WEAPONS OF MASS DECEPTION

"The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic
and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers
to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension,
the truth becomes the greatest enemy of the State."

- Dr. Joseph M. Goebbels, Nazi Minister of Propaganda

As Britain and the US gear up to attack Iraq on the most flimsy of pretexts, the reality of the highly successful destruction Iraq's weapons programme by UNSCOM between 1991 and 1998 is being largely ignored. The fact that UNSCOM was infiltrated by US and UK intelligence agencies, utilising UNSCOM's access in Iraq to gather target information for futher military strikes, is also being largely ignored, despite the fact that it was widely reported in early 1999. The fact that Iraq finally refused to comply with UNSCOM because of this infiltration is being completely ignored. The fact that UNSCOM chairman Richard Butler withdrew the inspectors for their own safety as the US and UK unilaterally attacked Iraq in December 1998, with no UN mandate, is being totally ignored. Indeed, British and American newspapers have been literally re-writing history, stating that the inspectors were 'kicked out' of Iraq by the Ba'ath government. The history of Iraq's recalcitrance over the inspection process is well documented, but Iraq remains the most comprehensively disarmed country, in relative terms, in the world. UNSCOM was a huge success.

Following September 11th, rationales have constantly shifted. Having spent twelve years demanding that Iraq comply with weapons inspectors before any sanctions can be lifted, Iraq finally capitulated under a new threat of force. Literally, within hours of their announcement the US declared that it would not accept their offer. "Our policy is regime change, with our without inspectors," said Whitehouse spokesman Ari Fleischer.

Barely a single newspaper called this stand into question. And the question they should have asked was blatantly simple: why have sanctions been enforced against Iraq for twelve years, killing up to 1.5 million people, if weapons inspections were never what the US actually wanted? For the same reason, I suspect, that few papers ever paid attention to the statement made in late 1991 by Richard Haas, former National Security Council advisor, "Our policy is to get rid of Saddam, not his regime."

Any serious researchers of this subject know the facts only too well. The US wants a new strong man in Iraq, one who will do their bidding, as Saddam used to with the customary gusto and brutality of many US clients, to be "...a son of a bitch, but OUR son of a bitch..." as a CIA member once testified to Congress.

The US claims that they have intelligence that proves Saddam Hussein is building weapons of mass destruction. But they won't show it to us. They won't even show it to the new inspections body UNMOVIC. This has caught Iraq in a classic 'logic trap.' If UNMOVIC find something, Iraq will be bombed. If they don't find something, the US will claim that the inpsection process doesn't work, so they will be bombed. Back in the days of UNSCOM, when they found 11,000 fully armed chemical shells, they simply piled them up and destroyed them. Now when UNMOVIC find 12 empty shells in a dusty old box that Iraq failed to account for, suddenly it's the trigger to go to war.

Yet from one day to the next we are told war is not inevitable, then that war is inevitable, that we are patient and will allow the inspection process to work, that we are impatient for the inspection process to work, that UNMOVIC has found no 'smoking gun,' that they have found a 'smoking gun', that we are going to liberate Iraq from the tyranny of our former ally, that we are going to install a new leader but leave the political and police system intact, that this is about weapons of mass destruction, that this is about fighting terrorism, that this is about regime change, that this is about democracy. And the faces of media pundits and politicians blur into one, and all the while the troop build up continues, and all the while the public opposition to it grows to a vast majority. As I write this 84% of the British public is opposed to war, or more accururately, an attack.

This onslaught of media propaganda has been unrelenting, and it is a testament to the good sense and intelligence of the British and American people that they, for the most part, see through it all, even though no-one has yet asked: exactly WHEN did this 'crisis' actually begin?

The 'crisis' began on March 13th, 2002 when George W. Bush said of Osama bin Laden at a Whitehouse press conference: "He's a person who's now been marginalized...I just don't spend that much time on him...I truly am not that concerned about him." What concerned Bush now? "I am deeply concerned about Iraq."  On April 6th, Joint Chief of Staff Chairman Myers, speaking at a Department of Defence press conference, followed that with: "The goal has never been to get bin Laden." Surely, wasn't the whole point of the Afghanistan war to get bin Laden and those who supported him?

