Well, some of the biggest claims the US has made against Iraq have turned out to be false (like you needed me to tell you
):
[quote]Powell argued that Iraq had intended to use the aluminum tubes as part of a nuclear weapons program and not for artillery rockets as critics had argued. To support his case, he cited unusually precise specifications and high tolerances for heat and stress. He said, “It strikes me as quite odd that these tubes are manufactured to a tolerance that far exceeds U.S. requirements for comparable rockets. Maybe Iraqis just manufacture their conventional weapons to a higher standard than we do, but I don't think so.” But other sources noted that the tubes’ dimensions were identical to that of Iraq's existing arsenal of 81mm artillery rockets. In fact, Iraq used the same type of aluminum tubes in the 1980s. [Washington Post, 2/5/03g] Powell also suggested that because the tubes were ‘anodized’ it was unlikely that they had been designed for conventional use. But experts later contested this, saying that this attribute actually made it less probable that they were meant for a nuclear program. The Institute for Science and International Security, a research organization specializing in nuclear issues, said that
Powell's staff had been explained the implications of the anodized coatings prior to Powell’s presentation. “Despite being presented with the falseness of this claim, the administration persists in making misleading arguments about the significance of the tubes,” David Albright, a nuclear physicist observed. [Washington Post, 3/8/03]
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and it's now known Iraq did not try to get uranium from Niger:
[quote]Chief Weapons Inspector ElBaradei of the IAEA said that his inspectors had failed to find any evidence that Iraq had tried to obtain uranium from Niger. In fact, he said that the documents upon which the U.S. had been basing it accusations were fakes. “Based on thorough analysis, the IAEA has concluded, with the concurrence of outside experts, that documents which formed the basis for the reports of recent uranium transactions between Iraq and Niger are in fact not authentic,” ElBaradei explained. “We have therefore concluded that these specific allegations are unfounded.” [Los Angeles Times, 3/7/03; Washington Post, 3/8/03; Associated Press, 3/7/03; CNN, 3/7/03; New York Times, 3/8/03; Reuters, 3/7/03; Globe and Mail, 3/8/03; Guardian, 3/8/03; Associated Press, 3/8/03] The forged documents were described as several letters that had allegedly been exchanged between Iraqi agents and Niger officials [Washington Post, 3/8/03]. The letters had been sold to Italian intelligence by a con man and later handed over to the French before eventually making its way to the UN. But careful examination of these correspondences by the International Atomic Energy Agency [AIEA] revealed that several of the names and titles of officials mentioned in the documents were incorrect. [Globe and Mail, 3/8/03] “Close scrutiny and cross-checking of the documents, the letterheads on them, the signatures on them, led us to conclude with quite absolute certainty that the documents were false,” explained one IAEA official. [Guardian, 3/8/03] U.S. officials admitted the documents were not authentic. “We fell for it,” one official told the The Washington Post. [Washington Post, 3/8/03] Reported the Guardian: “The fabrication was transparently obvious and quickly established,” adding that this suggested “that British intelligence was either easily hoodwinked or a knowing party to the deceit.” [Guardian, 3/8/03]
<hr></blockquote>
from cooperative research
also, after much effort to connect 9/11 and Iraq, Bush has publicly admitted that there is no connection between Iraq and 9/11:
[quote]Q One question for you both. Do you believe that there is a link between Saddam Hussein, a direct link, and the men who attacked on September the 11th?
THE PRESIDENT:
I can't make that claim.
<hr></blockquote>
<a href="
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/01/20030131-23.html" target="_blank">whitehouse transcript</a>
That interesting, considering in just october
66% of americans believed saddam was involved in the attacks![Poll Sees Americans Taking Bush Line on Iraq, Reuters, 10.10.2]
Even in January 03,
50% of Americans believed that at least one of the 9/11 hijackers came from Iraq, and only 17% said none did!!!
<a href="
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/4911975.htm" target="_blank">knight-ridder poll</a>
No wonder we are going to war! Look at how insanely uninformed America is, and not just the hawk-wannabes on AI!
What I don't understand is how some of you people keep latching on to propaganda put out by the US government, even though you know they are blatantly lying or exaggerating. Are you that much in need of violent Romanesque reality-tv entertainment?
[ 03-10-2003: Message edited by: giant ]</p>
