Not surprisingly, yet another piece of "evidence" cited by the Bush administration as a reason to invade Iraq has turned out to be a lie. The unmanned aerial drones that Iraq was experimenting with were not fitted with the equipment necessary to dispense biological or chemical agents. Moreover, it has come out that the Air Force always doubted the analysis put forth by the CIA and the Pentagon, both of which claimed the drones could be used to dispense WMD. The CIA and Pentagon claimed that the drones were an example of a direct threat to the United States, as the Iraqi military had purchased software that contained detailed maps of the US, which was "proof" that they could be targeting the United States.
It is also interesting that while the discussion over pre-war intelligence was a major issue for about a week in July, it has since been almost completely absent from the mainstream media, even though there are still serious questions that need to be addressed. Moreover, the media portrayed the issue as being one that was over a minor claim in Bush's State of the Union address, not the systematic distortion (and in certain cases, outright manufacture) of intelligence to justify their goals. Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity has released a new statement that looks at some of the problems with the intelligence used to justify the war, while a recent Guardian article rejects the British claim that Saddam Hussein was an imminent threat. Of course, for more information on intelligence and weapons of mass destruction, you can search the PAB archives.
AP: Drone Debate -- Disagreements Exist over Iraqi 'weapons'
The Guardian: It's Official - Saddam Was Not An Imminent Threat
On a related note, a recent lawsuit on behalf of more than 100,000 Gulf War veterans targets corporations and banks that helped Iraq with its chemical weapons program in the 1980s, even though it was clear that the Iraqi military was actively using WMD. Many veterans of the Gulf War have a variety of health problems relating to the destruction of the aforementioned weapons during the Gulf War.
Common Dreams: Lawsuit for Gulf War Veterans Targets WMD Businesses