From that point on the clamour of the government/media alliance began to build for a new assault on Iraq.

In moves that have drawn favourable comments from Labour supporting papers, Tony Blair was claimed to have 'reigned in' Bush and forced him to go down the UN road to seek a new Security Council Resolution (1441) to enforce a new inspections regime. This claim is astonishing given that Blair has for the past six years been a devoted follower of US policy on Iraq, taking part in the almost daily bombing, as well as the Desert Fox strikes in late 1998 which were not endorsed by the UN whatsoever. Nevertheless, this is where 'we' find ourselves, poised on the brink of killing 10,000 innocent Iraqis in renewed air strikes, a scenario described by the CIA as 'medium case.' Aid agencies are a great deal more pessimistic. With the Iraqi population almost entirely dependent on the central government ration (via the oil-for-food programme) disruptions in supply could be absolutely catastrophic. Estimates of 250,000 - 500,000 deaths and injuries are currently being put forward, whilst US television features a military spokesman cheerfully describing a 'Shock and Awe' strategy designed specifically to terrorise and murder the population by destroying what is left of their hospitals and water supply.

And the reality behind the new hawkish stance of the US is not widely reported, nor are the astonishing efforts made by the US in the past to actually OBSTRUCT weapons inspections to provide pretexts for further attacks. And the actual goals of the US and their selection of likely candidates to lead a post-attack Iraq seem to have escaped the attention of the majority of the mass media. It's a good thing for 'us' then, that good journalists and good newspapers, though few are far between, still exist.

The following articles provide a much needed reality check to the current manufactured 'crisis,' and serve to underline UNMOVIC chairman Hans Blix's statement that, whilst there are still outstanding questions about Iraq's co-operation, "...I have seen nothing to justify a war..."

Grant Wakefield
4th February 2003

Western companies armed Iraq
by
Democracy Now!

Listing of the main companies that armed Iraq
READ ARTICLE

A startling revelation that the third in a series of British government produced dossiers on the Iraqi 'deception' effort
of weapons inspections is heavily plagiarised from several other documents, some of which are 12 years old,
and bear no relation at all to current UNMOVIC inspection processes.

This document was referenced by Colin Powell during his February 5th presentation to the UN Security Council
READ DOCUMENT

Inspection as invasion
by
George Monbiot

Reveals the secret activities of the US and UK governments to obstruct genuine disarmament in Iraq 
READ ARTICLE

The Logic of Empire
by
George Monbiot

Describes the US contempt for international law and consensus
READ ARTICLE

The Mass Media and Mass Murder
by
David Cromwell

Examples of the outright propaganda of the majority of the UK press
READ ARTICLE

Myths and Propaganda
by
John Pilger

Another piece on the propaganda effort in the UK and shocking
revelations of the US efforts to impede humanitarian aid to Iraq
READ ARTICLE

Blair has blood on his hands
by
John Pilger

Savage indictment of Blair's support for George W. Bush and the current Iraq policy
READ ARTICLE

National Public Radio
Interview with former UNSCOM Chief Inspector Scott Ritter

Ritter outlines the known weapons and disarmament situation
READ ARTICLE

Unveiled -  the thugs Bush wants in place of Saddam
by
David Pratt

Lists the main US backed candidates for a post-Saddam Iraq
READ ARTICLE

The Scott inquiry revealed the cynicism of politicians' approach
by
Richard Norton Taylor

A timely reminder of the cynicism of previous UK governments in secretly arming Iraq
READ ARTICLE

The real goal in Iraq
by
Jay Bookman

Disturbing revelations from internal US documents setting out a military strategy for global domination
READ ARTICLE

Doing the sensible thing
Peter Clarke of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation interviews Noam Chomsky

Chomsky discusses the nature of terrorism, US policy and the 'liberal' press response to September 11th
READ ARTICLE

Thoughts on US Secretary of State Colin Powell's speech to the UN Security Council - 5th February 2003
by
Grant Wakefield
READ ESSAY

INDEX