NationStates Jolt Archive

Remember when Bush, Powell, Rumsfeld, Blair and the rest told us about all of the evidence for WMDs? Remember the lies about Uranium... then about how there weren't WMDs but there were WMD related programs... then about how there weren't programs but there were WMD related program mobile labs? We'll now we know what those mobile labs were used for: Weather Balloons!

That's right, there was no war in Iraq: it was all just a Weather Balloon!


and just so you know, I'm dead serious:

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F3081EFF39550C7A8CDDA10894DB404482
or
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0809-05.htm


"Government officials say Defense Intelligence Agency experts believe that most likely use for two mysterious trailers found in Iraq was to produce hydrogen for weather balloons"

dont buy it....do you actually think iraq would need that many frickin trucks o make weather baloons? some people, no offense, are dumb (the reporters of this as evidence, not you)

Actually, this is old news.

dont buy it.... do you actually think iraq would need that many frickin trucks o make weather baloons? some people, no offense, are dumb (the reporters of this as evidence, not you)

It was only two trucks...


and if you don't believe that they were really just Weather Balloons then you have to assume that it really was a flying saucer that crashed in Roswell... :D

Actually, this is old news.

And our children will laugh at us for being duped into a war by weather balloons!

Not all of us were duped, Tex. And some news organizations are more guilty than others of perpetuating the bullshit that duped a lot of people into supporting this war.

Not all of us were duped, Tex. And some news organizations are more guilty than others of perpetuating the bullshit that duped a lot of people into supporting this war.

I know that not every single person was duped, but Congress did sign-off on the war and unless we voice our distress then it really doesn't matter! Ask your Congressman if he still would have voted for the war, knowing what he knows now: if he says yes then dump him...




The world is quite mad! hee hee!
Look, A WEATHER BALLOON -- send in the tanks!!

Not all of us were duped, Tex. And some news organizations are more guilty than others of perpetuating the bullshit that duped a lot of people into supporting this war.Why, I just saw an article in the newspaper today where the United Nations atomic agency was *gasp* warning about unprotected nuclear components in Iraq. They have found yellowcake uranium in Iraq and now in Europe, coming out of Iraq. They also found missile engines. *slaps his forehead* Oh, that's right. War would only be justified if the uranium was weapons-grade and attached to the tips of missiles ready to be fired. ~ Michael.

Why, I just saw an article in the newspaper today where the United Nations atomic agency was *gasp* warning about unprotected nuclear components in Iraq. They have found yellowcake uranium in Iraq and now in Europe, coming out of Iraq. They also found missile engines. *slaps his forehead* Oh, that's right. War would only be justified if the uranium was weapons-grade and attached to the tips of missiles ready to be fired. ~ Michael.

oh, like with North Korea, Iran, China, Pakastan, and India!!!

Perhaps we should pre-empt them too?

Gee--and why are there unprotected nuclear components in Iraq, Mr. Smartass? Who's responsible for that little faux-pas huh? Who is supposed to be in charge of security right now in the country of Iraq?

Grow a brain.

Gee--and why are there unprotected nuclear components in Iraq, Mr. Smartass? Who's responsible for that little faux-pas huh? Who is supposed to be in charge of security right now in the country of Iraq? Grow a brain.Yeah, I'm sure Saddam wasn't going to share his toys with anyone else. ~ Michael.

Why, I just saw an article in the newspaper today where the United Nations atomic agency was *gasp* warning about unprotected nuclear components in Iraq. They have found yellowcake uranium in Iraq and now in Europe, coming out of Iraq. They also found missile engines. *slaps his forehead* Oh, that's right. War would only be justified if the uranium was weapons-grade and attached to the tips of missiles ready to be fired. ~ Michael. oh, like with North Korea, Iran, China, Pakastan, and India!!! Perhaps we should pre-empt them too?Let's bomb North Korea! ~ Michael.

Gee--and why are there unprotected nuclear components in Iraq, Mr. Smartass? Who's responsible for that little faux-pas huh? Who is supposed to be in charge of security right now in the country of Iraq? Grow a brain.Yeah, I'm sure Saddam wasn't going to share his toys with anyone else. ~ Michael.First off, there's no proof he had any toys to share in the first place, but that obviously doesn't matter to you, so let's assume he did. Why wouldn't he have shared them?

Well, for starters, the people who would have wanted them most of all were people who were actively working for his overthrow--radical Islamists who wanted to do away with a secular society. Now, are you going to give WMD to a group of people who might turn around and use them on you? Only if you're the US.

