75^th in continuing blog series. The problem of those missing Iraq WMD keeps surfacing and will not go away.
March 28-29, 2003:

“Q One of the questions that has been -- perhaps is premature -- has been, where are the weapons of mass destruction. And so let's accept the fact that that is a question to be answered weeks or months down the road when you have a secure environment inside Iraq, and the focus now is on the military operation, does the administration want to do that, provide the inventory, look at the sites, go looking and finding and cataloguing on its own as a military operation? Or when there is a secure environment inside Iraq, would you prefer that the U.N. come back in and be the agency that does that?

MR. FLEISCHER: At the end of the day, after the fighting is over, and the military needs are first taken care of and secured to protect our troops who are currently on the ground, where we have very real fears about Iraq using chemical weapons against our troops -- as evidenced by the fact that Iraqi military units have been found to have chemical protection gear -- I think that remains a point to be discussed with the international community. It is not something that has been ruled out. There is going to be a role for the United Nations in the future of Iraq, and that's important in the President's judgment. So we have never ruled out anything involving their use of inspectors or anything else down the road. I think it's just too soon to say.”

Of note here, aside from the issue of false claims about Iraqi WMD, is Fleischer’s statement that “there is going to be a role for the United Nations in the future of Iraq.” At no time does the administration come clean, with the American public, about U.S. dominance in ‘post-war’ Iraq.

March 28, 2003 -- PNAC issues its “Second Statement on Post-War Iraq,” strongly continuing to assert the existence of Iraq WMD waiting to be found:

“Of particular concern, the effort to rebuild Iraq should strengthen, not weaken transatlantic ties. The most important transatlantic institution is NATO, and the Alliance should assume a prominent role in post-war Iraq. Given NATO's capabilities and expertise, it should become integrally involved as soon as possible in the post-war effort. In particular, NATO should actively support efforts to secure and destroy all of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction stockpiles and production facilities (a task that should unite the United States, Canada and all European allies committed to peace and non-proliferation), ensure peace and stability are maintained in postwar Iraq, and assist in the rebuilding of Iraq's infrastructure and the delivery of humanitarian relief. The Atlantic Alliance has pledged to confront the new threats of the 21st century. No current challenge is more important than that of building a peaceful, unified and democratic Iraq without weapons of mass destruction on NATO's own borders.”

Small wonder that Team Bush pursues ‘tort reform’ so aggressively. The families of the dead and wounded in Iraq might have a case against several neocon think tanks, for their expensively-funded support of a war, apparently regardless of consequences.

Same day -- CBS Evening News with Dan Rather covers the touching story of PFC Jessica Lynch, a small-town West Virginia girl missing in action in Iraq:
 

          “DAN RATHER, anchor:

It's an indication of the new US military. Of 21 American troops now listed as missing in action in Iraq, two are women who were in combat zones right along with the men. CBS' Jane Clayson has the story of one of them.

JANE CLAYSON reporting:

In the tiny hamlet of Palestine, West Virginia, Gregory Lynch is waiting for word of his daughter, Private First Class Jessica Lynch, who's been missing in action in Iraq since Sunday.

What's the worst part of it?

Mr. GREGORY LYNCH: Not knowing where she's at, that she's missing. You know, it's--kind of crushes you.

CLAYSON: Nineteen-year-old Jessie Lynch is one of several soldiers who disappeared when their supply convoy was ambushed. Her parents first saw it on television.

Mr. LYNCH: And then it started flashing at the bottom of the screen the unit number, and we knew it was her unit number then. About 11:00 a state trooper and Army personnel come and gave us the news.

CLAYSON: For an ambitious young girl from a tiny rural town, the Army offered the promise of travel, education and a better future.”

Fortunately, as we know, Jessica Lynch is ultimately rescued. Too bad they couldn’t save Dan Rather, though.

March 29, 2003 – Bush discusses the Iraq war and Iraqi oil again in his weekly radio address:

“THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This week I welcomed Prime Minister Tony Blair to Camp David, where we discussed the progress being made in the war to disarm Iraq, end the dictatorship, and liberate the Iraqi people. Thanks to our fighting forces, the regime that once terrorized all of Iraq now controls a small portion of that country. American and coalition troops have continued a steady advance, and are now less than 50 miles from Baghdad.   

       In recent days, we have cleared mines from the water and taken control of a key port city, to allow humanitarian aid to begin flowing into the country. We have secured more than 600 oil wells and have begun putting out the few oil well fires set by the enemy. Our efforts to protect the wealth that belongs to the Iraqi people are paying off.”

 
Undoubtedly the purpose behind these and similar administration comments is to address the “pocketbook issue” of war as seen through the prism of gasoline prices. But the cumulative effect of similar statements from the highest office, 2001-2007, demonstrates that the petroleum resources of Iraq were never far out of White House thinking.

 
Subsequent investigations fail to turn up evidence that Saddam Hussein intended to set off mass catastrophic weapons in Baghdad or to destroy Iraqi oil fields.