Experts Doubt U.S. Claim on Iraqi Drones

[NNN0LHI]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030824/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_aerial_weapons&cid=540&ncid=1480

Iraqi workers lift what Iraq calls a 'prototype' of a drone, a remotely piloted aircraft, perched on sawhorses in a military compound at the Ibn Firnas State Company in Al Taji, Iraq, just north of Baghdad, as seen in this March 12, 2003 fle photo. Iraqi officials took journalists to the factory, where the drone project director accused U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell of misleading the U.N. security council and the public by insisting that the drone could be fitted to dispense chemical and biological weapons. Recently huddled over a fleet of abandoned Iraqi drones, U.S. weapons experts in Baghdad came to one conclusion: Despite the Bush administration's public assertions, these unmanned aerial vehiclesweren't designed to dispense biological or chemical weapons, Sunday, August 24, 2004.(AP Photo/Jassim Mohammed)

Huddled over a fleet of abandoned Iraqi drones, U.S. weapons experts in Baghdad came to one conclusion: Despite the Bush administration's public assertions, these unmanned aerial vehicles weren't designed to dispense biological or chemical weapons.

The evidence gathered this summer matched the dissenting views of Air Force intelligence analysts who argued in a national intelligence assessment of Iraq before the war that the remotely piloted planes were unarmed reconnaissance drones.

In building its case for war, senior Bush administration officials had said Iraq's drones were intended to deliver unconventional weapons. Secretary of State Colin Powell even raised the alarming prospect that the pilotless aircraft could sneak into the United States to carry out poisonous attacks on American cities.

The administration based its view on a Central Intelligence Agency finding that Iraq had renewed development of sophisticated unmanned aerial vehicles — UAVs — capable of such attacks. The Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency also supported this conclusion.

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[Noordam]

1. anybody saw the UN photo like above NEW

these RC planes were not WMD.

[LiberalFighter]

14. NOT WMD because...

Boyd also said there was little evidence to associate Iraq's UAVs with the country's suspected biological weapons program. Facilities weren't in the same location and the programs didn't use the same people.

Instead, the Air Force believed Iraq's UAV programs were for reconnaissance, as are most American UAVs. Intelligence on the drones suggested they were not large enough to carry much more than a camera and a video recorder, Boyd said.

"We just looked at the UAVs and said, 'There's nothing here. There's no room to put anything in here,"' one of the scientists said.

[shockingelk]

2. these are the monsters

which were said to be poised to reign terror over NYC.

They would have left on one of Iraq's dozen or so ships in their navy from one of Iraq's 43 miles of coastline, traversed undetected through the Suez or around the Horn, then made it to Long Island Sound and from there be launched to drop non-existent weaponized anthrax and non-existent VX all over NYC. WARNING WARNING! MUST ATTACK IRAQ FIRST!

[QuietStorm]

12. that is probably a US made drone

could be an Israeli made drone - they would have to find many drones in Iraq to convince me Iraq sent drones. or intended upon sending drones at any point.

[Shadder]

3. Oh. So Bush lied.

Gee, not like thats never happened before.

[fabius]

4. Local R/C Club can do better than that!

I saw a photo of this thing in March and just about laughed out loud. The Iraqi commander of the RPV unit said he didn't have any control more than 3 miles from base. Clear and present danger! 3 miles!!!

[yellowcanine]

5. Time to tally up the score

Let's see.....

No chemical weapons
No biological weapons
No nukes
Aluminum tubes were for rockets, not centrifuges.
"Bioweapons trailors" were for hydrogen balloons.
No Uranium from Africa
No Iraq - Al Quaeda connection
No weaponized drones
No immediate threat to the U.S.

TOTAL = ZERO Bush-Cheney-Rummy-Wolfie-Rice-Powell CREDIBILITY

[LiberalFighter]

11. But they had "programs" of WMD

Saddam wanted and had thoughts of WMD.

[realFedUp]

6. Wasn't this sold out of the Horchow Catalog a few years ago?

:-)

[QuietStorm]

13. drones have been sold to

India
biejing
traded I believe to turkey (or at least there was a barter)
of course there was trade and development of UAV's between US and Israel.

those are the countries that come to mind off the top of my head.

I am not sure russia has made drones or was sold drones I would have to check that.

[laconicsax]

7. How is this breaking news?

The whole article is about something from March, and this whole thing was in the news back then when the inspectors found the drone.

[Gman]

8. The drone threat was one of the most ludicrous of claims

about Iraq during the propaganda build up. It was downright silly on its face.

[tlb]

9. Besides the toys the Iraqis showed ther press

there were more substantial types.

(2003-03-10)
By Evelyn Leopold

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Chief U.N. inspector Hans Blix criticized Iraq on Monday for not declaring a drone some U.S. officials say may be a "smoking gun" but said his disarmament teams still had to determine if it was legal.

U.N. arms inspectors, in a revised report of a 173-page document on Friday, said they discovered an undeclared Iraqi drone with a wingspan of 24 feet 5 inches, suggesting an illegal range that could threaten Iraq's neighbors with chemical and biological weapons.

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wbur/news.newsmain?action=printarticle&ARTICLE_ID=465188

[NNN0LHI]

16. Same drones. There were no "more" substantial types than this one

These toys were all they found in Iraq. Held together with glue and duct tape.

Don

[stevedeshazer]

17. TLB, "show" how this constitutes

an imminent threat to the United States as claimed.

[QuietStorm]

10. do we know who sells the most drones

key countries have drones and key countries make and sell drones. various drones are built to do different things some small to scramble radar others larger to can be missiles. still others survey from the air - gather intelligence.

Nice US provided Drone-eh?

[stickdog]

15. This is breaking news to a lot of Fox viewers. (NT)

[Sinistrous]

18. What the Top Secret portion of the report revealed:

The drones were actually used for smuggling used duct tape.