Lies on smallpox

U.S. weapons hunters find no evidence Iraq had smallpox

Top American scientists assigned to the weapons hunt in Iraq found no evidence Saddam Hussein's regime was making or stockpiling smallpox, The Associated Press has learned from senior military officers involved in the search.

Smallpox fears were part of the case the Bush administration used to build support for invading Iraq – and they were raised again as recently as last weekend by Vice President Dick Cheney.

~snip~

"We found no physical or new anecdotal evidence to suggest Iraq was producing smallpox or had stocks of it in its possession," one of the military officers said.

When Team Pox searched key locations in Iraq, such as the defunct Darwah foot-and-mouth disease center, they found the facility in the same condition U.N. inspectors left it in seven years ago.

In 1996, inspectors destroyed one fermenter, a storage tank and an inactivation tank at Darwah and poured concrete into the air conditioners while other equipment, including filter pressers and centrifuges were tagged for monitoring purposes.

The smallpox team found cobwebs covering much of the inside, although a CIA National Intelligence Estimate said the Iraqis were refurbishing the facility.

U.S. satellite images had spotted trucks pulling up in the past year – an indication of renewed activity, the team was told. But investigations on the ground revealed the trucks belonged to black marketeers stealing scrap metal and other parts around the site.


http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/iraq/20030918-1046-iraq-smallpox.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Quotes from the Administration

"One of the real concerns about Saddam Hussein, as well, is his biological weapons capability, the fact that he may at some point try to use smallpox, anthrax, plague, some other kind of biological agent against other nations, possibly including even the United States. So this is not just a one-dimensional threat." – Vice President Dick Cheney on "Meet The Press," Sept. 8, 2002.

"There were at least seven of these mobile labs that he (Saddam Hussein) had gone out and acquired. We've, since the war, found two of them. They're in our possession today, mobile biological facilities that can be used to produce anthrax or smallpox or whatever else." – Cheney on NBC's "Meet the Press"

"Saddam Hussein has investigated dozens of biological agents causing diseases such as gas gangrene, plague, typhus, tetanus, cholera, camelpox and hemorrhagic fever, and he also has the wherewithal to develop smallpox." – Secretary of State Colin Powell, making a prewar presentation to the United Nations, Feb. 5, 2003.

"There's got to be a plan, if we go to war with Iraq and if there is some kind of smallpox epidemic, we've got to be prepared." – Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, Nov. 22, 2002.

"Iraq and North Korea are two of those countries that more than likely have some smallpox virus. So we have to be prepared." – Thompson in USA Today interview, Dec. 17, 2002.

"WMD-404 not found" messages, eh? How many were coerced into taking untested vaccines for this doo-dah? How many subsequently became ill? They have no legal recourse, if memory serves me.