How will the world see Blix in six months?

[Urban Ranger]

Copied from my other thread:

Not that long ago, Colin Powell presented a report in front of the UNSC, asserting all kinds of reliable and solid information from the CIA with regards to Iraq having NBC weapons. When this was questioned, when it was asked why this information wasn't turned to Hans Blix and his lads, the usual suspects defended by saying blah blah intelligence sources blah blah security concerns blah blah blah.

After the US gained control of most of Iraq, we would expect the armed force people head straght towards these secret places and unearth huge amounts of nasty stuff.

But we aren't hearing this.

So what happened to all this solid information?

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by Zulu Elephant
If the US government had this concrete proof of the whereabouts of WMD, then they should have shared it with the inspectors.

Concerns that the Iraqis penetrated the inspection process led the CIA to be naturally reluctant to share sensetive information.

[DanS]

There is no way to judge Blix's performance in this circumstance. He failed. But then again, his mission was impossible.

[gsmoove23]

In a short amount of time it will become evident if he failed or not. If the americans with full reign of the country and access to people who have no fear of reprisals from Saddam do not find WMD very soon the jig is up and the spin machines will spin like they have never spun before.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by DinoDoc
Concerns that the Iraqis penetrated the inspection process led the CIA to be naturally reluctant to share sensetive information.

That's exactly why I wrote the post right above yours.

Any responses to that?

[Ned]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger


Ah. All assertions and no evidence. Not surprised at all.

UR, The problem with you leftists is that you had and still have no idea what Blix was supposed to do.

His job was not to find WMD. It was to verify that what Saddam said in the Dec. 8th report was true. Saddam said he had destroyed his WMD. The only way to verify this was to interview those who allegedly destroyed the WMD.

Blix did not interview the scientists. He never insisted that they be interviewed outside Iraq. We told him that Saddam had threatened their lives and the lives of their families. Still Blix did not act.

Blix failed, pure and simple. This has nothing to do with whether Saddam was lying or not. It has to do with Blix and his ineptitude. Blix caused the war.

[gsmoove23]

Thats funny cause the mandate doesn't seem to say as you do.

The Commission's mandate is the following: to carry out immediate on-site inspections of Iraq's biological, chemical and missile capabilities; to take possession for destruction, removal or rendering harmless of all chemical and biological weapons and all stocks of agents and all related sub-systems and components and all research, development, support and manufacturing facilities; to supervise the destruction by Iraq of all its ballistic missiles with a range greater than 150 km and related major parts, and repair and production facilities; and to monitor and verify Iraq's compliance with its undertaking not to use, develop, construct or acquire any of the items specified above. The Commission is also requested to assist the Director General of IAEA, which, under resolution 687, has been requested to undertake activities similar to those of the Commission but specifically in the nuclear field. Further, the Commission is entrusted to designate for inspection any additional site necessary for ensuring the fulfillment of the mandates given to the Commission and IAEA.

http://www.un.org/Depts/unscom/unscom.htm#MANDATE

[Drake Tungsten]

How will the world see Blix in six months?

By turning to the History Channel...

[Sava]

Originally posted by DanS
There is no way to judge Blix's performance in this circumstance. He failed. But then again, his mission was impossible.

Wow, I better by a lotto ticket or something. DanS and I agree on something!

[Ned]

Originally posted by gsmoove23
Thats funny cause the mandate doesn't seem to say as you do.

The Commission's mandate is the following: to carry out immediate on-site inspections of Iraq's biological, chemical and missile capabilities; to take possession for destruction, removal or rendering harmless of all chemical and biological weapons and all stocks of agents and all related sub-systems and components and all research, development, support and manufacturing facilities; to supervise the destruction by Iraq of all its ballistic missiles with a range greater than 150 km and related major parts, and repair and production facilities; and to monitor and verify Iraq's compliance with its undertaking not to use, develop, construct or acquire any of the items specified above. The Commission is also requested to assist the Director General of IAEA, which, under resolution 687, has been requested to undertake activities similar to those of the Commission but specifically in the nuclear field. Further, the Commission is entrusted to designate for inspection any additional site necessary for ensuring the fulfillment of the mandates given to the Commission and IAEA.

http://www.un.org/Depts/unscom/unscom.htm#MANDATE

I am sure you are reading from 1441.

I think this, though, helps explain why Blix was running as fast as he could in the wrong direction. 1441 demanded that Saddam disclose everything on Dec. 8. Blix was supposed to verify that statement. Instead, he pursued his old mandate. Every time the US and the UK tried to get him back on track, he would stear a middle course, giving us some, but not all, of what we wanted.

But he never aggressively tried to verify the Dec. 8 report. This is why Blair proposed the 5 steps that Saddam could take to indicate compliance. These 5 steps should have eminated from Blix.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Ned
The only way to verify this was to interview those who allegedly destroyed the WMD.

I don't think you are in a position to stipulate what actions are/were necessry to verify Iraq's report.

Originally posted by Ned
Blix did not interview the scientists. He never insisted that they be interviewed outside Iraq. We told him that Saddam had threatened their lives and the lives of their families. Still Blix did not act.

Blix failed, pure and simple. This has nothing to do with whether Saddam was lying or not. It has to do with Blix and his ineptitude. Blix caused the war.

Therefore, the rest of your argument that follows from an invalid assumption is by definition invalid.

Try something better than a bald assertion next time.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Ned
But he never aggressively tried to verify the Dec. 8 report. This is why Blair proposed the 5 steps that Saddam could take to indicate compliance. These 5 steps should have eminated from Blix.

So where are these NBC weapons? By the looks of Powell's report, Iraq should be overflowing with them. None has been discovered so far. Whatever happened to all those intelligence sources that the CIA had to protect? So what's the hold up? Why haven't the US forces made a beeline to those nasty caches so alleged?

The pro-war faction is now trying to divert attention to somewhere else.

[Chemical Ollie]

He will finally retire. Remember that he's 75 years old, with a long career behind him. Here is an exclusive interview from a Swedish newpaper, translated to English.

http://www.aftonbladet.se/vss/nyheter/story/0,2789,291944,00.html

[Kramerman]

(anyone who thought Saddam might fire them at the west was living on another planet)

indeed, but WMD pose threats other than a direct attack.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Olaf HÃ¥rfagre
He will finally retire. Remember that he's 75 years old, with a long career behind him.

That's pretty much my impression as well.