The Rat in the Bedroom
For those who don't understand the war, maybe this John Kass column from the Chicago Tribune will help clarify it.
Just in case you missed it, that means that the single city of Nashville, population 1,187,521 in 2000, sends more men and women to the Marine Corps than half the entire state of California, population 34,501,130 (for the whole state; how many live in the northern half I don't know). And the Chronicle is apparently worried that the place is becoming too pro-military. Yeah, right.
I SQZM 2
Even a perfunctory acquaintance with the realities of the global oil market would indicate that the "oil war" theory does not stand up to analysis. As an imagined rationale it doesn't square with the facts;....
We are preparing to attack Iraq.
We are not preparing to attack North Korea.
Iraq has oil.
North Korea has no oil.
Therefore, we are preparing to attack Iraq because it has oil.
The VX gas Iraq is producing is 10 times more toxic than the sarin gas that killed 12 and injured 5,000 people on a Tokyo subway in 1995. And though U.N inspection teams destroyed 28,000 chemical weapons, 480,000 liters of chemicals used to make them, and 1.8 million liters of other chemicals, the Iraqis now admit they have 3.9 tons of VX gas. (Emphasis mine.)
The stand taken by Paris, Beijing and Moscow means a majority of the five veto-wielding permanent members on the U.N. Security Council are against rushing into war.
Asked how much time he would give Saddam to comply with United Nations demands to disarm or face possible military action, Bush said: "I will let you know when the moment has come."
Pronunciation: 'kwäsh, 'kwosh
Function: transitive verb
Etymology: Middle English quashen to smash, from Middle French quasser, casser, from Latin quassare to shake violently, shatter, frequentative of quatere to shake
Date: 13th century: to suppress or extinguish summarily and completely
"On the substantive issues relating to anthrax, VX (nerve agent) and a number of Scud missiles, we have not discussed that. That is to be discussed some time in the future."
There was no mention in the statement of taking scientists outside Iraq for interviews, as Washington has demanded on the grounds that the interviewees need protection from reprisals.
5. Decides that Iraq shall provide UNMOVIC and the IAEA immediate, unimpeded, unconditional, and unrestricted access to any and all, including underground, areas, facilities, buildings, equipment, records, and means of transport which they wish to inspect, as well as immediate, unimpeded, unrestricted, and private access to all officials and other persons whom UNMOVIC or the IAEA wish to interview in the mode or location of UNMOVIC’s or the IAEA’s choice pursuant to any aspect of their mandates; further decides that UNMOVIC and the IAEA may at their discretion conduct interviews inside or outside of Iraq, may facilitate the travel of those interviewed and family members outside of Iraq, and that, at the sole discretion of UNMOVIC and the IAEA, such interviews may occur without the presence of observers from the Iraqi Government;....
We are not closer because there are too many gaps in it (the Iraqi declaration) and the world would like to be assured that Iraq is rid of weapons of mass destruction. And until we inspectors have been convinced of that we cannot so report to the Security Council.
The doctor, who reportedly last saw Saddam in July 2002, was quoted as saying that Saddam does not give the impression of a sick man.