Missing Iraq Weapons
This story is obviously getting huge play right now in the media, I think because it fits the storyline of the election- Bush's determination/bullheadedness versus Kerry's argument of competence. Here is a response I wrote to a discussion on our family website:
What happened to these explosives is still a matter open for discussion. The AP article a brief timeline here:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6323933/According to UN inspectors, they were there and marked the explosives in January 2003. They were last there March 15th, 2003 at which time the seals were unbroken. The inspectors pulled out before March 20th, due to the pending invasion. Our first troops arrived there April 3rd and were engaged in a battle there. They did not search the area thoroughly at that time. April 6th, they left- April 10th, the next big unit in. They did not search the complex. Widespread looting was reported at the time. However the area did not get searched until May 3rd, at which time the weapons were found missing. The point being, between March 15th and May 3rd, the weapons dissapeared. We have no idea where they went oe when they left. All we know is that we do not have them. Did Saddam move them- then where are they now? Syria? Insurgents have them? Who knows?Okay,opinion time...The reason this is getting such big play is it fits many peoples dynamic of the war. I, for one, supported the war but think it has been run in a just amazingly irresponsibile manner. The administration ignored War College planning, Congressional reports and military opinions that all said we would need more troops- not for the war, but for the peace.
With more troops (ours, or a bigger coalition) we could have searched these areas more rapidly, controlled the borders, stopped much of this insurgency before it began. This administration did not do this, and it did not level with the American people about what it would take to accomplish the mission. It is plain to I think anyone who looked at this before the invasion that we would be in Iraq for YEARS. The administration has called this suggestion "reckless" while the offical military planning has us there at least until 2007 (which is as far as it goes out). We are building permanent military bases over there. Remember the flap about how much it would cost- paid for by the oil, Hadley (Wolfowitz' deputy) told Congress. In the debates, Kerry said over 2000 billion and Bush said less than that. Bush was right, at least until he requested funds pushing it over $225 billion.
In sum, I think this operation, while necessary and noble, has been plagued by incompetence and hubris from the start. We never had enough troops, never had the money, never had a plan, still, to this day do not have an exit strategy. This is why so many thoughtful Bush supporters in 2000 are abandoning him in the media and blogosphere, why so many are frustrated. Chris Hitchens, Andrew Sullivan, Dan Drezner, Bob Barr (R-Ga.), The Economist magazine...plus many a newspaper that endorsed Bush last time are passing this time. What a failure it is of both men that the two "plans" we have are 1) more of the same admit no mistakes ever ever ever or 2) I'm not Bush so I will be better. Sad. Our troops deserve so much better.
(Also, if Kerry had a real plan to fix Iraq, he would be up by 10 points.)
What happened to these explosives is still a matter open for discussion. The AP article a brief timeline here:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6323933/According to UN inspectors, they were there and marked the explosives in January 2003. They were last there March 15th, 2003 at which time the seals were unbroken. The inspectors pulled out before March 20th, due to the pending invasion. Our first troops arrived there April 3rd and were engaged in a battle there. They did not search the area thoroughly at that time. April 6th, they left- April 10th, the next big unit in. They did not search the complex. Widespread looting was reported at the time. However the area did not get searched until May 3rd, at which time the weapons were found missing. The point being, between March 15th and May 3rd, the weapons dissapeared. We have no idea where they went oe when they left. All we know is that we do not have them. Did Saddam move them- then where are they now? Syria? Insurgents have them? Who knows?Okay,opinion time...The reason this is getting such big play is it fits many peoples dynamic of the war. I, for one, supported the war but think it has been run in a just amazingly irresponsibile manner. The administration ignored War College planning, Congressional reports and military opinions that all said we would need more troops- not for the war, but for the peace.
With more troops (ours, or a bigger coalition) we could have searched these areas more rapidly, controlled the borders, stopped much of this insurgency before it began. This administration did not do this, and it did not level with the American people about what it would take to accomplish the mission. It is plain to I think anyone who looked at this before the invasion that we would be in Iraq for YEARS. The administration has called this suggestion "reckless" while the offical military planning has us there at least until 2007 (which is as far as it goes out). We are building permanent military bases over there. Remember the flap about how much it would cost- paid for by the oil, Hadley (Wolfowitz' deputy) told Congress. In the debates, Kerry said over 2000 billion and Bush said less than that. Bush was right, at least until he requested funds pushing it over $225 billion.
In sum, I think this operation, while necessary and noble, has been plagued by incompetence and hubris from the start. We never had enough troops, never had the money, never had a plan, still, to this day do not have an exit strategy. This is why so many thoughtful Bush supporters in 2000 are abandoning him in the media and blogosphere, why so many are frustrated. Chris Hitchens, Andrew Sullivan, Dan Drezner, Bob Barr (R-Ga.), The Economist magazine...plus many a newspaper that endorsed Bush last time are passing this time. What a failure it is of both men that the two "plans" we have are 1) more of the same admit no mistakes ever ever ever or 2) I'm not Bush so I will be better. Sad. Our troops deserve so much better.
(Also, if Kerry had a real plan to fix Iraq, he would be up by 10 points.)
posted by Scott L. Stuart at
1:55 AM
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