AP Exclusive: Top Iraqi Scientist Flees (To Iran)

[Khephra]

The Iraqi scientist who headed Saddam Hussein's long-range missile program has fled to neighboring Iran, a country identified as a state sponsor of terrorism with a successful missile program and nuclear ambitions, U.S. officers involved in the weapons hunt told The Associated Press.

Dr. Modher Sadeq-Saba al-Tamimi's departure comes as top weapons makers from Saddam's deposed regime find themselves eight months out of work but with skills that could be lucrative to militaries or terrorist organizations in neighboring countries. U.S. officials have said some are already in Syria and Jordan.

Experts long feared the collapse of Saddam's rule could lead to the kind of scientific brain-drain the United States tried to prevent as the former Soviet Union collapsed. But the Bush administration had no plan for Iraqi scientists and instead officials suggested they could be tried for war crimes.

"There are a couple hundred Iraqis who are really good scientists, particularly in the missile area," said Jonathan Tucker, a former U.N. inspector now with the Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute in California. "In the chemical and biological areas, their work wasn't state of the art but it was good enough to be of interest to other countries."

more..........

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-iraq-the-scientists,0,82204.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines

[BJ]

1. hmm...a possible pretext for an invasion of Iran?

[Voltaire99]

5. Part of the orchestration effort, no doubt

Washington has to keep a steady drumbeat going in preparation for the day when it is no longer bogged down in Iraq.

This kind of thing - more than what goes on in the woeful institutions we call schools - constitutes true "public education" in the US.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

9. Bingo. Gotta ratchet up the hate and fear of Iran before jumping in.

[Liberal Veteran]

2. Incredibly biased article and headline....

Should be "Iraqi Scientist Emigrates to Iran".

[JailBush]

3. All top scientists remaining in Iraq had better be on guard.

They could be accidentally killed in Operation Sledge Hammer.

[Military Brat]

7. Or, if Operation Sledge Hammer doesn't get them all ...

... we'll just move along to Operation Hatchet Job.

[alcuno]

4. "the * administration had no plan." Is this their campaign theme?

[w4rma]

6. Heh, he fled Bush's Iraq jobloss economy to where he could find a job. n/t

[VolcanoJen]

8. Kick

:dem:

[Patriot_Spear]

10. This is not good...

The rule of 'un-intended consequences' is fast catching up with Mr. Bush's* war.