Well, what do you know...
Remember this? WMD in Iraq. The Iraqi government was found to be in "material breach" of its obligations back in 2002:
Holding Iraq in “material breach” of its obligations under previous resolutions, the Security Council this morning decided to afford it a “final opportunity to comply” with its disarmament obligations, while setting up an enhanced inspection regime for full and verified completion of the disarmament process established by resolution 687 (1991).
By the unanimous adoption of resolution 1441 (2002), the Council instructed the resumed inspections to begin within 45 days, and also decided it would convene immediately upon the receipt of any reports from inspection authorities that Iraq was interfering with their activities. It recalled, in that context, that the Council had repeatedly warned Iraq that it would face "serious consequences" as a result of continued violations.
This, of course, was the Bush Administration's justification for the invasion of Iraq. And was subsequently disproved for lack of any findings. We couldn't seem to find the WMD, the mobile weapons labs, or any yellowcake from Niger.
But look! Today the US government declassified a report that reveals a lot. Apparently the US troops in Iraq, as well as civilian groups within the country, have been finding WMD in Iraq since 2003, just after the invasion! From 22 June 2006, FOX News reported:
WASHINGTON — The United States has found 500 chemical weapons in Iraq since 2003, and more weapons of mass destruction are likely to be uncovered, two Republican lawmakers said Wednesday.
"We have found weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, chemical weapons," Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., said in a quickly called press conference late Wednesday afternoon.
Reading from a declassified portion of a report by the National Ground Intelligence Center, a Defense Department intelligence unit, Santorum said: "Since 2003, coalition forces have recovered approximately 500 weapons munitions which contain degraded mustard or sarin nerve agent. Despite many efforts to locate and destroy Iraq's pre-Gulf War chemical munitions, filled and unfilled pre-Gulf War chemical munitions are assessed to still exist."
He added that the report warns about the hazards that the chemical weapons could still pose to coalition troops in Iraq.
"The purity of the agents inside the munitions depends on many factors, including the manufacturing process, potential additives and environmental storage conditions. While agents degrade over time, chemical warfare agents remain hazardous and potentially lethal," Santorum read from the document.
"This says weapons have been discovered, more weapons exist and they state that Iraq was not a WMD-free zone, that there are continuing threats from the materials that are or may still be in Iraq," said Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.
The weapons are thought to be manufactured before 1991 so they would not be proof of an ongoing WMD program in the 1990s. But they do show that Saddam Hussein was lying when he said all weapons had been destroyed, and it shows that years of on-again, off-again weapons inspections did not uncover these munitions.
Hoekstra said the report, completed in April but only declassified now, shows that "there is still a lot about Iraq that we don't fully understand."
This is in line with the July 2003 Greenpeace announcement that they'd found yellowcake in Iraq! Greenpeace, no less! They're certainly not "administration stooges"...
TUWAITHA, Iraq - Environmental group Greenpeace called on the US-led coalition governing Iraq to clean up villages surrounding a nuclear site outside Baghdad that have been contaminated by "frightening levels" of radioactive material.
Carrying Arabic and English banners that read "Al-Tuwaitha - nuclear disaster. Act now!", Greenpeace activists returned a large uranium "yellowcake" mixing canister to US troops stationed inside the nuclear plant, 20 kilometres (12 miles) east of the capital.
The canister -- the size of a small car -- contained significant quantities of radioactive yellowcake and had been left open and unattended for more than 20 days on a busy section of open ground near the Tuwaitha plant, Greenpeace said Tuesday.
Greenpeace activist William Peden of Scotland tries to convince a US soldier of the 1st Armored Division to accept back a canister (behind) containing 'yellow cake' or Uranium Oxide which was looted during the war from the nuclear facility in Tuwaitha, 50 kilometers south of Baghdad, Tuesday, June 24, 2003. The canister was found by the environmentalist group Greenpeace in the village near the facility and allegedly is contaminated. Following the fall of Saddam Hussein, residents living near the complex reportedly took barrels of nuclear materials known as 'yellow cake' and other containers for use to store food and water and unaware that the barrels were radioactive and toxic. The canister was eventually brought into the facility. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)
Isn't this amazing? WMD in Iraq. There are weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. WMD that wasn't reported to international inspectors, that was claimed to be destroyed. Saddam had lots and lots of chemical weapons, and a hunk of yellowcake the size of a small car.
Rather than shocked, those who wanted to disarm Saddam Hussein should feel vindicated. Looks like there's lots of crow to be served!