OxBlog

Monday, May 05, 2003

# Posted 2:45 PM by Ariel David Adesnik  

SEARCHING FOR WMD: Zach Mears is also following the missing nukes story. He points out that American oversights on the nuclear front are symptomatic of widespread disarray in our efforts to locate Saddam's WMD.

Frankly, I expected better from an administration that presents itself as focused (like a laser beam?) on national security. While I still expect considerable evidence to turn up, the lack of effort and resources devoted to th search is disturbing. As Jason Zengerle writes in TNR this week, [subscription required]
The Bush administration has been slow to utilize several dozen civilian weapons inspectors, both Americans and foreigners, who were supposed to follow the military teams' initial work with more comprehensive searches. Indeed, many of the would-be inspectors have still not been sent to Iraq. "The [civilian] teams can't operate in a nonpermissive environment without having a protective force around them, and the argument for the last two weeks has been that we don't have enough forces to peel off to provide physical protection," says one person familiar with the civilian inspector program. "They didn't build into the plan the resources to do this, so now their argument for not doing it is that we don't have the resources." And resources, of course, are a reflection of will.
Matt Yglesias wonders whether we can expect the Bush administration to do any better when it comes to democracy promotion, though its hard to tell if he's actually concerned or just waiting for the chance to deliver to an "I told you so."
(0) opinions -- Add your opinion

Comments: Post a Comment


Home