“If Democrats had done that there would be mobs carrying torches in the streets tonight. The Democrats would be accused of treason and there would be calls for resignation,”
That quote is from StageLeft in response to their own question: “What if… the DNC put up a website telling people how to build nuclear bombs. Can you imagine what the Republicans would be saying?”
Yep - no doubt.
From UPI - Muted Republican reaction to news that nuclear weapons information was posted on a government Web site has been slammed by non-proliferation experts.
If this had been the DNC - - or GOD FORBID a Democrat administration - there would be hell to pay. The Republicans would hit hard. Can you hear the sound bytes now? I sure can.
But, in reality - it was a Republican government and all I hear from the Republican base is…
**crickets**
Of course, that is not entirely the truth, is it? The Republican spin on this one was transparent - and could have been predicted easily enough.
“It’s a cookbook,” said the diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of his agency’s rules
Just take one look at the contributers in this discussion thread on Lucianne.Com.
Forget the FACT that our US Government posted documents for all the world to see on the internet (hello? ever hear of GOOGLE?) - detailed accounts and a basic guide on how to build an atomic bomb.
Terrorism, anyone?
Aiding and abetting the enemy, perhaps?
Trust me, that would have been the rhetoric had the political shoe been on the other foot. Guarenteed.
Instead - we’re hearing this:
(she says in her best grade-school-bully-in-the-school-yard-taunting-voice)
Well, aside from the fact that the documents only give detailed accounts of Iraq’s secret nuclear research before the 1991 Persian Gulf war - if you’d actually read the article from the New York Times, it states:
The documents, roughly a dozen in number, contain charts, diagrams, equations and lengthy narratives about bomb building that nuclear experts who have viewed them say go beyond what is available elsewhere on the Internet and in other public forums. For instance, the papers give detailed information on how to build nuclear firing circuits and triggering explosives, as well as the radioactive cores of atom bombs.
Documents. Diagrams. Narratives. Charts. Equations. How-to.
Do I hear bomb, anyone?
Did I read anything about plutonium? Uranium?
Anything metal at all?
Nah, we still seek the ellusive WMD. Hell, you can’t even say the phrase “Weapons of Mass Destruction” in this world without causing a smirk on the face of anyone within hearing range. It’s a joke.
This website, with its documents is not proof of a WMD find in Iraq. But that is the way the Republican party has spun it, haven’t hey? Instead of being pissed off, worried, offended or even a leeeeeeetle bit concerned that our government is providing a cookbook for bombs on teh internet for the whole world to see - - they are still hanging onto the apron strings of the WMD. Sad and sorry state of affairs, it is.
And hey, with some of the internets leading Conservatives carrying this banner - and the Republican sheep spitting out the pablum that’s being fed to them . . . you can’t help but feel sorry for this lot.
Keep in mind - I am a former card-carrying RNC member who voted for Bush, twice. As I’ve stated earlier - I don’t think I would have voted for his opponent, so I’m not entirely sure I regret it. I did buy into the WMD argument.. at the time. Too many people were saying it - - not just the Bush Administration.. but Democrats, other foreign leaders, etc.
In hindsight - I believe that there were WMDs once upon a time. I also believe that Saddam had intentions of creating a nuclear program - much like we’re seeing North Korea, Iran - and other Middle Eastern countries, pursuing nuclear programs today.
In hindsight - do I believe that Iraq presented a clear and present danger at the time of the US invasion? I don’t - not anymore. At the time - I bought into the rhetoric that it was an IMMINENT threat.
And don’t even give me the humanitarian reasons for invading Iraq and taking down Saddam’s dictatorship. That is all a nice and touchy-feely reason for taking out the leader of a country who has done what he did to his people. For that reason alone, I am glad that Saddam is out of power and facing the consequences for his actions. However, the minute the US gets down and dirty in Africa and actually DOES something about the genocide that goes on there - and has been going on for decades - in the name of human rights? Then maybe I’ll buy the humanitarian reasons behind the war in Iraq.
Why don’t we invade the Sudan? Take out their government? Occupy the country until the fine citizens are able to develop communities - hold open elections and elect public officials who will actually do its job to PROTECT its citizens? Sure, we send aid in the name of sending aid - filtered through organizations with no fundamental overseerer - - but hey - we send aid! Do you know why we don’t invade in the name of human rights?
Yea, me too.
The verdict on Saddam Hussein’s guilt or innocence gets handed down on Sunday. An easy prediction on this? Guilty. No great surprise or shock value there - the former dictator gets what he deserves, and rightly so.