Remember those terrifying, death-dealing Iraqii -> -> DRONES?

[Judi Lynn]

Experts Doubt U.S. Claim on Iraqi Drones
Sun Aug 24, 1:45 PM ET

By DAFNA LINZER and JOHN J. LUMPKIN, Associated Press Writers

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 (news - web sites) 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 (news - web sites) even raised the alarming prospect that the pilotless aircraft could sneak into the United States to carry out poisonous attacks on American cities. (snip)

(snip) But the Air Force, which controls most of the American military's UAV fleet, didn't agree with that assessment from the beginning. And analysts at the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency said the Air Force view was widely accepted within their ranks as well.

Instead, these analysts believed the drones posed no threat to Iraq's neighbors or the United States, officials in Washington and scientists involved in the weapons hunt in Iraq told The Associated Press. (snip/...)

http://www.politicalstrategy.us/

[wtmusic]

1. Balsa wood and duct tape

"A remotely piloted aircraft that the United States has warned could spread chemical weapons appears to be made of balsa wood and duct tape, with two small propellors attached to what look like the engines of a weed whacker."

http://www.boston.com/news/daily/12/iraq.htm

[HootieMcBoob]

2. How is it

that we here at DU find out about this sort of thing months before the mainstream press picks it up? I saw this in the crawl on CNN yesterday and just shook my head. This "news" is months old. And still I'll bet most Americans think Saddam was an imminent threat because Bush said so.

[Fixated]

4. ....

The drone issue was debunked by liberal publications well over a month ago.

[wtmusic]

6. The mainstream press is well aware of it

They just don't report it, because they fear being labeled as anti-American.

Used to be a time when the press loved to jump on 'scoops' like this.

[killbotfactory]

3. FEAR! DEATH DRONE REVEALED!

[wtmusic]

5. Yep, an that's a Dub-Yem-Dee, right on the end, thar...

onedit: "pronunciation"

[killbotfactory]

8. It only takes them 45 minutes to strike!

And then BOOM! A mushroom cloud over manhatten.

[Ein]

7. OMG it put out that poor girls eye!

The humanity!

[hatrack]

9. Ah yes . . .

PTERODACTYLS OF PTERROR

probably loaded with NERVE GAS!!!!!

I was wondering what became of that imminent threat.

[LearnedHand]

10. HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!

"Pterodactyls of Pterror!" That's f***ing brilliant! May I steal that line?

[hatrack]

11. Steal away!!

;-)