September 9, 2002
To the Editors
LA Times
Re: Blair Urges
Action on Iraq story published on September 8, 2002
Dear Editors:
Your Sunday paper reported on President Bush’s
comments after his Saturday meeting with Tony Blair. The writers noted that the meeting “was part of
a well-orchestrated diplomatic campaign…” to “be followed by
a whirlwind of diplomatic activity over the next few weeks.” Yesterday, the administration’s
top pro-war officials hit the Sunday TV talk shows to convince the American
people that we should go to war.
The President and a pro-war faction are determined to go to
war, not matter what the world thinks.
But, they need the public in the US to at least acquiesce to war. To that end, a little manipulation of
facts – as reported in your paper – can help.
Your paper reported, “Bush said that shortly after the
U.N. inspectors left in 1998, the atomic energy agency released a report
concluding that Iraq was six months away from producing a nuclear
weapon.” “I
don’t know what more evidence we need,” the President is quoted as
saying. Is this all the evidence we need to go to war?
It is undisputed that Iraq had a major program to develop
nuclear weapons before the Gulf War.
When the President refers to a report saying that Iraq was within six
months of acquiring a nuclear weapon, he is referring to one estimate of how
long it may have taken Iraq to develop a nuclear weapon in 1990, not in 1998 as
the President implied. (This was
known well before 1998. For example,
I refer you to the Nuclear Control Institute report on August 26, 1995 –
“Iraq’s Crash Program to Build A-Bomb Should Come as No
Surprise.”)
The President’s remarks gave the impression that at
the time the inspectors left, that the Iraqis were on the verge of acquiring
such a weapon. The President was
pressing a fear button of the American people.
In fact, Iraq was no where near being able to acquire a
nuclear weapon when inspections ended, as the Iraqi nuclear fuel – from
its reactors detected by the International Atomic Energy Agency – was
removed and the industrial infrastructure for its nuclear weapons program,
according to Scott Ritter, was destroyed by the UN inspections team. The technical know-how remains in place
as scientists and engineers remain.
Logic would suggest that either Iraq’s nuclear program
was destroyed or, if they retained capacity, they really have had little or no
interest in getting the weapons, because they do not possess any almost 4 years
since the inspectors were ordered out by the US (two days in advance of its
Desert Fox bombing campaign).
In order to acquire a nuclear weapon, the Iraqi’s
would have to have weapons grade fuel.
This could come through either smuggling (e.g. out of Russia) or through
its own enrichment. There is no
evidence that Iraq has done either.
Gamma ray detectors would have picked up any enrichment activity,
according to Ritter. Much has been
made lately of their allegedly trying to obtain some specialized tubes. This has been pointed to as evidence
that they are trying to build equipment to enrich uranium. If that is the case, then they do not
have enriched fuel and are thus not close to building a bomb.
We will be blitzed with “information” about
Iraq’s alleged pursuit of weapons of mass destruction leading up to the
President’s speech before the UN on September 12. The Administration also wants people to
accept its premise that Hussein would be likely to use it against us if he had
such a weapon (he did not use available chemical or biological weapons during
the Gulf War because he knew the consequences would have been devastating to
him.)
Before the Gulf War, when the public was not enthused about
going to war, a young witness was trotted out who talked about Iraqi soldiers
pulling Kuwaiti babies from incubators and taking the equipment back to
Iraq. Public opinion shifted at
the horrific images conveyed.
After the war, we learned this was one big lie. Will we get a whopper of a lie this
time, or a lot of subtler manipulations of facts and assumptions? Along with the reporting what the
Administration says, please look behind their statements for the real facts.
Thank you.
Charlie Jenks
charlesjenks@gmail.com
