http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp...nguage=printer
Quote:
BAGHDAD -- The group directing all known U.S. search efforts for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq is winding down operations without finding proof that President Saddam Hussein kept clandestine stocks of outlawed arms, according to participants.
The 75th Exploitation Task Force, as the group is formally known, has been described from the start as the principal component of the U.S. plan to discover and display forbidden Iraqi weapons. The group's departure, expected next month, marks a milestone in frustration for a major declared objective of the war.
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We went into Iraq to remove the threat that these WMD posed. That's what the war was about. So where was/is the sense of urgency in searching for these WMD?
The Pentagon had a list of 600 suspected sites before the war began. Thus far, we have only been to around 70 with no luck. Some sites have been looted by Iraqi civilians before we could even look around. Now we're replacing this Task Force with an "Iraq Survey Group", who will make searching for WMD "only a small part" of their work. What's the deal?
President Bush and his supporters said the real threat would come from the possibility of these WMD getting into the hands of terrorists. Why then didn't we make it a priority to ensure that such a transfer did not occur? The administration says that because Saddam's regime fell, there is no more danger of this. But if we have no idea where the weapons are, how can we be sure they are not in enemy hands? The looters had no trouble getting their hands on nuclear material. Why couldn't terrorists do the same?
We went into Iraq to remove the threat that these WMD posed. That's what the war was about. As of right now, we have not removed the threat. In my opinion, until we do, this war will not be won.