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12 Responses to “500 tons of uranium shipped from Iraq”

1. think // Aug 2, 2008 at 11:51 am

   I think Bush would rather do whats right than go for poll ratings. There are reasons why this was not screamed from the mountain tops. When history settles and a stable friendly Iraq exists Bush will be remembered well. defeatist liberals will be forgotten.

2. jimq // Aug 2, 2008 at 10:08 pm

   Posted on August 2nd, 2008 by tiberius

   tiberius - I think this is a month old, Rush Limbaugh has noted this story as well on his show. We all know the MSM agenda. think is probably right. I was amused at President Bush call to Rush on Friday, took Rush by complete suprise. Why isn’t Joe Wilson charged with treason? as well as his wife?

3. tiberius // Aug 4, 2008 at 12:18 pm

   jimq

   Definitely the removal of the uranium story is a month old. Which proves my point of why it took so long to hear about it. You may have hit the nail on the head. The MSM ignored it and it took Rush to put the story out. I like listening to Rush but do not get a chance too often.

4. woody14619 // Aug 4, 2008 at 6:02 pm

   Uhm.. no. It was taken from the Tuwaitha nuclear complex (note the ABC link), where it was since UN inspectors sealed it in 1991. It was originally purchased in the 1970s, and was buried at the facility when it was bombed in 1981 by the Israelis.

   Further, experts agreed that it was “not considered potent enough for a so-called ‘dirty bomb’ “, and that there was no evidence of new yellow cake from after the 1991 sealing by the UN.

   So again, nothing new… No new threat, this stuff was old and buried, not being used for anything. The UN sanctions had worked, it stayed sealed and held in place right up through it’s shipment to Canada to be processed.

   What’s the news story? Oh.. that right-wing pundants and bloggers across the nation are spinning this as if it had something to do with the lie Bush told about Saddam trying to get yellow cake from Nigeria. (When he had tons of it sitting at his disposal since the 1970s.) That’s the news story. I’d site a reference, but you can just scroll up really, so…

5. tiberius // Aug 4, 2008 at 9:40 pm

   Woody, I am going to surprise you, I agree with you. There is nothing new, expect of course the stuff was finally removed and the media chose not to cover anything that would make Bush look even remotely right. I said everything you said. The yellow cake has been sitting there since almost 81. In both the BBC story I linked to and the CNN story had all the details.

   So what did I do that got your sarcasm uhhhhp..? I simply spun the story to make you look at different facts. The fact that this yellow cake was finally removed. Which bring the question up, “if the UN was doing their job why did they leave it there”? The 91 treaty to end the war said they would remove all such material? The reason is because the UN is and was a corrupt dictators club. Skeptical people don’t trust them.

   Spinning a story is not the sole domain of the left, and its not a bad thing. A spin is designed to get you to look at facts in a different light.

   Thanks to President Bush there are no new threats from Iraq, Before the war with the UN keeping their watchful eye on Iraq (my eyes are rolling), there were plenty of new threats. Fact of the matter is if the corrupt dictators club had done their job we would not have needed a war in Iraq. Need evidence? Look at Iran, even the Messiah Obama now says they are a threat and nothing is off the table. However of course if “The One” is elected and does face reality and does start a war, people like you and other liberals will be praising his strength and intelligence.

6. woody14619 // Aug 4, 2008 at 11:00 pm

   So what did I do that got your sarcasm uhhhhp..?</
   

   It’s not sarcasm… It’s an accusation.

   Even more important why did our government not tell us about this back in the days when liberals were accusing the President of lying over WMD? The big news in the early days of the Iraq war was that the WMD had not been found? This is proof that there at least was a serious weapons program.

   It’s just as you said: They didn’t cover it because it had nothing to do with the half-truth Bush said about Saddam trying to get yellow cake from Nigeria. And the fact that it had been there, sitting, untouched for 25 years proves there was no weapons program.

   the media chose not to cover anything that would make Bush look right.

