We continue to hear hints from various official sources in Iraq, including elected Iraqi officials that some expect an eventual discovery of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. This might provide a sort of ex post facto "legitimacy" to the invasion of Iraq.
Of course, we know that American forces scrutinized Iraq with the most sensitive testing and detection equipment available for many months after the invasion. We know that Iraqi military and government officials were detained and remain detained for many months, perhaps subjected to coercive methods of information retrieval in order to determine the existence and the location of any such weapons. No weapons have been found, despite this intensive and very expensive and thorough effort.
Yet, the subtle reminders that some still expect possible discovery of such weapons in the indefinite future require healthy suspicion. Would it be possible that the American or the American-influenced elected officials of Iraq to fabricate paperwork, munitions, or other evidence of WPM’s? Surely they wouldn’t deceive us, would they, intentionally?
Surely, Colin Powell would not do so, but he did. Surely Dick Cheney wouldn’t deceive us, but he did. Surely Donald Rumsfeld wouldn’t deceive us, but he did. Certainly Mr. Chalabi wouldn’t deceive us, but he did.
Don’t be surprised if, within the next year or so, a fresh, new discovery hits the world’s media outlets. A well-hidden, undetectable, long-suspected, and cleverly disguised WMD facility in the ladies lounge of the third palace of the second wife of the suspected, illegitimate son of Saddam Hussein. It was hard to find, but by golly, they did it! All the documentation will be found, the manufacturer information, the packing slips, the military orders for potential deployment, and even the burial certificate of the poor little Iraqi lady who accidentally was exposed to a lethal spill and had to be buried right under the palace in brutal secrecy.
This discovery may well occur when impeachment talk for George W. Bush becomes too loud to ignore.
