WMD Take, Take 2

WMD Take, Take 2

WMD multiple choice - The Washington Times: Commentary

We have been the occupying power in Iraq for about 10 weeks, and many of us thought we would have uncovered stockpiles of WMDs by now. But why are so many prepared, on this basis alone, to begin throwing around the accusation that the Bush administration lied to the world? At the very least, other explanations ought to be considered.

Let's start with the history. Saddam's nuclear ambitions go back at least to 1981, when Israel destroyed the (French-built) nuclear reactor at Osirak. Following the Gulf war, Iraq acknowledged it had resumed work on a nuclear bomb. As for chemical and biological weapons, the United Nations has confirmed Iraq's possession on multiple occasions.

The United Nations stated that "field tests of biological warfare agents started in late 1987/early 1988." In 1991, after surrendering to coalition forces, Iraq presented a list of its banned weapons to UNSCOM, the U.N. agency responsible for overseeing the cease-fire. Iraq then acknowledged some 10,000 nerve gas warheads, 1,500 chemical weapons, 412 tons of chemical weapons agents, 25 long-range missiles and more. Yet these proved to be understatements, as inspectors found more than these declared weapons.