Friday, April 02, 2004
WMD: The reality vs. the setting of expectations
Yesterday TigerHawk issued a plea for the Bush Administration to keep mum on the WMD search in Iraq, set expectations low, and gain the upside of a surprise should more useful evidence surface between now and the election. My point was, and is, that most Americans have digested the idea that there aren't vast arsenals of weaponized biological or chemical agents in Iraq, and they have already adjusted their preference for President accordingly. Further speculation by the Bush Administration that WMD may yet be found only resuscitates the "Bush lied" canard.
Of course, I also continue to hope that conclusive evidence of WMD will be found in Iraq. Why? Because I want the war to be justified in the minds of as many people as possible, and there are many for whom the WMD issue is crucial to that determination. I'm not one of those people, but I accept that there are many for whom it is important.
However, much as I might admonish the Bush Administration to avoid bringing the topic up, there remains considerable evidence that Saddam's WMD programs were sufficiently along that this war, as a matter of law, was entirely justified even when considered retrospectively. Before you twitch in your chair in disagreement (there are, indeed, liberals among TigerHawk's sparse but elegant readership), consider this sharp-edged piece from the American Thinker. A must read for WMD aficionados.
Of course, I also continue to hope that conclusive evidence of WMD will be found in Iraq. Why? Because I want the war to be justified in the minds of as many people as possible, and there are many for whom the WMD issue is crucial to that determination. I'm not one of those people, but I accept that there are many for whom it is important.
However, much as I might admonish the Bush Administration to avoid bringing the topic up, there remains considerable evidence that Saddam's WMD programs were sufficiently along that this war, as a matter of law, was entirely justified even when considered retrospectively. Before you twitch in your chair in disagreement (there are, indeed, liberals among TigerHawk's sparse but elegant readership), consider this sharp-edged piece from the American Thinker. A must read for WMD aficionados.
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