Saddam’s Weapons
A controversial find.
Now we know—Saddam Hussein was hiding weapons of mass destruction after all, said Kevin McCullough in Townhall.com. For three years, as inspectors have failed to discover the dictator's suspected stockpiles of chemical and biological arms, George W. Bush has been 'œpummeled mercilessly' by critics who say the U.S. invaded Iraq on false pretenses. But last week, Sen. Rick Santorum and Congressman Peter Hoekstra unveiled declassified portions of a Pentagon report that vindicated the president. American forces have recovered 'œa minimum of 500 weaponized munitions' containing mustard gas and sarin. 'œThat's enough nerve agents to kill more than 8.3 million people—or the island of Manhattan, or the city of Chicago.'
This is big news, said E. Thomas McClanahan in The Kansas City Star. Yet true to form, the liberal mainstream media all but ignored the revelations dismissing them as 'œa bit of grandstanding by a couple of Republicans.' That's exactly what these so-called revelations are, said Ted Diadiun in the Cleveland Plain Dealer. 'œA little basic reporting' quickly revealed that these 'œdegraded' munitions were manufactured before the 1991 Gulf War—possibly as long ago as the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s. The weapons inspectors who spent months looking for Saddam's arsenal predicted we'd find precisely this kind of ordnance. In fact, they had previously reported uncovering shells just like the ones that Santorum and Hoekstra so breathlessly announced. In any event, experts have already concluded that this stuff was too old and too weak to pose any kind threat to anyone, let alone the United States.
William Arkin
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Washingtonpost.com
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Bucatini alla zozzona recipe
The Week Recommends Classic Roman dish is 'slurpy, fun and absolutely heavenly'
By The Week UK Published
-
The UK 'spy cops' scandal, explained
The Explainer Undercover police targeting activist groups conducted intrusive surveillance, with some even embarking on relationships under assumed identities
By The Week UK Published
-
Germany breaks its far-right taboo
In the Spotlight An 80-year firewall has been shattered as the centre-right offers to team up with the far-right AfD to pass tougher immigration laws
By The Week UK Published