Secondly, Hussein depended on sharing his people to keep them in line. Why give away your tools toward that purpose? Why weaken yourself when you're already as paranoid as Hussein was? It just doesn't make sense.

Let's bomb North Korea! ~ Michael.

"Let's just kill 'em all and let god sort 'em out," eh?

I'm sure China won't mind a NUKE dropped on their peninsula!!


oh, and who is this "Michael" -- is that your name?

Yeah, I'm sure Saddam wasn't going to share his toys with anyone else. ~ Michael.

what... his WEATHER BALLOONS?

You do realize that any WMDs Saddam had he was givin by Rumsfeld (and they would have expired by now) and that al-Qa'ida was created by George Bush's CIA...

Actually, this is old news.

And our children will laugh at us for being duped into a war by weather balloons!

Oh no!!! *ducks behind counter refusing to be looked at* :D :wink:

I'm sure China won't mind a NUKE dropped on their peninsula!!

I wish China would just take over North Korea for us. Lord knows they don't need a rogue nation threatening the US right on their border.

War would only be justified if the uranium was weapons-grade and attached to the tips of missiles ready to be fired. ~ Michael.

If I remember correctly, they could be fired in 45 minutes. I would assume that they would need to be pretty ready to be fired if they were to launch that fast. They were an imminent threat apparently...

War would only be justified if the uranium was weapons-grade and attached to the tips of missiles ready to be fired. ~ Michael.

If I remember correctly, they could be fired in 45 minutes. I would assume that they would need to be pretty ready to be fired if they were to launch that fast. They were an imminent threat apparently...The 45 minutes was a claim that Tony Blair made, and it never involved missiles with any form of uranium in them, and more importantly, it was proven to be false a long time ago and Blair backed away from it. That was debunked last summer sometime.

Gee--and why are there unprotected nuclear components in Iraq, Mr. Smartass? Who's responsible for that little faux-pas huh? Who is supposed to be in charge of security right now in the country of Iraq? Grow a brain.Yeah, I'm sure Saddam wasn't going to share his toys with anyone else. ~ Michael.First off, there's no proof he had any toys to share in the first place, but that obviously doesn't matter to you, so let's assume he did. Why wouldn't he have shared them?

Well, for starters, the people who would have wanted them most of all were people who were actively working for his overthrow--radical Islamists who wanted to do away with a secular society. Now, are you going to give WMD to a group of people who might turn around and use them on you? Only if you're the US.

Secondly, Hussein depended on sharing his people to keep them in line. Why give away your tools toward that purpose? Why weaken yourself when you're already as paranoid as Hussein was? It just doesn't make sense.

Ever hear the phrase..."The enemy of my enemy is my friend"?..radical wahabbist Islamics might have been spirtiually at odds with Saddam, but they hated the West and especially America more..

War would only be justified if the uranium was weapons-grade and attached to the tips of missiles ready to be fired. ~ Michael.

If I remember correctly, they could be fired in 45 minutes. I would assume that they would need to be pretty ready to be fired if they were to launch that fast. They were an imminent threat apparently...The 45 minutes was a claim that Tony Blair made, and it never involved missiles with any form of uranium in them, and more importantly, it was proven to be false a long time ago and Blair backed away from it. That was debunked last summer sometime.

Right so by last summer I assume you mean northern summer, which was still well after the invasion and occupation. Whats the current official excuse for the war? I've been away for a while and the Otago daily times is completely useless...

If I remember correctly, they could be fired in 45 minutes. I would assume that they would need to be pretty ready to be fired if they were to launch that fast. They were an imminent threat apparently...

why does it matter if Iraq can fire a WEATHER BALLOON in 45 minutes or 10 seconds?

Current official excuse? Basically it's a combination of "Saddam was a bad guy" and "it's part of the war on terror" of which the first is correct and the second is a non sequitur and neither of which have anything to do with WMD or the security of the US or violations of UN Security Council Resolutions. In other words, not much has changed--we went in on a lie and now we're stuck there for the foreseeable future.

Current official excuse? Basically it's a combination of "Saddam was a bad guy" and "it's part of the war on terror" of which the first is correct and the second is a non sequitur and neither of which have anything to do with WMD or the security of the US or violations of UN Security Council Resolutions. In other words, not much has changed--we went in on a lie and now we're stuck there for the foreseeable future.

When did Al Gore decide not to run again? I had a theory that he realised how hard it was going to be to clean up the mess being made overseas and bailed.

