The only people that ever doubted WMD existance in Iraq were extrememly out of touch with reality or just incoherently and unforgivingly stupid. Then again, few people have made the blanket-statement that they didn't exist in Iraq.
AGAIN, the existance of WMD in Iraq has been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt when UN inspectors went in, discovered and ultimately destroyed ALL of the KNOWN and ACCOUNTED WMD from '91 forwards.
Apart fom the politically-charged idiocy from the press, many experts (not all, though)are still of the opinion that they didn't get ALL of Iraq's WMD nor did they scrap ALL of their programs and equipment before we invaded. There's a lot of circumstantial evidence that points to this fact, but again no "smoking gun"...
Flash to today:
Two chem shells have been dug up or used against Coalition forces. While compelling and interesting, it CATEGORECALLY DOES NOT point to hidden stashes of WMD in Iraq. Period. Not when there was hundreds of TONS of VX, Sarin and Anthrax that are missing and totally unaccounted for. It's true that they were of the type that was banned by the UN and should have been destroyed, but this isn't a HUGE find or complete vindication of Coalition WMD claims.
In my opinion, the recent finds were likely accidentally placed in a conventional stash and unwittingly detonated as IED's, without the insurgents knowing their true nature.
I hope I'm wrong and these guys are pulling stuff out of a MUCH larger cache full of chem shells, as this WOULD be total vindication of intelligence claims if we found it.
I SERIOUSLY doubt that they are pulling this from a centralized WMD cache, though.
No, given the amount that still remains missing, we need to find TONS of shells and the like. Two chem shells is certainly compelling and interesting, but it doesn't overly-excite me, not when there's been REAMS of other evidence that has pointed to illegal programs being run up to the invasion, dual-purpose equipment hidden and subsequently found by us, illegal bio-cultures found in places, etc.
Patience. The hunt continues. It will probably continue on after the election has passed us by this year as Hussein and his cronies had YEARS to hide stuff or move it...
