a breach, but it meets the legal definition set forth by the UN.

Breaches have magnitude. If it is strong enough to bomb - then it is probably moved. My guess is that anything real is 200 or 300 hundred foot underground (ain't gonna get no bomb down there) or in Syria.

If Saddam is dead, things will change.

Lash, It may be a "breach" in accordance with the UN resolutions, but we need to have more information before we start a war that can cause untold damage in human lives. It's better to be sure there isn't any good reason for their existence. I'm sure that the UN inspectors will get to the bottom of this issue, and report back to the UN. c.i.

So, if I follow correctly, BillW, you prefer an assassination to war.

Do you think the world community would look better on that than they would war?
Would you not criticise the Bush administration on their choice, if they chose the assassination option?

To be honest, I'd prefer Saddam's exile or death, but I think if we assassinate him, we take the world down to a scary level, where international assassinations become widely used....AND America will take another hit in the international community.

Agreed with certitude. I think some folk are running around thinking the first time someone says 'breach' bombs will start dropping. Actually, Iraq has BEEN in breach (lying on the declaration, and shooting at recon planes), but they just got breachier. They get breachier with every passing day.

But, I am very upset at the thought of civilian causualities. Those poor people have suffered enough. They should string Saddam up. (OK, even the thought of that bothers me.)

I'm holding out for exile, but that dumbass is going to get himself, and others, killed.

I thought that we had got rid of the Presidental dictate against assissination - but it hasn't, yet (by the way, that's only against a world leader). Kill one man where the guilt is dripping in rivers of past, present and (undoubtably) future blood or bomb thousands upon thousands of innocent civilians - that's not a hard question for me to answer. I would be the first to jump up and say, dumb boy did something right - 1 right 382 wrong would then be the score of his unPresidency. There are was of doing the job without looking like you did the job - look what Reagan did to Kadaffi; he only got a brief brohha for it.

Lash,

We've assasinated before.

(Were there any direct ones, Craven - or via stooges - like Allende - or laissez faire - like thingummy in Vietnam?)

Depends on who you ask. An American eye witness to Che's death's aftermath placed an American CIA agent at the scene and said he was visibly nervous knowing "he wasn't supposed to be there".

I guess it depends on whose allegation or denial you believe.

Craven--Who did we assassinate?

Lash,

You gotta be kiddin' it wasn't always against American policy ya know.

Here's a starter, read up on declassified CIA stuff for more:

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB4/index.html