For the Record: The last word on WMDs in Iraq

With my secret high-powered research tools called "google" and "wikipedia" and a search phrase like "Iraq WMD" I was able to uncover the most under-published under-reported evidence that I have seen in almost forever, this levied accusation against why we are still in Iraq and should never have gone there to begin with. But before I get into all of what I have uncovered, I thought it would be good to review a few very interesting facts about the War in Iraq:

The 109th Congress wrote up a document outlining a slew of reasons to travel into Iraq and unseat the leadership of that country. The most notable items on the list were items such as:

• Intelligence information that noted that Iraq was still not in compliance with the result of "Desert Storm" which included unseating Saddam if they were not complied with (something that Bill Clinton should have done, instead of dismantling the CIA at the same time.)
• Historical evidence including claims by Saddam when he attempted (multiple times) to assassinate President George Herbert Walker Bush (evidence and fact alone worth unseating him, in my opinion) since Dessert Storm.
• Intelligence information that implied there likely existed Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) in Iraq.

This is by all means not a complete list of reasons why congress felt it was time to go into Iraq, and nobody contests the reality of first two items (recall when Saddam held UN inspectors hostage and steered them around munitions depots and their reports all stated that he was not complying with inspections?), but we hear a lot about how WMDs were never found and we as a nation were "lied to by the President!" This is the mantra of a segment of congress, both that voted for against going into Iraq and especially those who voted for going into Iraq (as in, "Yes, I voted that we go in, but I was LIED TO!"

First, check out the following definition of what exactly a WMD is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weapons_of_Mass_Destruction

While the press after 9/11 was doing a lot of chatting about dirty bombs and suitcase nukes, I can say that while those would be considered a WMD, that none of the devices and tactics outlined in the wikipedia article would be something I would want stored in, near or around my home! In other words, like many, when I heard the term "WMD" I might have thought "nuclear bomb" but the term outlines a number of glorious ways to died that are equally if not more painful that being vaporized by a Nuke!

Take for example, Sarin Nerve Agent (a chemical weapon): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarin

Ouch! A weapon classified by the United Nations as a WMD the symptoms are twitching, jerking, suffocating, vomiting and defecating, and eventually death if exposed to as little as .01 milligrams per kilogram of body weight. And if you happen to live through a micro-sized dose, then you will still have to live with brain damage as a result. Please, give me the Nuke over Sarin Nerve Agent any day!

Oh my gosh, why am I being so graphic!? For one reason and one reason only...

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,200499,00.html

In short, there were (and according to congressional reps, likely still exists a threat of) WMDs (of this kind) in Iraq. Anyone so ignorant enough to say "Well, everyone thought the President meant Nukes and so he is still A LIAR!" is simply exposing their ignorance and prejudice at this point. If you are still convinced, then apply the same test that I applied above and decide how you feel:

Would you be willing to expose your friends, family or kids to Sarin Nerve Agent (again, a UN classified WMD)? No? I didn't think so. Then stop splitting semantic hairs over WHICH kind of WMD was found in Iraq (hello?) and ask yourself why the press and elements of congress lambasted the WMD issue and were undervaluing the actual facts here? (what is the goofy agenda on that one?)

... or just continue to split hairs and be cool with Sarin Nerve Agent and propagate the idea that WMDs are ONLY Nukes and act like this stuff was never found!

I guess that is my last word, for the record!

UPDATED: Since writing this I have read that the Sarin Nerve Agent found represented a cache of degraded Sarin, meaning the threat of the Sarin was reduced by it's old age. But get this. Saddam was told as a condition of the result of Dessert Storm that all of those munitions must be turned over to the UN Inspectors, which it was not. Even in a degraded state, it is said by the defense department that these were "not the WMD we were looking for when we went in this time" that this Sarin in it's degraded state was still potentially lethal. I can say that no matter the age, the fact that they were still there and that Saddam was keeping them from post-Desert Storm UN Inspectors was still grounds enough based on the results of Desert Storm to unseat Saddam (which is what we said we would do, back then.) Thank God we didn't find other newer WMDs, but that is no reason to not keep our word on demanding Saddam's compliance with the results of Desert Storm. Not finding what we thought could be there isn't a LIE but rather a blessing in the light of what we have found to be true in Iraq.