Current official excuse? Basically it's a combination of "Saddam was a bad guy" and "it's part of the war on terror" of which the first is correct and the second is a non sequitur and neither of which have anything to do with WMD or the security of the US or violations of UN Security Council Resolutions. In other words, not much has changed--we went in on a lie and now we're stuck there for the foreseeable future.

But just think..if we succeed? The Kurds are a happy, adjusted people, more happy then they have ever been..business is booming in their portion...in at least a third of Iraq we KNOW things are going well. If we can succeed we'll have a stable democracy in the midst of a hurricane of wahabbism...a place where never before we had a foothold...for me the risks and the world criticism were weighed and found the benefits weighed more.

When did Al Gore decide not to run again? I had a theory that he realised how hard it was going to be to clean up the mess being made overseas and bailed.He decided that well over a year ago, even before the run up to the war in Iraq started making big news. I think he just decided he didn't want to put up with the shit the media gave him last time around and that he could do other stuff. He's currently in negotiations to buy a small cable network and turn it into a tv network for progressive values and programs.

Current official excuse? Basically it's a combination of "Saddam was a bad guy" and "it's part of the war on terror" of which the first is correct and the second is a non sequitur and neither of which have anything to do with WMD or the security of the US or violations of UN Security Council Resolutions. In other words, not much has changed--we went in on a lie and now we're stuck there for the foreseeable future.

But just think..if we succeed? The Kurds are a happy, adjusted people, more happy then they have ever been..business is booming in their portion...in at least a third of Iraq we KNOW things are going well. If we can succeed we'll have a stable democracy in the midst of a hurricane of wahabbism...a place where never before we had a foothold...for me the risks and the world criticism were weighed and found the benefits weighed more.

That only serves to annoy the turks so it all evens out.

When did Al Gore decide not to run again? I had a theory that he realised how hard it was going to be to clean up the mess being made overseas and bailed.He decided that well over a year ago, even before the run up to the war in Iraq started making big news. I think he just decided he didn't want to put up with the shit the media gave him last time around and that he could do other stuff. He's currently in negotiations to buy a small cable network and turn it into a tv network for progressive values and programs.

Gore won't suffer...his family are treated like the Tenneessee version of the Kennedy's..I'm from his neck of the words..in Carthage, TN his family is huge....his father and grandfather were also big in politics

Ever hear the phrase..."The enemy of my enemy is my friend"?..

Yes, and have you ever heard of the Militay-Industial complex? Perhaps you haven't noticed that the Administration in charge of leading the US into Afghanistan (where there now exists a massive oil-pipeline) and into Iraq (home of the world's largest oil supply) are all Oil Business-men?

I'm sure there's no conflict of interest there.

Do you find it odd that the Reagon Administration (which is the same as the Bush Administration) created Saddam, and Rumsfeld sold him WMDs and Bush's CIA created al-Qa'ida?

I'm sure it's just a coincidence.

Want to know what's really going on? Get off the tap-water and read "1984"

radical wahabbist Islamics might have been spirtiually at odds with Saddam, but they hated the West and especially America more..

And why do they hate the West? Perhaps it has something to do with Military Imperialism... no, wait -- now I remember: they hate our freedom!

Current official excuse? Basically it's a combination of "Saddam was a bad guy" and "it's part of the war on terror" of which the first is correct and the second is a non sequitur and neither of which have anything to do with WMD or the security of the US or violations of UN Security Council Resolutions. In other words, not much has changed--we went in on a lie and now we're stuck there for the foreseeable future.

But just think..if we succeed? The Kurds are a happy, adjusted people, more happy then they have ever been..business is booming in their portion...in at least a third of Iraq we KNOW things are going well. If we can succeed we'll have a stable democracy in the midst of a hurricane of wahabbism...a place where never before we had a foothold...for me the risks and the world criticism were weighed and found the benefits weighed more.

That only serves to annoy the turks so it all evens out.

Shoot..the turks can be bought off with aid...they've been bought before.

But just think..if we succeed? The Kurds are a happy, adjusted people, more happy then they have ever been..business is booming in their portion...in at least a third of Iraq we KNOW things are going well. If we can succeed we'll have a stable democracy in the midst of a hurricane of wahabbism...a place where never before we had a foothold...for me the risks and the world criticism were weighed and found the benefits weighed more.Here's the problem--the Bush administration never considered the possibility that we wouldn't be welcomed as liberators and now we're in a world of shit. We'll be lucky if they only hate us once we eventually leave--they might declare us their everlasting and undying enemies into perpetuity, and then what will we have accomplished?

