_BiB_

Ditto.

So, goad me, I'm not going to waste it on morons.

Sorry, Daddy. Some of these people really piss me off, though.

Oh, an indictment. My bad. I've forgotten more about this stevestojan than you will ever know. Go ahead, flame me for being stupid. S'OK, I can take it.

Can I get one? After all, I picked the best homebuilt.

Simply because it is minutia. Down in the weeds from a policy standpoint. This isn't "Jeopardy".

I'd probably vote for Rufus. Then again, if you recall, he should be named Kirby or Hoover.

Truthfully: My bad on the '01. Sorry. Yes, everything being talked about is conventional explosives. Lots and lots of it, but there is a lot of it out there. The organization I work for was also embedded with the invasion forces. The emphasis was on identifying actual WMD storage areas, but as an aside a quick inventory was also done on what was actually present (why do it twice?). There's an obvious difference between actual munitions and packaged explosives. These inspections were being done by US Army Technical Escort and Explosive Ordnance Disposal personnel, among others, who are probably the most highly trained people in this field in the world, when it comes to the military. RDX is not a big deal. It's a common ingredient. I will also say that the amounts would have triggered a response. Tons is a lot. I can't say for sure, but if it were me, I wouldn't have payed much attention to a couple hundred pounds of the stuff. It's lying around Iraq like leaves after a windstorm.

oooooooooo. Too hard. When is Survivor coming on?

Interesting how this statement gets made about the same time as the explosives bonanza. Anyone recall my comments about folks doing things in their own self interest? Politics? Power? Never trust anyone. You'll be disappointed.

I'll name names. DC Tom. Food for thought? Christ Almighty Jesus. This country is in serious trouble. Our worst enemy in this world is ourselves.

Wow, we haven't had a "Read The Thread" in quite some time. Cool. Are things getting back to normal?

Feel the love. What I find most interesting about the whole story is who told who what. Iraqi guy to UN guy. One week before election. Hmmm. Not a conspiracy theorist, but... Then throw in the IAEA spin. "The greatest weapons bonanza in history". Come on, give me a break here folks. Kerry shouting it from the rooftops. This election crap sucks. Also, folks, the UN never had it under guard. That's why it had seals placed on it. Once in awhile they come by and check the seals. They last drove out in January, '01. Forget the Condi connection. Why on earth would she need to know anything about it in the first place? She was informed by Vienna as her office was the proper receiving point for their correspondance, and it gets brought up as it obviously has political ramifications, since 90% of American voters at least seem to know little about most anything-much less this. If anyone here for a second thinks there aren't plenty of Kerry supporters in the Pentagon (many who made General Officer under Clinton) I have a bridge in Brooklyn...Reporters pick favorable sources. Most of them are named "Anonymous". Once again, this is a non-story, but with lots and lots of spin. Have any of you stopped to think of how the interim government would have known what was there on invasion day? How many of them were keeping inventory of munitions in Sadaams regime? SH had literally months to hide whatever he wanted or needed to. Oh, and I was curious, so I had a talk with one of the guys who initially inspected the site today. It was on the WMD "hit" list. He seems to think it wasn't there. But, this can not be construed as credible information as it didn't come from a web site or a major news organization. No link. Sorry. Blood in the water. What are we all going to have to talk about 10 days from now?

There were lots of explosives at the facility. Just wasn't any RDX. Anything high value was squirrelled away before we invaded. There's explosives about every 20 feet in Iraq. Not news.

Cool. Sounds good to me. The problem is in the definitions. My semi-auto Remington 7400 30.06 deer rifle was considered an "assault weapon" by the original sets of definitions presented to the legislators. It's not a question of all or nothing. It's camel's nose under the tent.

Getting excited Pierre?

Does this mean I can keep my grenade launcher?

You Sir, did not use you're smiley. S'OK, I don't either. Unless I'm guilty of something.

I was hoping for something on Nunn-Lugar, since Senator Kerry seems to think this administration is doing little about non-proliferation.

Pretty easy to make a tampon suit.

I've really wanted to hit on this one, as the agency I work for is responsible for executing Nunn-Lugar. We have four permanent offices in the former Soviet Union. It gets really frustrating, though, to try to debate what you actually know with people who get their information from a debate soundbite.

I said nothing of the kind. You jumped into this thing with both feet, with a foaming mouth. Someone posted a link to a place where it could be watched for those who wanted to do so, as the viewing area was limited. Nothing more. Someone thanked him. Nothing more. The pile on began. No, it is black and white because aiding and abetting the enemy, whether you agree or disagree with the policy and process is wrong. It is not strictly a first ammendment issue. Believe it or not RCow, there are many, many situations where one can't and/or shouldn't say what they want. I will try to amass a reading list for you, from both sides of view, of the reasons the war went on as long as it did. "The people speaking out" probably did more to prolong the conflict than it did to end it. Militarily, the US could have won the war pretty easily by 1969. Public opinion so swayed the politicians that the Pentagon was hamstrung to prosecute the war in an effective manner. "Negotiations" further limited the military commanders ability to wage an effective campaign. This is what resulted in the Viet Nam "Quagmire". Many Americans would prefer that we go there again. Not directly, but by inserting their "feelings" where feelings are a detriment, not a help.

I will try to find out the specifics of this situation. If I can, I will post what I find out-idea being facts are better than speculation.

We got a new whipping boy? Cool.