Mar. 9th, 2003

khaosworks: (Default)
Some Evidence on Iraq Called Fake
A key piece of evidence linking Iraq to a nuclear weapons program appears to have been fabricated, the United Nations' chief nuclear inspector said yesterday in a report that called into question U.S. and British claims about Iraq's secret nuclear ambitions.

Documents that purportedly showed Iraqi officials shopping for uranium in Africa two years ago were deemed "not authentic" after careful scrutiny by U.N. and independent experts, Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told the U.N. Security Council.

ElBaradei also rejected a key Bush administration claim -- made twice by the president in major speeches and repeated by Secretary of State Colin L. Powell yesterday -- that Iraq had tried to purchase high-strength aluminum tubes to use in centrifuges for uranium enrichment. Also, ElBaradei reported finding no evidence of banned weapons or nuclear material in an extensive sweep of Iraq using advanced radiation detectors.

"There is no indication of resumed nuclear activities," ElBaradei said.

Knowledgeable sources familiar with the forgery investigation described the faked evidence as a series of letters between Iraqi agents and officials in the central African nation of Niger. The documents had been given to the U.N. inspectors by Britain and reviewed extensively by U.S. intelligence. The forgers had made relatively crude errors that eventually gave them away -- including names and titles that did not match up with the individuals who held office at the time the letters were purportedly written, the officials said.
Worth reading to the end - the IAEA does not claim that the US or Britain forged these letters - accepting they were shared in good faith, and a US official admits that they "fell for it".

The dangers of examining evidence with preconceived ideas in mind are obvious - you see what you want to see, and ignore or overlook the obvious flaws in the evidence. Something that should be kept in mind by all sides of any argument.

Of course, the Bush administration continues to insist that tubes are for a sinister purpose and cites "new information". We eagerly await its presentation. I've packed a lunch.
khaosworks: (Default)
Pentagon Wants Mini-Nuke Ban Ended
The Pentagon has asked the US Congress to lift a 10-year ban on the development of small nuclear warheads, or "mini-nukes", in one of the most overt steps President George Bush's administration has taken towards building a new atomic arsenal.

Buried in the defense department's 2004 budget proposals, sent to congressional committees this week, was a single-line statement that marks a sharp change in US nuclear policy.

It calls on the legislature to "rescind the prohibition on research and development of low-yield nuclear weapons".

If passed by Congress, the measure would represent an important victory for radicals in the administration, who believe the US arsenal needs to be overhauled to make it more "usable", and therefore a more meaningful deterrent, to "rogue states" with weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
khaosworks: (Default)
I've noticed that at least one person has dropped me from their friends list. No, I'm not whining that nobody loves me - I'm just assuming that it's because of the number of war related posts and news items I've been linking to and excerpting from recently causing a kind of war spam. I push the articles basically because I think people might be, or should be, interested in them, but I don't want to alienate anyone.

So, opinions:
[Poll #110611]
khaosworks: (Default)
From Ari's latest briefing, concerning the no-news press conference.

Cut to spare the disinterested )

Curiosity

Mar. 9th, 2003 11:10 pm
khaosworks: (Default)
Anyone else besides [livejournal.com profile] smurfchick and [livejournal.com profile] znuh on Friendster?

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