WMD-Tehran times and a li'l perspective

[kat]

While googling something else I came across this interesting and opposing perspective to the recent thread presenting Tehren's reporting of WMD activities in Iraq.

Here is the old thread WMD Scam in Preperation?

and a bit of a blurb from that thread:

Is the US Planting WMDs in Iraq?
*
Tehran Times* 12 April 2004

BASRA, April 12 (MNA) -– Fifty days after the first reports that the U.S. forces were unloading weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in southern Iraq, new reports about the movement of these weapons have been disclosed.

Sources in Iraq speculate that occupation forces are using the recent unrest in Iraq to divert attention from their surreptitious shipments of WMD into the country.

An Iraqi source close to the Basra Governor’s Office told the MNA that new information shows that a large part of the WMD, which was secretly brought to southern and western Iraq over the past month, are in containers falsely labeled as containers of the Maeresk shipping company and some consignments bearing the labels of organizations such as the Red Cross or the USAID in order to disguise them as relief shipments

Now here's the opposing but equally reliable (ha ha) view: *snip*
And if the WMD are found ... Connecting the dots

For most Democrats and journalists, the question of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq is a closed, because it is politically embarrassing for President Bush if none are found. But if Saddam's arsenal exists, and our enemies have access to it, we could suffer something far worse than embarrassment if we pretend that it does not exist. Here are some dots crying out for connection:

Explosives and poison gas that could have killed as many as 20,000 people and decapitated his government came from Syria, Jordan's King Abdullah told the San Francisco Chronicle last Saturday. An al Qaida cell associated with Abu Musab al Zarqawi, a Jordanian national thought to be masterminding al Qaida operations in Iraq, smuggled three cars containing 17.5 tons of explosives and a deadly chemical agent of an undisclosed type into Jordan early in April. Targets for the attack were Jordan's military intelligence headquarters, the prime minister's office, and the U.S. embassy, which are located close to each other in the Jordanian capital of Amman.

Former U.S. weapons inspector David Kay told Congress last fall that U.S. satellite reconnaissance showed substantial truck traffic between Iraq and Syria in the weeks before Operation Iraqi Freedom began last March 19.

A Syrian journalist who defected to Europe told a Dutch newspaper Jan. 5 that chemical and biological weapons developed by Saddam Hussein's regime were being stored in tunnels dug under the town of al-Baida near the city of Hama in northern Syria; in the village of Tal Snan, near a big Syrian air force base, and on the Lebanese border south of the city of Homs. Nizar Najoef told the Dutch Telegraaf that the WMD transfer was organized by the commanders of Saddam's Special Republican Guard with the help of a cousin of Syrian strong man Bashir Assad. Najoef's remarks strengthen the view of some in U.S. and Israeli intelligence that many of Saddam's most deadly weapons were moved to Syria just before the war began. "People below the Saddam-Hussein-and-his-sons level saw what was coming and decided the best thing to do was to destroy and disperse," James Clapper, head of the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (since renamed the National Geo-Spatial Intelligence Agency), told the New York Times last October.

On April 12, the official Iranian news agency "reported" that U.S. forces were secretly hiding weapons of mass destruction in southern and western Iraq. This is, of course, a lie. But the telling of it suggests the Iranians think U.S. forces might soon be discovering some hidden caches of WMD. The Iranians were especially alarmed that the U.S. was interviewing scientists connected with Saddam's weapons programs. "A professor of physics at Baghdad University told the MNA correspondent that a group of his colleagues who are highly specialized in military, chemical and biological fields have been either bribed or threatened during the last weeks to provide written information on what they know about various programs and research centers and the possible storage of WMD equipment," the Iranian news agency said. Charles Duelfer, who has replaced Kay as chief weapons inspector, told Congress March 29 that few Iraqi scientists have been willing to talk to Americans. "Many perceive a grave risk in speaking with us," Duelfer said. "On the one hand, there is the fear of prosecution or arrest. On the other, there is fear former regime supporters will exact retribution."

Read the whole thread.

 

[Njorl]

I'd say that this article lives up to the "standards" of the first.

Njorl

 

[R0man]

First of all, I want to commend you for doing your own research and seeking out opposing perspectives. It is important to consider multiple viewpoints when forming opinions on complex issues such as the presence of WMDs in Iraq.

That being said, it is important to note that both the Tehran Times and the opposing viewpoint you have provided are biased sources. The Tehran Times is a state-run media outlet in Iran, which has a vested interest in portraying the US as planting WMDs in Iraq. On the other hand, the opposing viewpoint you have provided is from a conservative news outlet, which also has its own biases.

It is also worth noting that the information presented in both sources is based on speculation and unverified claims. While it is possible that some WMDs were moved to Syria before the war, there is no concrete evidence to support this claim. Similarly, the idea that the US is planting WMDs in Iraq is also based on speculation and has not been proven.

In situations like these, where there is conflicting information and no concrete evidence, it is important to approach the topic with caution and not jump to conclusions. It is also important to consider the motives behind the information being presented and to seek out more reliable and unbiased sources.

Ultimately, the presence of WMDs in Iraq is a complex and controversial issue, and it is important to continue gathering and evaluating information from a variety of sources before forming a solid opinion.