   Look right? If your not too bright it may make him look right, but he wasn’t. Bush knew several intelligence agencies (US, Germany AND Brittan minimally) reported that the Niger papers were forgeries, and that there was no proof Saddam was looking to buy more yellow cake. Yet Bush claimed it anyway in the State of the Union to beat the war drum. He was all for saying British officials suspected it, but not for adding “but they then investigated and found it to be false.” Which was clearly known at the time. That’s why it’s a half-truth and not a flat out lie.

   Just because they’re finally moving stuff they knew was there from the 80s doesn’t mean the twisted half-truth Bush said about Nigeria in 2002 was true, or that he was right. Quite the opposite. It shows that Saddam was cooperating with the UN at some level. If he wasn’t, why wouldn’t he have started trying to do something with the tons of yellow cake at his disposal? If the UN was that corrupt, and that inept, why was there still the exact amount there as what was inventoried in 1991, a good 17 years later?

   The big news in the early days of the Iraq war was that the WMD had not been found?

   Yes, because there were no WMD, and still isn’t. Yellow cake is not WMD, it’s an element that (with refinement that Iraq was no where near capable of ) could be turned into one. But it has to be weaponized, and put into something to deliver it, neither of which had been done. This stuff had been sitting, sealed, underground for 20 years, and had been monitored by the UN for the past 10. Not exactly a “new and developing threat”, and certainly not WMD.

   Fact of the matter is if the corrupt dictators club had done their job we would not have needed a war in Iraq

   As for your conspiracy theories about the UN, you’re welcome to them. The 91 treaty mandated that forbidden items be sealed and monitored, destroyed, or sold and/or removed from the country. Saddam choose the monitored route for the yellow cake, which is why it was still there. If you dislike the treaty, write your representatives about it. (Or blog about a vast “corrupt dictators club”, 17 years later…) Lets not forget that the US is part of this “club”, with full veto powers I might add.

   As for the rest, you’re partially right… we didn’t need a war with Iraq, because the UN was doing their job. Sanctions and UN monitoring had worked for decades, and nothing changed except our president, who wanted to go after the guy that tried to kill his daddy in the 80s. There were no WMD, and the few “new threats” were handled by the UN sanctions. (Remember the rockets that had a slightly larger range then was allowed by the 91 treaty? Crushed while UN inspectors watched?) There was no new and growing threat, like there is now with Iran. And Iraq was in no way linked to or involved with 9/11, which even Bush had to admit too after being directly challenged on it. That was mainly the Saudis, who we happily pump billions into every year for black sludge to keep our Walmarts filled with cheep Chinese ceiling fans.

   Want to know a reason it was bad to go into Iraq? Look at Iran now. The only reason Iran is acting up is because they know we’re over extended in Iraq. We’re the only major power willing and able to come in and stop them, but we’re so bogged down in Iraq that to extend into Iran now would cripple our military, trying to take on a 3 point war. It’s like a kid acting up when they know a parent can’t stop them right away.

   Least we forget, we’re still in Afghanistan too, and not doing well there either, thanks to Rumsfield not sending in enough troops to start with. And then theres the early troop drop down to re-deploy into Iraq, which made matters worse. I really wonder how Rumsfield fired his lead general for saying we needed more troops than we were sending, and then later got credit for this “great idea” he came up with to “surge” and put more troops in…

   Spinning a story is not the sole domain of the left, and its not a bad thing.

   I’m all for being able to “spin” a story. But I draw the line at trying to pass of a lie as spin. Calling yellow cake, that we knew was there and being monitored a “new threat” and/or WMD is a lie, not a spin. Saying that existing stockpiles proves Bush was right about the false Niger reports is a lie, not spin. And saying existing stockpiles, untouched and monitored for 15 years is a “weapons program” is a lie, not spin. Thats where I take umbridge with your “story”.

7. Vic // Aug 5, 2008 at 9:05 am

   Woody

   Wow these are suppose to be comments. If you want to say that much why don’t you ask for posting privileges? Unlike the left blogs people can disagree around here in a post.

