Drudge claiming NYT will break story on Iraq nukes Friday

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

www.drudgereport.com

Here we go.......Judith Miller must be back on the payroll.

[buddysmellgood]

1. No, they will discover the nukes they planted out of desperation.

[Pirate Smile]

2. I read somewhere that Judy was back in Iraq.

[hexola]

3. Drudge Update....

Federal government set up Web site -- Operation Iraqi Freedom Document Portal -- to make public a vast archive of Iraqi documents captured during the war; detailed accounts of Iraq's secret nuclear research; a 'basic guide to building an atom bomb'... Officials of the International Atomic Energy Agency fear the information could help Iran develop nuclear arms... contain charts, diagrams, equations and lengthy narratives about bomb building that the nuclear experts say go beyond what is available elsewhere on the Internet and in other public forums.... Developing...

[originalpckelly]

5. In other words, the Bush administration may have fucked up...

and taught Iran how to make nuclear weapons in an attempt to justify the Iraq war.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

6. Exactly

Although I'm guessing this admin would try to spin it as "Look, we were right! Iraq had nukes and now Iran has 'em. Let's go blow them up!!!"

[Union Thug]

11. Ok, so I don't get it. It's no secret that they had a nuke program

many years ago. It's a big 'so what'. What am I missing here... beyond the fact that the BushCo dipshits posted everything on a public share?

[originalpckelly]

16. 1. Not enough translators, 2. Was used by rightwingers....

1. Not enough translators so they put it out there for people to read and translate
2. Rightwingers used some of the accounts (specifically audio tapes) as proof Saddam sought weapons of mass destruction or had them or was working with al-Qaeda.

[Union Thug]

22. It's like watching the Benny Hill show...

These "morans" never cease to amaze me.

[Old and In the Way]

38. It's the paperwork of mass destruction!

I'm more interested as to why they'd dump massive amounts of technical data onto the web, allowing terrorists to access. By incompetence or by design....I can tell with these criminals anymore.

[madmusic]

34. BushCo declared enemy combant for releasing classified nu-clear stuff!

[slaveplanet]

36. This story sounds an awful lot

like a warmed over and no doubt, highly spun, rehash of Kurt Pitzer's 2005 Mother Jones piece...http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2005/09/armageddon.html

"In the Garden of Armageddon"


To summarize, Iraq's top nuclear scientist came forward after the fall
of Baghdad, and no doubt under the false impression that the US might be interested in the whole of Iraq's long dismantled nuclear program(which he had buried in his courtyard for safe keeping):

"Then one day, he gestured toward a spot in the garden. Buried under the lotus tree next to his rosebushes a few feet from where we sat, he said, was the core of Saddam's nuclear quest: blueprints and prototype pieces for building centrifuges to enrich uranium to bomb grade. Twelve years earlier, he had buried them on orders from Saddam's son Qusay -- presumably, he said, to use them to restart a bomb program someday.

Obeidi dug up the cache a few days later. When he showed me the four prototypes, his hands shook. The machine parts looked alien, like pieces of a futuristic motorcycle, most of them small enough to fit inside a briefcase. He explained that these components and the three-foot-high stack of diagrams were still immensely valuable -- and immensely dangerous. They represented the core knowledge it would take to jump-start a covert bomb program, anywhere in the world."

tried to give himself and the documents, diagrams, and centrifuge parts over
to the US authorities out of fear they might end up in Iranian hands. The US initially turned their nose up at the prospect of such an offer and instead walked around with their head up their ass:

The news from Albright over the satellite phone was discouraging. U.S. intelligence on the ground was hopelessly disorganized, and there was no guarantee that American troops wouldn't imprison Obeidi even if he offered to help them. As the days wore on he felt the clock ticking, and sometimes his fear and exasperation would show through. "Why aren't they more interested in finding out what I have to offer?" he once asked in the textbook English he had learned as a student at the Colorado School of Mines in the 1960s. "I can answer many of their questions. Surely for a great nation like the United States, it is no big deal to offer me security in exchange for everything I want to divulge. Why don't they want to help me?"

For over a month(you really have to read this article to see what happens next, It's really unbelievable except for the fact it's Bushco we're talking about here):

In the weeks after the invasion, I got to know Obeidi quite well. He was no Dr. Strangelove. He loved science and the pure logic of an engineering challenge, and his eyes would light up when we talked about early Mesopotamian art or American history. He said he detested Saddam, and lamented how the Baathists had turned the best minds of his generation toward destructive ends. What he cared about more than anything was the welfare of his wife and four grown children. But as the U.S. occupation wore on, that seemed an increasingly elusive goal.

