Surprised no one posted this earlier. Evidently, in an attempt to show that it was reasonable to consider Iraq a nuclear threat, the Bush Administration posted previously classified documents it had obtained from Iraq before the 1991 invasion to a web site which included a basic guide to how to make an atomic bomb. What's more, these instructions were posted in Arabic. WTF?!?!?!?

[url]http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0611030167nov03,1,7229617.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed[/url]

I don't mean to suggest that anyone intentionally posted this with the hope that terrorists would find it and use it to build a bomb. If anyone had thought for a moment beyond, "We're under fire -- what can we do to legitimize our decision that Iraq was a threat?," however, it would have been obvious that this was a bad call.

Just goes to show that when it comes down to brass tacks, the #1 concern of those in control right now is remaining in power, above all else...

Re: Bush Admin Posts Bomb Guide on Web

maybe it was a stupid computer tech as opposed to a washington bureocrat?

comon,. you're pushing the lines of common sense here.

GW--'' pssst,, here put this up, we need to show we werent tlaking out our asses"

comp guy -'' but george, donald, these are nuke plans"

Rumsfeld - ''we know we know, who cares, i need to justify my half assed war''

...........i dont think so. more like they were in a pile of papers, and a low lvl military supervisor missed it during forensic investigation.

Re: Bush Admin Posts Bomb Guide on Web

[URL="http://www.bushissofullofit.gov"]www.bushissofullofit.gov[/URL]

Re: Bush Admin Posts Bomb Guide on Web

that site aint working. it goes, but a blank page.

Re: Bush Admin Posts Bomb Guide on Web

I think you've got it a bit wrong. I do believe that something like this was said -- prolly not by Bush himself, but someone high up the chain:

[QUOTE=thesightless;402584] GW--'' pssst,, here put this up, we need to show we werent tlaking out our asses" [/QUOTE]

I don't think anything like this happened, though:

[QUOTE=thesightless;402584] comp guy -'' but george, donald, these are nuke plans"

Rumsfeld - ''we know we know, who cares, i need to justify my half assed war'' [/QUOTE]

More likely, whomever it was that asked that this be posted just took a batch of shit, declassified it, and posted it without bothering to look through it in detail or thinking about the ramifications of posting it before doing so. I doubt that they were in tune with the fact that they were posting bomb plans, in Arabic, into the public eye. The problem with that, though, is that if you're going to declassify information, the more prudent path would be to go over it with a fine tooth comb beforehand.

It's just more of the "act first, think about the consequences later" mentality that got us into the mess we're in.

Re: Bush Admin Posts Bomb Guide on Web

[quote=toasty;402598]More likely, whomever it was that asked that this be posted just took a batch of shit, declassified it, and posted it without bothering to look through it in detail or thinking about the ramifications of posting it before doing so. I doubt that they were in tune with the fact that they were posting bomb plans, in Arabic, into the public eye. The problem with that, though, is that if you're going to declassify information, the more prudent path would be to go over it with a fine tooth comb beforehand.

It's just more of the "act first, think about the consequences later" mentality that got us into the mess we're in.[/quote]

they were found in what year? i know it was early 90's. therefore, the blame game goes to moron's predasesor and hugh hefner wanna be.

Re: Bush Admin Posts Bomb Guide on Web

[QUOTE=thesightless;402603]they were found in what year? i know it was early 90's. therefore, the blame game goes to moron's predasesor and hugh hefner wanna be.[/QUOTE]

look up to the original post -- the docs were from before the '91 Desert Storm invasion, so are you referring to Bush or Reagan?

:roll:

And BTW, what the fuck would anything either of those guys did have to do with why the current administration decided to declassify and publish a bomb-making guide today?

Re: Bush Admin Posts Bomb Guide on Web

bush 1. but if you factor in that it probably took a year or three to de-classify and process throught he bureocracy, then maybe billy boy.

Re: Bush Admin Posts Bomb Guide on Web

[QUOTE=thesightless;402615]bush 1. but if you factor in that it probably took a year or three to de-classify and process throught he bureocracy, then maybe billy boy.[/QUOTE]

I'm still missing the link here.

-Bush 1 has docs regarding Iraq's WMD program. -Bush 1 goes into Iraq -Sanctions are imposed and enforced by Bush 1, Clinton, & Bush 2 -Bush 2 subsequently develops the opinion that Iraq has WMDs -Bush 2 goes into Iraq -Amidst mounting criticism of the war, Bush 2 declassifies and releases pre-'91 docs regarding Iraq's weapons capabilities

Keep in mind, these docs were not declassified as a matter of course as most docs eventually are by the passage of time, they were declassified by Bush, for the specific purpose of deflecting criticism.

How is this GHWB's fault? How is this Clinton's fault? Neither of them sought to make these docs public. I am not following you at all.

Re: Bush Admin Posts Bomb Guide on Web

when was it declassified>? and when were they looked at? the process is done by security and intelligence groups, via military. im saying that it 90% wasnt even seen by monkey boy's buddies. you are assigning the blame there. most likely, they learned about it, when the media did.

