Stop the game. Flags down on the play.
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At the time of the Gulf War, we acquired irrefutable proof that Iraq’s designs were not limited to the chemical weapons it had used against Iran and its own people, but also extended to the acquisition of nuclear weapons and biological agents. — National Security Strategy [September 2002] Section V. Paragraph 6
The Iraq Survey Group also found that pre-war intelligence estimates of Iraqi WMD stockpiles were wrong – a conclusion that has been confirmed by a bipartisan commission and congressional investigations. We must learn from this experience if we are to counter successfully the very real threat of proliferation. — National Security Strategy [March 2006] Section V. 4th Paragraph from the bottom.
And yet, two paragraphs later:
Indeed, prior to the 1991 Gulf War, many intelligence analysts underestimated the WMD threat posed by the Iraqi regime. After that conflict, they were surprised to learn how far Iraq had progressed along various pathways to try to produce fissile material.
Apparently Noam is the only person who reads these things. In Resort to Power from his book Hegemony or Survival, Noam says,
…Bush and colleagues declared the right to resort to force even if a country does not have WMD or even programs to develop them. It is sufficient that it have the “intent and ability” to do so. Just about every country has the ability, and intent is in the eye of the beholder.
All three groups of Harvard students weighed in heavily on intent. It misses the point.
bbiab
