What do we really know about weapons of mass destruction that Saddam may or may not possess?
What do we really know about what his true intentions are?
We know what we have seen first hand, we know what we have read in left wing publications, right wing publications, and moderate publications.
We have the words of Bush and other members of his administration.
We have the words of Saddam and his administration.
We have the words of Blair, the U.N. members, Iraqui ambassadors, and others.
So, imagine being in a court of law, and hearing the available evidence, and trying to determine fact from fiction, innuendo from proof, following a money trail to find motivation, etc.
It is less than clear cut, in my opinion.
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Perhaps it is what we don't know that is driving Bush to act sooner than later to remove Saddam from power.
Recently, there was a murder trial here in San Diego, that captured the national attention, as it involved the disappearance and eventual death of a young girl. A real soap opera. The parents were into a swinging lifestyle, complete with drug use, and wife swapping activity. The accused man was found with illegal child pornography on his computer.
Yet, as I watched this trial proceed (it was televised) I was torn because it didn't completely add up. Something seemed to be missing. There was physical evidence that tied the accused to the disappearance and potential murder, DNA, some fibers, etc..... but there was never proof of murder, no murder weapon, a decomposed body that couldn't verify the exact cause of death, and no clear cut motivation or opportunity.
Right up to the end of the trial, I was torn, and based on the evidence I could not have removed all reasonable doubt, as the prosecution could not explain just how the girl had vanished from her home. There was no physical evidence that the accused had ever been in the home. The had no real motivation for the suggested kidnap and potential murder.
The trial was quite controversial, to say the least, and opinions were everywhere....with a large number just saying "I think he is guilty...because I feel that way."
Well, he was found guilty, sentenced to die, and then it was revealed after the trial and court documents that had been sealed were released, that the accused was in the process of cutting a deal with the D.A. to reveal where the body of the missing girl was in exchange for life in prison (the girl had not been found at the time of the negotiation of a plea bargain).
As providence would have it, the DA was ready to cut the deal, and within hours of them signing off on the deal, the body was discovered, and the deal was taken off the table by the DA.
The general public did not know this, the jury did not know this, but the accused, the judge, the defense attorney, and the prosecutor all knew of the deal that was being negotiated before the girl's body was found.
After the trial when this news came out, people were outraged, as if that material fact of the negotiation had been made known prior to the trial, the fact that the accused knew where the body was, the trial would have been over very quickly. He was guilty, and those on the inside of the process knew it. However, due to the legal process, the fully incriminating information of the deal was sealed from the legal process until after the trial.
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So, how does this local trial relate to the convicted criminal known as Saddam Hussein (convicted by the U.N. after the Gulf war, and sentenced to sanctions and weapons inspections) and the current state of affairs?
Does anyone really think we the people, in America or abroad really have all the facts?
Do we know what negotiations might have already taken place concerning Saddam already?
Does Bush and company have information they cannot reveal, due to the sensitivity of the data, and the unwillingness or inability to reveal what is really known in order to protect someone?
Is it possible that Bush knows with certainty that Saddam has weapons of mass destruction, because he has knowledge of the individuals or individual that perhaps brokered the deal in which Saddam recently acquired them?
Pure speculation, although not too far from a real probability. The world has very dirty hands when politics are involved.
It would be very interesting to really have all the facts.
Perhaps some day the real truth will come out.
For the time being, the leftists will focus on Bush being wrong, the right wingers will focus on Bush being right, and I just sit here wishing I had enough information to come to a level of certainty about what the right course of action is.
What do we really know about what his true intentions are?
We know what we have seen first hand, we know what we have read in left wing publications, right wing publications, and moderate publications.
We have the words of Bush and other members of his administration.
We have the words of Saddam and his administration.
We have the words of Blair, the U.N. members, Iraqui ambassadors, and others.
So, imagine being in a court of law, and hearing the available evidence, and trying to determine fact from fiction, innuendo from proof, following a money trail to find motivation, etc.
It is less than clear cut, in my opinion.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Perhaps it is what we don't know that is driving Bush to act sooner than later to remove Saddam from power.
Recently, there was a murder trial here in San Diego, that captured the national attention, as it involved the disappearance and eventual death of a young girl. A real soap opera. The parents were into a swinging lifestyle, complete with drug use, and wife swapping activity. The accused man was found with illegal child pornography on his computer.
Yet, as I watched this trial proceed (it was televised) I was torn because it didn't completely add up. Something seemed to be missing. There was physical evidence that tied the accused to the disappearance and potential murder, DNA, some fibers, etc..... but there was never proof of murder, no murder weapon, a decomposed body that couldn't verify the exact cause of death, and no clear cut motivation or opportunity.
Right up to the end of the trial, I was torn, and based on the evidence I could not have removed all reasonable doubt, as the prosecution could not explain just how the girl had vanished from her home. There was no physical evidence that the accused had ever been in the home. The had no real motivation for the suggested kidnap and potential murder.
The trial was quite controversial, to say the least, and opinions were everywhere....with a large number just saying "I think he is guilty...because I feel that way."
Well, he was found guilty, sentenced to die, and then it was revealed after the trial and court documents that had been sealed were released, that the accused was in the process of cutting a deal with the D.A. to reveal where the body of the missing girl was in exchange for life in prison (the girl had not been found at the time of the negotiation of a plea bargain).
As providence would have it, the DA was ready to cut the deal, and within hours of them signing off on the deal, the body was discovered, and the deal was taken off the table by the DA.
The general public did not know this, the jury did not know this, but the accused, the judge, the defense attorney, and the prosecutor all knew of the deal that was being negotiated before the girl's body was found.
After the trial when this news came out, people were outraged, as if that material fact of the negotiation had been made known prior to the trial, the fact that the accused knew where the body was, the trial would have been over very quickly. He was guilty, and those on the inside of the process knew it. However, due to the legal process, the fully incriminating information of the deal was sealed from the legal process until after the trial.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
So, how does this local trial relate to the convicted criminal known as Saddam Hussein (convicted by the U.N. after the Gulf war, and sentenced to sanctions and weapons inspections) and the current state of affairs?
Does anyone really think we the people, in America or abroad really have all the facts?
Do we know what negotiations might have already taken place concerning Saddam already?
Does Bush and company have information they cannot reveal, due to the sensitivity of the data, and the unwillingness or inability to reveal what is really known in order to protect someone?
Is it possible that Bush knows with certainty that Saddam has weapons of mass destruction, because he has knowledge of the individuals or individual that perhaps brokered the deal in which Saddam recently acquired them?
Pure speculation, although not too far from a real probability. The world has very dirty hands when politics are involved.
It would be very interesting to really have all the facts.
Perhaps some day the real truth will come out.
For the time being, the leftists will focus on Bush being wrong, the right wingers will focus on Bush being right, and I just sit here wishing I had enough information to come to a level of certainty about what the right course of action is.
rs7