David Broder provides some useful details on a critical swing state.
THAT SIMPLE QUESTION: Thanks for all your emails about why the Bush war-plan did not even try to secure many of the Saddam weapons sites that might have contained WMDs and actually did contain ammunition that was subsequently looted. I’m sorry to say no one has a persuasive answer. One option is that the military was so intent on decapitating the regime that they ignored these real potential threats, regarding them as less of a priority. But wasn’t the entire point of the invasion to prevent loose nukes, chems and bios from getting to terrorists? Another option is that there were simply too few troops to do all that needed to be done. But that ignores the fact that these weapons sites were left unguarded for weeks, while the borders were essentially open. Some of you, of course, think that the reason is more obvious and devious than that:
It’s unsettling to consider, but it is apparent that the invasion proceeded with no concern for the possibility of WMD used against our troops, no concern for the possibility that Saddam could pass WMD on to terrorists as an option of last resort, and no concern for the possibility that terrorists could stumble upon WMD in the chaos of regime change. This suggests to me that the war planners didn’t believe there were any WMD to fear.
So why were soldiers given chemical suits? Here’s another thought:
I was asking myself questions similar to the ones you raise in response to Bremer’s admission, but they were stimulated by the Duelfer report instead of the Bremer gaffe. My understanding is that while it debunks the claims that Iraq had an active weapons program, it leaves open the question of whether or not stockpiles of weapons were removed from Iraq prior to the invasion. Please tell me I’m wrong about this. Imagine if weapons were spirited out of Iraq before we had even had the opportunity to implement a good plan to secure the borders. The fact is that we’ve traded a relatively mild uncertainty about Iraq’s WMD for a horrifying uncertainty about them. The only thing that is certain is that they are not where we can do anything about them. Nothing would make me happier than to be corrected on this point.
Me too. I refuse to believe that the administration lied. Which leaves the incompetence explanation intact.
The Dish 