More media misrepresentation on Iraq: WMD and Kay's report

Kay is on record as saying 6 to 9 months with a suggested budget of around $200m. Even though I question his objectivity, I say give him the money. For the record, Kay was the head weapons inspector in Iraq after the Gulf War and was held hostage by Saddam in a Baghdad parking lot for 4 days.

To view an ongoing and updated history of Dr. Kay's opinion's:

http://www.thefourreasons.org/davidkay.htm

To find out more about Dr. Kay (who has a BA from UT Austin) and his Senior Research Fellow position with the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies:

http://www.potomacinstitute.org/who/staff_kay.cfm

 

IT IS NOT MY WAR!

I DIDN'T VOTE FOR IT

 

Nor did you vote against it.

 

Yeah, France...or any other nation on the planet...

 

Oh yes I did.

What to see the 65 letters I wrote to congressional representatives?

and tree

Thank god we still have the right (that some people would like to take away) to express dissent in this country

 

Just think how many votes Santa Claus gets every year!

 

That's bush league, pun intended. Like mcmark, I wrote dozens of letters and protested in the streets to try to ward off what I saw (and still see) as an enormous foreign policy disaster. It's very hard to see that as a war I can consider in any way mine. This nation is not founded on everyone goose-stepping to the beat of the same drummer. Pre-emptive war was whole new territory, especially coming from someone who was "elected" in such a controversial, error-bar-ridden fashion. Unbelievable.

If you don't want fellow citizens who both give a **** and sometimes disagree with you, treeman, say it plainly. The "move to France" stuff is going to accomplish less than zero here, and I would hope that you know that.

 

And being the gentleman that I am, I will abstain from voicing my thoughts of you sir.

I guess our votes will cancel each other out.

 

giddy, it's interesting. Writing to our elected officials is truly about that useful, isn't it? Being a real patriot is useless. You only matter if you make tons of $$$ and hand a good chunk over to a well-chosen candidate. (cue national anthem). later folks.

 

That may be sadly so, but I didn't mean to belittle McMark's efforts... only to point out that it was no kind of vote.

 

For the rest of you, it is clear that whatever WMD's, remnants of WMD's, plans for WMD's, etc. that we find will not come close to the fantasies or falsehoods that were used to justify this war. I've never said there are no weapons or that we will never find any.

Americans are prone to asking silly questions and confusing the issue? Which Americans? Perhaps the ones that now realize we were sold a bill of goods and the war was undertaken for ideological/political purposes instead of national security concerns like we were told?

Damn right "people like rimrocker" ask questions. That's not a choice, it's a duty. And you have completely ignored the logical consequences of an administration doctoring intelligence and playing the 9/11 card to support a war they were jonesing about before 9/11.

I'd be happy to leave the propaganda at home, unfortunately, that's where it started and it must be answered.

I think you got this one backward.

 

giddy okay point taken.

It wasn't a vote. just an expression of opinion.

Didn't mean to derail the thread. Please, go back to media bashing...

 

A little extra info...
__________
Survey Group head's link to arms industry
By Glen Rangwala
05 October 2003

For at least 10 years David Kay, head of the Iraq Survey Group, has staked his professional and business reputation on the case that Iraq was a serious threat.

He was a frequent pundit on US television shows, making the case for regime change in blunt language. He called the attempt by Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary General, to broker an effective inspections process in 1998 "worse than useless"; claimed in 2002 that Iraq was pursuing its weapons of mass destruction in order to bring about the elimination of the state of Israel; and said before entering Iraq that the Coalition would find not just a "smoking gun", but a "smoking arsenal".

Until October last year, Mr Kay was the vice-president of a major San Diego-based defence contractor, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), co-ordinating its homeland security and counter-terrorism initiatives. It was while he held this role that he claimed that Iraq could launch terrorist attacks on the US mainland.

SAIC was in the headlines earlier this year when it was revealed that the US government had given it a contract three years ago to produce mobile biological vans for training purposes. Until February SAIC's corporate vice-president was Christopher Ryan Henry, now a senior policy official at the Pentagon.

SAIC's spokesman acknowledged earlier this year that the company is deeply involved in the current war in Iraq, including its role in leading a $650m contract for services and support for the US army. Among other activities, the company runs the US-funded radio station in Umm Qasr, "Voice of the New Iraq", and helps to provide senior advisers to the US occupation authorities in Baghdad. It is not known if Mr Kay retains financial interests in SAIC.

 

from the state of the union speech, Jan 28th, 2003:

"Some have said we must not act until the threat is imminent. Since when have terrorists and tyrants announced their intentions, politely putting us on notice before they strike? If this threat is permitted to fully and suddenly emerge, all actions, all words, and all recriminations would come too late. Trusting in the sanity and restraint of Saddam Hussein is not a strategy, and it is not an option."

how can you say he didn't level with the US?