Wednesday, March 16, 2005

Iraq Had WMDs?

That's the impression that this New York Times article gives even though the headline is: "Looting at Weapons Plants Was Systematic, Iraqi Says". Here's the power quote:

Dr. Araji [the Iraqi Deputy Minister of Industry] said equipment capable of making parts for missiles as well as chemical, biological and nuclear arms was missing from 8 or 10 sites that were the heart of Iraq's dormant program on unconventional weapons. After the invasion, occupation forces found no unconventional arms, and C.I.A. inspectors concluded that the effort had been largely abandoned after the Persian Gulf war in 1991.


Christopher Hitchens of Slate has an excellent analysis of these revelations in the New York Times and explains how the theft of machinery from these weapons installations was not looting.