Look at it from their point of view. We not only invade on false pretenses, we try to install a puppet government under a guy who not only hasn't been in the country for years, but who is wanted for bank fraud in Jordan. Why shouldn't they think we're out there to rob them blind? If the situation were reversed, I imagine you and I would be working side by side in the resistance (and I would certainly be serving under you).

Part of the reason the Kurdish part of the country is doing okay is because we guaranteed their safety from Saddam and allowed their culture to grow on its own--we didn't try to impose anything from the outside. But we're trying to impose our will on the rest of the country, and they're resistant to the idea. I don't blame them in the least--I'd feel exactly the same in their position.

But just think..if we succeed? The Kurds are a happy, adjusted people, more happy then they have ever been..business is booming in their portion...in at least a third of Iraq we KNOW things are going well. If we can succeed we'll have a stable democracy in the midst of a hurricane of wahabbism...a place where never before we had a foothold...for me the risks and the world criticism were weighed and found the benefits weighed more.

:lol: and then -- seeing the progress in Iraq, people all over the world will revolt against their tyrants... in one single night Communist China and North Korea will be transformed into democratic paradises, the Russians will disarm all of their nukes and erect a giant statue of Ronald Reagon, all of France will publically apologize for doubting the great US and ask to be made our 53rd state, after Vietnam and Iraq!

:lol: and then -- seeing the progress in Iraq, people all over the world will revolt against their tyrants... in one single night Communist China and North Korea will be transformed into democratic paradises, the Russians will disarm all of their nukes and erect a giant statue of Ronald Reagon, all of France will publically apologize for doubting the great US and ask to be made our 53rd state, after Vietnam and Iraq!That sounds like Jonah Goldberg's wet dream.

But just think..if we succeed?

even then, in that impossible scenario, it wouldn't be worth the blood of a single American!

I agree

I agree

we went to war over a WEATHER BALLOON!!

I want GWB to personally address everyone who lost anyone in Iraq and tell them that he sent their loved-one to die in the middle of the God Forsaken desert because of a WEATHER BALLOON!!

Yeah, I'm sure Saddam wasn't going to share his toys with anyone else. ~ Michael.what... his WEATHER BALLOONS? You do realize that any WMDs Saddam had he was givin by Rumsfeld (and they would have expired by now) and that al-Qa'ida was created by George Bush's CIA...What happens when a soldier we enlist and train turns his gun against us? We shoot him. ~ Michael.

Yeah, I'm sure Saddam wasn't going to share his toys with anyone else. ~ Michael.what... his WEATHER BALLOONS? You do realize that any WMDs Saddam had he was givin by Rumsfeld (and they would have expired by now) and that al-Qa'ida was created by George Bush's CIA...What happens when a soldier we enlist and train turns his gun against us? We shoot him. ~ Michael.

Man, for someone who spouts Scripture as much as you do, you sure do love shooting and bombing. More of a "I come not with peace, but with a sword" kind of guy than a Sermon on the Mount one: "Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also."

I've heard it said that "the devil can quote the scriptures to his own advantage". Which are you?

Back to reality. What happens when a "soldier" -- or, let's face it, a homicidal dictator -- that we train, arm and support kills other people? Wellll... that depends, it seems. When he's shooting and gassing his own population, or launching WMDs against Iran, we cheer him on and send him more supplies. When he threatens our oil supply by invading Kuwait -- even though the US Ambassador had given him tacit permission (see http://search.csmonitor.com/durable/1999/05/27/p23s3.htm ) -- and our military-industrial complex is lurching around looking for a new enemy after the Soviets unsportingly chucked it in, well, then we bomb the living crap out of his (mostly unwilling conscript) army. Then, after a decade of sanctions has reduced him to a tissue-paper tiger, we grab the first excuse going and invade his country -- somehow believing that the Iraqi people will have forgotten our involvement in the previous 30 miserable years. As chaos erupts around us, we grab all the oil we can and pretend we're doing it for World Peace.

Meanwhile, have we learned our lesson? Have we twigged yet that supporting psychopathic megalomaniacs isn't a good idea? Have we hell. Uzbekistan is currently America's newest best buddy, because it lets the US treat it like a military airstrip and is just so cute and pipelineable. Sure, they brutalise their population, and torture and imprison those who disagree with their corrupt government, but not to worry: I'm sure that in 20 years or so we'll be launching "Operation Uzbeki Freedom" to liberate their poor oppressed mineral wealth.
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2003/12/31/uzbeki7024.htm