March 27, 2002

Lots of folks have been

Lots of folks have been posting links to this disturbing New Yorker article about Saddam Hussein's chemical weapons attacks on the Kurds, his nuclear bio-weapons programs, and his possible ties to al Qaeda.

There is some debate among arms-control experts about exactly when Saddam will have nuclear capabilities. But there is no disagreement that Iraq, if unchecked, will have them soon, and a nuclear-armed Iraq would alter forever the balance of power in the Middle East... There is little doubt what Saddam might do with an atomic bomb or with his stocks of biological and chemical weapons. When I talked about Saddam's past with the medical geneticist Christine Gosden, she said, "Please understand, the Kurds were for practice."

The most contentious part is the al Qaeda link, since one of the main arguments against taking action against Iraq has been the lack of evidence of Saddam's direct involvement in 9/11. I'm not sure I buy it, though it does seem plausible. But even leaving that aside, anyone who reads this article and still professes doubts about the urgency of the Saddam threat should have his head examined.

Posted by Dr. Frank at March 27, 2002 11:57 PM | TrackBack