Thursday, October 28, 2004
Deep in the Qaqaa
Maybe Not Talking about the Missing Explosives was a Better Idea
UPDATE: OK, did my own Al Qaqaa here. The John Shaw in question is a different John Shaw, not the one I know. However, despite the fact that I don't know this particular John Shaw, I think my criticisms still stand. Meanwhile I blame the following factors for my error: 1) I was visiting hurricane victims in Florida and was tired, 2) The Russians made me do it, 3) It's our troops fault and 4) I'll say anything to get elected because I'm a bad person. No seriously, my fault.
Wow, The administration is starting to sound an awful lot like Ashley Simpson when it comes to the missing 380 tons of high explosives from the unfortunately named Al-Qaqaa facility. At first it was, "Well, they we're taken before we got there," but now it seems, at least according to DOE Flunky John Shaw, that the Russians snuck in and moved them to Syria. Yes, the same Russians whose President Vladamir Putin endorsed President Bush last week and whose words have been touted by BC04 as a reason to vote for a second Bush term. We are through the looking glass people.
Here's what the Washington Times has to say about the whole situation:
There are so many things about this I find disconcerting. First, is that I know John Shaw. Oh, he's a nice enough guy, but he's definitely the Mo Rocca of political appointees. My impression of him is that, like grade-C celebrity Mo Rocca, he has his job because of a good agent. As a result, his reportedly being in charge of cataloging the weapons issue in Iraq does not fill me with a sense of security or confidence in the Administration. Besides, from a political standpoint, what better way to float a trial balloon to explain away the missing explosives than by a third level political appointee at the department of energy. (I'm guessing every one higher up is on the road trying to save Bush's reelection chances- which begs the question of whose running the store). Anyway, float a new excuse through a flunky like John, and if it doesn't fly, then just say that John was a rogue official who neither had knowledge nor authorization to know. Hey John, I think you're being played by your own people here.
But that's just the beginning.
First off, what the administration has been saying time and again is that despite the lack of WMD (and high explosives, while deadly, are not considered WMD), that America is safer because we invaded Iraq. But wait! Now, in an effort to assuage blame for the missing explosives, they're telling me that Russia, who is supposed to be an ally in the broader War on Terror, has helped move these explosives and other weapons to terrorist nations like Syria, Lebanon and Iran. So the weapons we had contained in Iraq for many years, have now spread to three other countries that wish us harm. AND I'M SUPPOSED TO FEEL SAFER?
It bogles the mind that the BC04 folks are offering this up as an excuse or explanation. Especially since it seems to undermine not only their premise for going to war, but also their claim that we are safer. Maybe they should have taken a page from Ashley Simpson and marked it up to a bad case of acid reflux disease.
I'll tell you this. When the administration is leaking excuses through people like John Shaw, I know that 1) They don't know what the hell is going on, 2) They have no plan and 3) They are desperate. Sorry John.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20041028-122637-6257r.htm
UPDATE: OK, did my own Al Qaqaa here. The John Shaw in question is a different John Shaw, not the one I know. However, despite the fact that I don't know this particular John Shaw, I think my criticisms still stand. Meanwhile I blame the following factors for my error: 1) I was visiting hurricane victims in Florida and was tired, 2) The Russians made me do it, 3) It's our troops fault and 4) I'll say anything to get elected because I'm a bad person. No seriously, my fault.
Wow, The administration is starting to sound an awful lot like Ashley Simpson when it comes to the missing 380 tons of high explosives from the unfortunately named Al-Qaqaa facility. At first it was, "Well, they we're taken before we got there," but now it seems, at least according to DOE Flunky John Shaw, that the Russians snuck in and moved them to Syria. Yes, the same Russians whose President Vladamir Putin endorsed President Bush last week and whose words have been touted by BC04 as a reason to vote for a second Bush term. We are through the looking glass people.
Here's what the Washington Times has to say about the whole situation:
John A. Shaw, the deputy undersecretary of defense for international technology security, said in an interview that he believes the Russian troops, working with Iraqi intelligence, "almost certainly" removed the high-explosive material that went missing from the Al-Qaqaa facility, south of Baghdad.
"The Russians brought in, just before the war got started, a whole series of military units," Mr. Shaw said. "Their main job was to shred all evidence of any of the contractual arrangements they had with the Iraqis. The others were transportation units."
There are so many things about this I find disconcerting. First, is that I know John Shaw. Oh, he's a nice enough guy, but he's definitely the Mo Rocca of political appointees. My impression of him is that, like grade-C celebrity Mo Rocca, he has his job because of a good agent. As a result, his reportedly being in charge of cataloging the weapons issue in Iraq does not fill me with a sense of security or confidence in the Administration. Besides, from a political standpoint, what better way to float a trial balloon to explain away the missing explosives than by a third level political appointee at the department of energy. (I'm guessing every one higher up is on the road trying to save Bush's reelection chances- which begs the question of whose running the store). Anyway, float a new excuse through a flunky like John, and if it doesn't fly, then just say that John was a rogue official who neither had knowledge nor authorization to know. Hey John, I think you're being played by your own people here.
But that's just the beginning.
First off, what the administration has been saying time and again is that despite the lack of WMD (and high explosives, while deadly, are not considered WMD), that America is safer because we invaded Iraq. But wait! Now, in an effort to assuage blame for the missing explosives, they're telling me that Russia, who is supposed to be an ally in the broader War on Terror, has helped move these explosives and other weapons to terrorist nations like Syria, Lebanon and Iran. So the weapons we had contained in Iraq for many years, have now spread to three other countries that wish us harm. AND I'M SUPPOSED TO FEEL SAFER?
It bogles the mind that the BC04 folks are offering this up as an excuse or explanation. Especially since it seems to undermine not only their premise for going to war, but also their claim that we are safer. Maybe they should have taken a page from Ashley Simpson and marked it up to a bad case of acid reflux disease.
I'll tell you this. When the administration is leaking excuses through people like John Shaw, I know that 1) They don't know what the hell is going on, 2) They have no plan and 3) They are desperate. Sorry John.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20041028-122637-6257r.htm
