I find it incredibly suspicious that this(like the supposedly
incriminating tapes by bin Laden) only show up long after they would've
been most appropriately publicized!) :P

I'll say straight out that I believe Bush & his minions are
manufacturing their case! :P

But what to do?

He does have all the power on the globe right now! :(

He made it quite clear, ON 9/11 that he was calling on all allies to
stand firmly with him in his "War on Terrorism" and that anybody who
didn't follow him would be deemed to be allied with terrorism, and
appropriate measures would be taken! :P

Too much power for the little man who's just bucking along trying to
gain his own reputation despite living in his father's shadow! :P :(

Scary stuff indeed, the world over! :(

Your friend,
<+]::-{)}  (Cyberpope(the Bishop of ROM!))
Ask me how to connect with me in any of 5 different Instant Messengers






On (05 Feb 03) Wheezer wrote to All...

 W > Hello All,
 W >
 W > Wednesday February 5 6:45 PM EST
 W >
 W > Powell adds weight to case against Saddam, but proof remains
 W > circumstantial
 W > By ROBERT RUSSO
 W >
 W > WASHINGTON (CP) - There was no smoking gun, but U.S. Secretary of
 W > State Colin Powell did deliver some tantalizing tape.
 W >
 W >
 W > Scratchy, but discernible audio intercepts that suggest Iraqi
 W > Republican Guard officers were hiding evidence from United Nations
 W > weapons inspectors provided the most drama and the red meat of
 W > Powell's presentation Wednesday to the UN Security Council. Powell,
 W > the Bush administration's "reluctant warrior" who persuaded the
 W > president to take the conflict to the world body, provided no Adlai
 W > Stevenson moment: code for walloping, irrefutable proof of Iraqi
 W > menace.
 W >
 W >
 W > Stevenson, the U.S. ambassador to the UN during the 1962 Cuban missile
 W > crisis, dramatically proved the Soviet envoy a liar by confronting him
 W > with vivid photographs of nuclear rockets in Cuba.
 W >
 W >
 W > But during a long, at times tedious, 90-minute address, hearing the
 W > Iraqi officers discuss deleting references to "nerve agents" in
 W > reports and secreting away "modified vehicles" made for a
compelling
 W > spectacle.
 W >
 W >
 W > The tapes suggested that at a minimum, Iraq was obfuscating. At worst,
 W > Saddam Hussein is deliberately hiding chemical, biological or nuclear
 W > weapons.
 W >
 W >
 W > "It really shows that Iraq is involved in an active effort to
 W > circumvent UN regulations," said Patrick Garrett, an analyst at
 W > Globalsecurity.org.
 W >
 W >
 W > A prosecutor's case is often built incrementally, with myriad details
 W > piling up to lead juries towards a conclusion of guilt. Experts said
 W > Powell did add some weight to the Bush administration's charge that
 W > Iraq is deliberately thwarting UN inspectors.
 W >
 W >
 W > But the central question remains: Would Iraq's disarmament be best
 W > achieved by a war "within weeks" as President George W.
Bush wants or
 W > by a continuation of the inspections process?
 W >
 W >
 W > The United States still hasn't proved a case for war, said Charles
 W > Pena, a defence expert at the conservative Cato Institute.
 W >
 W >
 W > "Powell provided even more evidence affirming what we already know:
 W > that Iraq has chemical and biological weapons and continues to pursue
 W > development of nuclear weapons," Pena said.
 W >
 W >
 W > "But whether Iraq has or doesn't have weapons of mass destruction
 W > completely misses the more important and fundamental point that Iraq
 W > does not have any military capability that directly threatens the
 W > United States and would absolutely require pre-emptive U.S. military
 W > action."
 W >
 W >
 W > Powell atttempted to tie a knot between Saddam and Osama bin Laden's
 W > al-Qaida organization - a powerful element in convincing still
 W > skeptical Americans in particular of the need to topple the Iraqi