More than a month after our first meeting, our satellite phone calls had failed to produce any kind of safe-haven offer from Washington. Operatives from the Defense Intelligence Agency as well as the CIA had tracked Obeidi down through third parties, summoned him to their respective headquarters, and demanded that he surrender all he knew. The DIA agents threatened to imprison him, he told me, and then asked that he not speak to anyone at the CIA; soon afterward, the CIA sent armed agents to his home and took away a sample of his documents, promising to safeguard his family.

Then, early on the morning of June 3, 2003, more than a dozen soldiers jumped over Obeidi's garden wall, kicked in his front door, and put him and his family facedown on their living room floor at gunpoint. Obeidi's wife and children watched as he was handcuffed and put in a Humvee. Evidently, the Army had finally caught wind of Obeidi's significance -- and, just as evidently, the troops knew nothing of their own intelligence agencies' contacts with him.

To make a long story short, The Feds ended up printing the captured documents on a public website for anyone to download...That and the Army probably tortured this guy when they didn't need to.

Does this sound a bit like what Drudge is trying to float?

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

4. Not sure what the spin on this one will be

Apparently the U.S. posted stuff on a website and it's fallen into Iranian hands? If true, it's f-ed up six ways to Sunday.

[originalpckelly]

7. No, this is bad for Bush and Republicans...

because they set up the website to try to justify the Iraq invasion (after we had taken Saddam down) by providing evidence he was developing a nuclear weapon. Of course knowing how to make one and making one are two different things but this may go badly for Bush (because it was a government by our federal government.)

[hexola]

8. Didnt this website have something to do with the shortage of translators (nt)

[originalpckelly]

13. You'll remember when it was opened how Hannity went nuts over it...

they were using it to justify the Iraq invasion.

[hexola]

25. Agree - how can it be good for BushCo...?

I dont think theres any dispute that Saddam had Nuke aspirations in the Gulf war era...So they cant say "See told you so" about WMD...

[mac56]

9. And they've been sitting on this info for all this time?!

Drudge expects us to believe that?

I don't have the words to express my disgust.

[requiem99]

10. WE HAVE PROOF OF IRAQS WEAPONS NOW BUT WE CANT SHOW YOU CAUSE IRAN COULD SEE IT!!!!!111

[bluestateguy]

12. Annnd...his point is?

Nothing will ever restore public support for this bullshit war.

Not just Judith Miller, but maybe Jayson Blair is back on the payroll too.

[Democrats_win]

14. Who buys the Times for the news any more? I get my news from Buzzflash.com.

The Times has great info on Broadway and fashion. Worth the price.

[Just-plain-Kathy]

15. This was recently posted at yahoo news

"Iran test-fires longer range missile"


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061103/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iran_missile_test

[wholetruth00]

17. This stuff is not going to change a thing. Looks like desperation

and most voters will see it as such.

[KharmaTrain]

18. ASTROTURF ALERT...Rovian Incoming!!!!!

Here we go kids. This is how the Mighty Wurlitzer gets cranked. Matt gets the call and puts up his little siren...gets the buzz machine rolling. Be assured by tomorrow morning Mark Halperin has instructed ABC to lead with this story, John Solomon at AP will already have the story on the wires for the morning papers and blast faxes will have all the talking points waiting for the hate radio show hosts with their morning cup of venom.

Looks like here's a two day cycle effort coming...cloud the airwaves through the weekend. The tease and then some conveluted Able Danger story. Maybe Drudge will even have an interview with an Iraqi Nuke dressed as a Syrian...photoshop is a marvelous toy. With so little time and virtually no way to verify the validity, any lie that flies this weekend can't be totally rebuked. So be prepared kids...and then for the Saddam Dog & Pony show on Monday. Methinks that's what this is tied into. If this regime is gonna go down in flames, they're gonna play the "Saddam Bad" card one more time...and this time try to tie in nukes. Just a gut feeling.

[Cush]

19. Here it is.....

U.S. POSTING OF IRAQ NUKE DOCS ON WEB COULD HAVE HELPED IRAN...

NYT REPORTING FRIDAY, SOURCES SAY: Federal government set up Web site -- Operation Iraqi Freedom Document Portal -- to make public a vast archive of Iraqi documents captured during the war; detailed accounts of Iraq's secret nuclear research; a 'basic guide to building an atom bomb'... Officials of the International Atomic Energy Agency fear the information could help Iran develop nuclear arms... contain charts, diagrams, equations and lengthy narratives about bomb building that the nuclear experts say go beyond what is available elsewhere on the Internet and in other public forums...

[hexola]

20. But what if this is Gulf War-era info? - when Saddam MAY have had a Nuke program

It seem pretty clear Saddam had NO active program before "Shock and Awe" - which means Bush is still wrong...NO WMD

And NOW they look even dumber for putting this info online - and feeding it Iran...and whoever.

