Of course, former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld set records for mendacity in the war run-up. His way with words... Well, I found the following utterly amazing January 15, 2003 quote from Rumsfeld reported in a Pentagon press release:
Rumsfeld: "The choice between war and peace will not be made in Washington, or indeed in New York," Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said today. "It will be made in Baghdad, and the decision is facing the Iraqi regime."Doesn't that make your head spin? They're not finding anything, so that's how we know the weapons are there. I remember this clearly now, it became a typical reporting angle.
The fact that the inspectors have not yet come up with new evidence of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program could itself be evidence of Iraq's noncooperation, Rumsfeld said during a Pentagon news conference.
He said the Iraqi government has designed weapon programs with denial and deception in mind. The programs can continue even as inspections progress. He stated the burden of proof is on Iraq to prove it is disarming and to show U.N. inspectors where the weapons are.
"It is not the responsibility of U.N. inspectors to find the weapons," he said. "It is not their duty nor do they have the ability to find weapons of mass destruction hidden in a vast country."
Never a peep was made by a mainstream reporter when President Bush, Rumsfeld, and others rang the "disarm" bell, sometimes 30, 40, or 50 times each day. The idea that Iraq was not laying down any weapons because they didn't have any never crossed the American reporters' minds.
Actually, I think this is a point where the Administration is beginning to get really worried that there is just nothing. Old empty chemical rounds will become big news items. The urgency of getting the inspectors out and the war started increased with each day no WMD were found. If Blix and ElBaradei had started to verify too much of the truth, the opportunity to take Iraq may have slipped through Bush's fingers.
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