Re: Bush Admin Posts Bomb Guide on Web

some blame goes the the previous two as well. they had the documents in thier hands too. this wasnt suddenly discovered this week.

Re: Bush Admin Posts Bomb Guide on Web

[QUOTE=thesightless;402628]some blame goes the the previous two as well. they had the documents in thier hands too. this wasnt suddenly discovered this week.[/QUOTE]

Dude, you're completely missing the point. From the article:

[QUOTE]Last March, the federal government set up a Web site to make public a vast archive of Iraqi documents captured during the war.

The Bush administration did so under pressure from congressional Republicans who said they hoped to leverage the Internet to find new evidence of the prewar dangers posed by Saddam Hussein.

But in recent weeks, the site has posted some documents that weapons experts say present a danger themselves: detailed accounts of Iraq's secret nuclear research before the 1991 Persian Gulf war. The documents, the experts say, constitute a basic guide to building an atom bomb.[/QUOTE]

Who cares who had what and when? The focus of the inquiry is on what they opted to do with the document, not when they had it. Clinton, Bush 1, and maybe even Reagan all had access to these docs and decided, correctly, I think, that declassifying them and releasing them into the public eye would serve no useful purpose. Bush 2, on the other hand, declassified these docs purely for the purpose of deflecting criticism, for political purposes.

Are you saying that any of the previous administrations should have released this sooner? I'm absolutely puzzled.

Re: Bush Admin Posts Bomb Guide on Web

...and remember they are still operating the Star Gate out of Cheyanne Mountain.

Re: Bush Admin Posts Bomb Guide on Web

[quote=toasty;402640]Dude, you're completely missing the point. From the article:

Who cares who had what and when? The focus of the inquiry is on what they opted to do with the document, not when they had it. Clinton, Bush 1, and maybe even Reagan all had access to these docs and decided, correctly, I think, that declassifying them and releasing them into the public eye would serve no useful purpose. Bush 2, on the other hand, declassified these docs purely for the purpose of deflecting criticism, for political purposes.

Are you saying that any of the previous administrations should have released this sooner? I'm absolutely puzzled.[/quote]It's Monday, give the poor bugger some time to pump the Guiness out of his brain...

Re: Bush Admin Posts Bomb Guide on Web

lol, jan is right, my brain is stuck in first gear right now. irish flu.

ill use this

i have honestly come to the conclusion that if i worked for the IRS, and i fucked up processing your tax return and ended up charging you a large penalty, you would blame the administration.

odds are no one in charge actually saw this. intelligence is reveiwed by a senate sub committee. and physically, the odds are no one outiside of the military and the committee even saw the document.

Re: Bush Admin Posts Bomb Guide on Web

[QUOTE=thesightless;402689] i have honestly come to the conclusion that if i worked for the IRS, and i fucked up processing your tax return and ended up charging you a large penalty, you would blame the administration. [/QUOTE]

lol, you're probably right about that. I'm well beyond giving Bush the benefit of the doubt.

[QUOTE=thesightless;402689]odds are no one in charge actually saw this.[/QUOTE]

That's kinda the point. Indicative of the overly blaise, disengaged approach the Admin has taken with running this country. They are more concerned with spin than substance.

[QUOTE=thesightless;402689]intelligence is reveiwed by a senate sub committee. and physically, the odds are no one outiside of the military and the committee even saw the document.[/QUOTE]

I'm not sure we're comparing apples to apples here. Sounds like your talking about the review of classified materials that goes on as a matter of course. I'm talking about something that goes around that normal process. I'm pretty sure that Bush has given himself (i.e., the Executive Branch) the authority to classify and declassify things outside of that process -- maybe Executive Order 13292, but don't quote me on that.

Of course, this still doesn't explain what previous administrations have to do with the decision to declassify and post these docs.

Re: Bush Admin Posts Bomb Guide on Web

my question is why werent they either destroyed or removed and transferred to where they should have been (thepentagon intelligence groups) during the last 13-15 years. it aint something you sit on.

add in the fact that i can barely think right and you are good on monday mornings, well, it aint helping.

Re: Bush Admin Posts Bomb Guide on Web

[QUOTE=thesightless;402713]my question is why werent they either destroyed or removed and transferred to where they should have been (thepentagon intelligence groups) during the last 13-15 years. it aint something you sit on. [/QUOTE]

Well, I'm presuming that they did whatever they deemed appropriate with it up to this point, keeping in mind that it is a document that pre-dates Desert Storm. Bush 1 attacked Iraq, and Clinton enforced those sanctions, which we now know were successful in containing Iraq's nuclear program.

I'm not even real sure what significance that document would have in the context of a discussion about Iraq's [B]current[/B] nuclear capacity. It basically stands for the idea that Iraq had information about how to make an atomic bomb -- and would presumably still have that knowledge. That puts it on the same footing as it has always been, though, and on the same footing as lots of other countries around the world. That is not a new development. Knowledge does not equal capability, nor does desire.