[Union Thug]

23. That was my first thought. There is no question that there was

an nuke program in place... This feels like an angry mother bird trying to regurgitate and force the same old, semi-digested slime down our throats.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

21. I am skeptical for this reason

the Times wouldn't want to risk the blatantly partisan act of assisting Bush.
The last time they did something like this it was the al Qaa Qa ammo dump story, and they got reemed by the GOP for appearing to try to influence the Kerry/Bush election. I believe that story broke on a Monday 8 days before the election. The truth is YES! the Times was sticking it to Bush with that one.
We are far too close to the wire for the Times to do this now.

Anyway, I hope to hell I am right on this- it reminds me of the bin Laden tape appearing exactly 2 years ago- the Friday before... (insert ice cube shaky image here)

[Pale Blue Dot]

24. HERE'S THE STORY. DRUDGE WON'T LIKE IT.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/03/world/middleeast/03documents.html?hp&ex=1162530000&en=1511d6b3da302d4f&ei=5094&partner=homepage

U.S. Web Archive Is Said to Reveal a Nuclear Guide


By WILLIAM J. BROAD
Published: November 3, 2006

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 are 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.

Last night, the government shut down the Web site after The New York Times asked about complaints from weapons experts and arms-control officials. A spokesman for the director of national intelligence said access to the site had been suspended “pending a review to ensure its content is appropriate for public viewing.”

Officials of the International Atomic Energy Agency, fearing that the information could help states like Iran develop nuclear arms, had privately protested last week to the American ambassador to the agency, according to European diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the issue’s sensitivity. One diplomat said the agency’s technical experts “were shocked” at the public disclosures.

The documents, roughly a dozen in number, contain charts, diagrams, equations

[NewYorkerfromMass]

27. Ha ha! I was wrong!

It IS just like the al Qaa Qa story! They're stickin' it to Bush! AGAIN!

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

28. SnowJob's press conference should be fun tomorrow

Ha ha!

[slaveplanet]

37. So makes it Twice

they posted the documents on the internets?

see post #36

[Union Thug]

26. detailed accounts of Iraq’s secret nuclear research before the 1991 Persian Gulf war

"But in recent weeks, the site has posted some documents that weapons experts say are 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. "

[Beetwasher]

29. Drudge Got PUNKD!! Just LIKE I PREDICTED EARLIER!!!!!!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=2555624&mesg_id=2555979

[hexola]

30. The Key is - "Pre Gulf war Nuke program" does not equal "Had WMD any time recently"

And if BushCO is so hopped up over preventing nuke proliferation - why put this info online?

[TomClash]

31. More crap

You can get a basic guide to building an atomic bomb on the internet. Or your local library. Or a million other places.

We know Saddam had a program. We also know it was dormant. Blix and El Baradei outlined this quite thoroughly in various reports and books.

Are Americans really this stupid?

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

32. Possibly

But at this point I have no problem capitalizing on that stupidity if we can convince them there was a serious breech of security.

[hexola]

33. Docs - "...go beyond what is available on the Internet and in other public forums. " (nt)

But unlike those on the Web site, the papers given to the Security Council had been extensively edited, to remove sensitive information on unconventional arms.

[originalpckelly]

42. No this contained very specific information on building the last unknown...

the triggers are super top secret in every country on Earth with these weapons. It really could only be worse if they gave al-Qaeda a nuclear bomb.

[hexola]

35. Im confused by this sentence....

Experts say that at the time, Mr. Hussein’s scientists were on the verge of building an atom bomb, as little as a year away.

Does the "at that time" refer to what the experts were saying or what Saddam was doing?

When was he "a year away" 1990's or 2002?????????????

[fearnobush]

40. Its what the experts believed in 02 before the invasion - those experts

who believed the O.S.P.s cherry picked, cut and pasted fake intel. The artical clearly states the data is pre 1991. "But in recent weeks, the site has posted some documents that weapons experts say are 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."

[KharmaTrain]

39. Eureka...The Secret Weapons For Conrad Burns' Secret Plan!!!!

I wonder if those plans are available on The Google :rofl:

But the winguts won't mind. They'll be all over the hate radio dial tomorrow saying how justified this war for profit is and how those weapons are around here "somewhere". This is one of the few remaining lifelines this regime has to hold on to is most rabid kool-aid drinkers...not that they'd lose 'em if they actually got it through their brainstems that there were no weapons, but to keep up their bloodlust and make sure they get on that church bus on Tuesday.

[slaveplanet]

41. They're already at it

http://tks.nationalreview.com/

"NYT Contradicts itself ...blah, blah, blah...Blows the antiwar argument out of the water...spew, puke, spew"


"The antiwar crowd is going to have to argue that the information somehow wasn't dangerous in the hands of Saddam Hussein, but was dangerous posted on the Internet...blah, blah,blah"

rinse, repeat

[Quixote1818]

43. Actually the story is about how our Administration helped Iran build nukes

Bush probably wants us to get hit by a nuke so he can start another war.