   Conspiracy theories about the UN!!!!? A lot more than that. How about the largest bribe scandal in world history, Saddams oil for food. (Remember Saddam he was the one who used WMD on his own people then became a boyscout and said they were only rumors.) UN African Sex Slaves. These are more than conspiracy theories, they are facts that brought down Kofi Anon’s regime.

   Of course there was the same amount after 17 years, how perfect that Saddam had a UN in his pocket protecting it for him. The UN should have removed it like the current Iraq government is doing. Saddam had no need for it if he did not want to build weapons or nuke power plants.

   Iran was acting up long before Iraq, and thanks to the toothless UN they are getting closer every day to a bomb.

   Heres an accusation not sarcasm for you. The Liberal are more concerned with making George Bush look bad than discovering the truth. Joe Wilson was a hack husband of a hack wife, who plays politics with our lives. Here is a link to factcheck.org which just this week Obama was touting to straighten out what he calls lies about him.

   http://www.factcheck.org/bushs_16_words_on_iraq_uranium.html Fact check is run by the Annenberg foundation big NPR supporters. The story says Bush may have been wrong but he wasn’t lying. He had plenty of reason to believe Saddam was stockpiling yellow cake. The real lies about Bush, Iraq and the war are on the left

8. woody14619 // Aug 6, 2008 at 5:48 pm

   Sigh… Yes.. Oil for Food, which was made by who? Oh.. US Oil interests? Yes… the US created that UN program, and oversaw it, and still holds the bank accounts for it.

   And yes, Saddam used gas on the Kurds (not exactly “his own people”… they were in what’s listed as Iraq on the map, but were not Iraqis and in an area that Saddams government held no power in). In fact, again, the US gave him the green light to do that. He consulted with Henry Kissinger the day before it happened , and was given assurances that the US would not intervene. We later did, when it hit the news and wouldn’t go away. But US officials knew before it happened and sanctioned it.

   And who put Saddam in power to start with? Oh, right, that would be us again. Who promissed to help the groups that were up-rising during the Gulf War? That would be Bush Sr. And when the war was over, we left Saddam in power and let him butcher the lot of the up-risers who put their lives on the line to help us during the war.

   Don’t get me wrong, Saddam was not a nice man. But he was contained. There was no WMD, there was no immediate threat, and absolutely no reason to go into Iraq. Nobody here has given one good reason to go to war with Iraq… anyone? Just one real, good reason? How are they better off now than they were under Saddam? They’re “free”? Most are under curfew, have a better chance of getting shot, don’t have water, sewer, or electric anywhere near the levels they were… And they’re pissed off at US now instead of the puppet dictator that was Saddam.

   And again, I made a point to say Bush wasn’t lying, but saying a half-truth. He knew Saddam had yellow cake. We sold him some back in the 70s. We still have the receipts. And we knew he had more and that the UN inspectors had found it, tagged it, and were monitoring it since 91. What Bush said is like saying “We know there was a fire in the theater”, but then not mentioning “because we started it, and we put it out 10 years go.” It’s not a lie, but it’s not the truth either.

   As for “asking for posting rights”, I’m betting that wouldn’t fly. I’m surprised every time I post here that my account is still here the next day. Several right-wing sites have banned me. So much for being tolerant.

   PS: NPR is not leftist, or even balanced of late. They’ve been trending toward the right to try to hold their ratings, since radio has shifted to far to the right that people like Savage are seen as tolerable these days.

9. tiberius // Aug 7, 2008 at 9:19 am

   @woody

   Well you haven’t been banned from here and never will be. I disagree with a lot of what you say, but defend your right to say it. I cant even get a single post on the left sites. That is the nature of blogs. They have that right, the answer is to either create your own or find one where you can post. Please keep coming back. Your comments are thoughtful and for the most part civil.

   I listen to NPR every day at drive in and any move to the right is very minimal there. Don’t get to listen during the day. I find Savage a despicable character and refuse to listen to him. One that I like is Dennis Miller, he lives in both ideological worlds and make sense in a humorous way.