 W > dictator.
 W >
 W >
 W > He went further than expected on this. Powell said an al-Qaida
 W > operative, Abu Musab Zarqawi, was being harboured by the Iraqis and
 W > was directing a network which had already tried to poison European
 W > countries with ricin. This was a fresh allegation.
 W >
 W >
 W > But plenty of countries - including Canada - have had al-Qaida
 W > operatives within their borders. That's still no cause to declare war,
 W > Pena said.
 W >
 W >
 W > "No case has been made that Iraq supported al-Qaida in the planning,
 W > financing, or operation of the Sept. 11 attacks. Thus, the case
 W > against Iraq remains essentially unchanged. The only thing different
 W > is the messenger."
 W >
 W >
 W > Powell's message was undercut somewhat by a British defence
 W > intelligence document leaked to the BBC that indicated Saddam and bin
 W > Laden are "unlikely bedfellows."
 W >
 W >
 W > "While there has been contact between al-Qaida and the Iraqi regime in
 W > the past, we believe that any fledgling relationship foundered due to
 W > mistrust and incompatible ideology," the document said.
 W >
 W >
 W > The satellite photos of activity at chemical sites are not damning to
 W > the eyes of a layman, but they are certainly suspicious, Garrett said.
 W >
 W >
 W > "Pictures of the chemical de-contamination truck outside the facility
 W > were the most compelling for us," he said. "There's no
reason to have
 W > that kind of equipment unless you're up to something nefarious."
 W >
 W >
 W > His organization was still studying high-resolution images of the
 W > satellite photos, but Garrett said he believed them to be authentic.
 W >
 W >
 W > "People who interpret these images aren't known to lie. There are too
 W > many people on the outside like us who could call them on it."
 W >
 W >
 W > There was some re-packaging of material that was already known.
 W >
 W >
 W > Drawings of alleged mobile biological laboratories were not new. CIA
 W > documents referred to them last year. There was interesting
 W > intelligence Powell put forward from witness and defectors - referred
 W > to as "human intelligence" - but by their nature, these reports are
 W > open to challenge.
 W >
 W >
 W > The significance of Iraqi procurement and possession of aluminium
 W > tubes is, as Powell admitted, is a subject of deep debate.
 W >
 W >
 W > The Bush administration believes they were obtained to produce
 W > enriched uranium for nuclear weapons. The inspectors don't agree.
 W >
 W >
 W > "All of the elements of Powell's presentation were circumstantial, but
 W > when you add them all together they make for a very persuasive case,"
 W > Garrett said.
 W >
 W >  =====
 W >
 W > No smoking gun?
 W >
 W > Where's the proof?  Circumstantial evidence is not good enough!
 W >
 W > Why is it Bush has failed to generate the actual facts required to
 W > make his accusations stick?
 W >
 W > With all the resources the USA has at hand, why are we still not able
 W > to show that there is absolutely NO doubt about Iraq's real status?
 W >
 W > This headline, and EVERY other headline, should have read the the
 W > proof was in.  If there is proof to be had, then the USA, surely, of
 W > all governments on this planet, should have been able to supply it by
 W > now.
 W >
 W > Now, personally, I suspect that the US is not wrong about Iraq.  I
 W > think the circumstantial evidence makes it look bad for them, but I
 W > don't think Bush should start a war until the evidence is better than
 W > circumstantial.
 W >
 W > Your opinions may vary :)
 W >
 W >
 W > From the desk of...
 W >   Wheezer
 W >
 W >  + CrossPosted in: POLITICS
 W >  + CrossPosted in: CANACHAT
 W >  + CrossPosted in: CANPOL
 W >  + CrossPosted in: DEBATE
 W >  + CrossPosted in: POLY-TICKS
 W >  + CrossPosted in: POL_INC
 W > --- DevilPoint  6.66
 W > 31


--- PPoint 1.76