_ iiinii—imii ■■ SPOl] ATUU, ►on Opinion The Battalion Page 9 • Friday, February 13, 2004 Where are the WMDs? Tj CM’s Kay Report and statements by director George Tenet loom large over Bush THE BAHAI itch last sp track anil travel compete in Iowa wa Recreation end. kick i and con vening, rank in the 'ents in the lophomofe is current- g 12 in the distanced Jimenez is >t put at iistance or Josh so shown gth as hi lefeated ii w through en's side, )y Ruston oy r 12 in the ow of 49-6, Kasev Jo. 9 witha iojasisAfa thewep ng adis- i Classic is leet befoie ! Indooi Feb. 27-28 i team alify als yi equestii- i heads in Canyon ■ a chance for the orse She*' National tte ti o into i 193' ne defend champim by seni» who the Agg* o far ional rides ad first second iete in» at 8 Aggies wt bird shot .m page ?aid 4.5 per c(l and 43' s Aggie* J 4 rebouf be the’ ar will be ^ villbea* dinners» iOO peep ible to^: m ) be g lV avel witlrj ;y face i S on home need 3 to equ a e win tc peb' 1 tJl NICHOLAS DAVIS ta tew THE BATTALION T he race for the presidency is on. That means throughout the next 10 months, presidential candidates will be out in full force, kissing babies and relentlessly pound ing the public with political rhetoric. While President George W. Bush has been favored to win by many political analysts, one issue has resurfaced that may change that: the elusive weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Over the past few weeks, Bush suffered two tremen dous blows. The first came from the infamous Kay Report, issued by former CIA Chief Weapons Inspector David Kay, which illuminated the glaring inaccuracies contained within the weapons of mass destruction intel ligence that the Iraqi War was predicated on. CIA Director George Tenet delivered the second blow when he attempted to defend the CIA’s pre-war intelligence, but nonetheless admitted, “analysts had never conclud ed that Saddam Hussein posed an imminent threat." In light of these new events, the White House has begun backpedaling in a feeble attempt to sidestep admitting the president made a mistake. The Dallas Morning News reported that National Security Council spokesman Sean McCormick said. “While several high- level presidential aides used the phrase ‘imminent threat,’ the president had avoided the words.” McCormick later set the record straight, saying, “The president often called Mr. Hussein a grave and gather ing threat.” This is a cowardly attempt to address the Bush administration’s mistake. While it may be true that Bush never specifically referred to Saddam as being an “imminent threat,” it is undeniable that his administra tion framed the matter to appear so to create a sense of urgency. Consider these examples. On Feb. 5, 2003, Secretary of State Colin Powell evoked the CIA’s credibility when he testified to the United Nations regarding weapons of mass destruction. “My colleagues, every statement I make today is backed up by sources, solid sources,” he said. “These are not assertions.” k On March 17, 2003, Bush, in an address, said, “Intelligence gathered by this and other govern ments leaves no doubt that Iraq continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised.” On March 30, 2003, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said. “We know where they (weapons of mass destruction) are. They’re in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad.” Remarkably, no weapons have been found despite all of the “solid evidence.” As a result, our country's intelligence credibility has been severally undermined and Bush’s integrity has come under attack. Did legitimate reasons exist for going to war? Absolutely. Saddam massacred his own people for decades and his regime, and for 12 years, breached the obligations of 16 previous resolutions. One such resolu tion violated established the cease-fire agreement under the conditions that all weapons of mass destruction be destroyed and that weapons inspectors be allowed com plete and unfettered access to weapons facilities. However, in 1998, Iraq officially broke the agreement by throwing out the inspectors, firing on U.S. aircrafts numerous times over the course of several years and breaching U.N resolution 1441. The problem is that Bush chose to focus his war call too narrowly around the weapons of mass destruction evidence to raise concerns. The other salient reasons were lobed in as mere caveats. And now, since the key piece of evidence lacks confirmation. Bush’s choice to operate outside the United Nations and immediately go to war appears to have been a hasty decision. Surprisingly, Bush's current demeanor does not con vey outrage over the intelligence mishap. After all, it took weeks of congressional pressure before Bush, begrudgingly, submitted to creating a panel to investi gate the intelligence failures. Conveniently, though, the findings from this panel will not be disclosed until after the election. In the meantime. Bush and other partisans are justifying the war by saying, “Saddam Hussein was a weapon of mass destruction.” This rationalization won't cut it. The Bush adminis tration is trying to change the rules of the game while it is still being played. If Bush wants a chance come November, he better wise up. formally admit his mistake and take aggres sive reformative action with the CIA. If that means fir ing Tenet, a mere figurehead, so be it. Something must signal to the international community that the United States is detennined to have the best intelligence agen cies in the world. Such actions will help mend the United States’ shattered credibility. The public may even forgive Bush. Nicholas Davis is a senior political science major. Bush is isolating party with new liberal agenda MAIL CALL F 0r the conservative y°ter, this November •s shaping up to be an increasingly bleak season. Wiethe president has admirable job exe- the War On Terror, 15 has failed conservatives is domestic agenda ® e President George W. j.f ls the only candidate 0 fcL P p esidential race to the right ^Guevara, there is nothing to fte left^and d h nt |! r0mStraying t0 Mrecwi l n ^ ^ ^ aS ‘ f ® us h d° es " 1 " he trust conserva- he November elections could fo ” America reSidenC ^ ^ - . y uu l’the future of the y and indeed the country ' n § ter. Bush had restored iilCi,! 3 " offlce tarnished by n s sex scandal, just to ■ Pecific. 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