   I also agree with your Sigh… I think the left so maligned Bush and the world left turned such a blind eye to radicalism and terrorism that it made a war necessary then it extended it and was responsible for many more deaths. Saddam and his ilk are disgusting evil characters who are bent on brutal power. I firmly believe in the lessons of 1938, until we learn to get along (will never see it in our lifetime) and create more democracy, brutal dictators must be stopped. Sadly the U.N. is incapable raining these people in. The UN was once a grand organization. It is no longer, it has become a cesspool of corruption and dictators. When you have countries like Syria, Cuba on the human rights committees something is wrong, they should be the ones that are being investigated.

   The US has it’s faults as well but it is still the most free country with the greatest rights. A comparison is on display for the world to see right now in Beijing.

10. Vic // Aug 7, 2008 at 1:01 pm

    Woody

    I have to disagree that Saddam was contained. He was paying the families of suicide bombers in Palestine $25,000. He was killing his own people in a brutal way. The Kurds are his people they are in the borders of Iraq. He also killed many Shiite in the south. There are many who believe he was part of the Oklahoma City bombing. There is an excellent investigative reporter named “Jayna Davis” an NBC Oklahoma. She has done an extensive investigation on the matter. http://www.jaynadavis.com

11. woody14619 // Aug 7, 2008 at 3:40 pm

    @Vic: Wait… Oklahoma city bombing? Are you serious? Saddam was responsible for what a deranged ex-military US citizen did? Wow… Ok…

    Just reading over the only free part of the site (the NY times book review of her book), it’s pretty clear how thin her case is. It sounds like she started with a premise and grasped for any straws she could get to build that nest…

    Wow. And again, I’m not saying Saddam was was a good guy, or that he wasn’t involved in things against the US. If I were in his shoes, I’m not sure I’d feel terribly good about the US. (We set him up as a puppet dictator, and then tried several times to assassinate him when he went his own way… Thats enough to make anyone pissed off at you.) But he was contained. There was no immediate threat, and no WMD.

    @tiberius: I keep hearing people say they’re banned from left-wing sites, but I’ve yet to find one that does that… Most of the left-wing sites I go to have so many right-wing people commenting that it’s hard to tell which direction the site leans. I’m sure there are a few, but then there are a few on the right side too (trust me, I’ve been banned from them…

    That said, yes.. debate here is normally civil. I just hate when people present something as a fact, when it’s really not a fact. I’m all about people having their own opinions, but facts are universal. I honestly believe if people knew the facts their opinions would shift. I’m not hoping to do that really, but it’s important that the facts get out, since often the ones that twist the facts and/or lie are the loudest. And if you repeat a lie often enough (”or catapult the propaganda” as Bush would say), it begins to look like a fact to people who don’t know better.

12. tiberius // Aug 12, 2008 at 11:09 pm

    Woody

    I know my comments never get posted on the lefty blogs. I get tired of writing them only never to see them so I gave up.

    Do you honestly believe that everything the NYT reports on is fact? Do you honestly believe that they do not have an agenda? Do you think they do not shade stories to make Bush look bad or Obama look good? Quite frankly I don’t see anything wrong with that, it has been that way forever, I accept it. If your are concerned for people who do not know better then deal with it, because that will not change. The average person on the street could not tell you who the Vice President is, let alone what he is about. I heard a poll last week and found it amazing that 3% of the people questioned did not know who President Bush or Senator Obama were.

    I am sorry but facts are not universal we are not dealing with scientific laws, many times facts and opinion are blurred. (Abortion is a perfect example, whats the fact? What’s the opinion?) Life is not black and white. To honestly believe that Saddam was not one of the worst actors in the world is being unbelievably naive. The biggest lie about WMD was that there was no WMD. He had them he used them he hid them. It may be only my opinion but I think history will someday bare Bush out. There are many facts we still do not know.

    So what Saddam got pissed off, he is playing on a big stage for keeps. If he accepted our propping him up he better be willing to play the game as we dictate or suffer as he did. If you don’t want your strings pulled, do not be a puppet. Problem is in that part of the world that’s the way its done. They do not have the luxury of democracy.

    All governments and institutions create puppets even if only within themselves. What makes our system superior is that we are free to criticize, we are free to disagree what we think and believe the facts are.