>Republican lawmakers cite shells as WMD proof
>
>Congressional Republicans are at odds with Democrats -- and the Bush administration -- over the significance of 500 munitions found in Iraq since 2003 and recently disclosed by the Pentagon.
> The rocket and artillery shells hold deadly sarin and mustard gas, a small part of the vast weapons of mass destruction (WMD) arsenal that Saddam Hussein built in the 1980s...
> ...To be sure, inspectors have not found the tons of chemical weapons stockpiles {the CIA NIE} had predicted, or an active nuclear weapons program, or continued manufacturing of WMDs. But the NIE contained other components. For example, it said hundreds of chemical weapons munitions remained unaccounted for, after U.N. inspectors destroyed thousands. The NIE did not specify the shells had to be post-1991, so the discovery of more than 500 munitions since 2004 would tend to validate that finding.
> What's more, the ISG did find that Saddam planned to resume WMD production quickly once U.N. sanctions were lifted. He had already corrupted the U.N.'s oil-for-food transactions by bribing foreign government officials and suppliers of prohibited weapons.
> That ISG finding has been buttressed by newly declassified transcripts of taped conversations between Saddam and his top aides. The palace talk: WMD production would be resumed once the West lost interest in containing Baghdad.
>
>The emphasis is mine. Here are some other thoughts:
>1) To play devil's advocate, it is likely that the majority of the weapons found were misplaced at the arsenals they were stored at. Regardless of whether this was due to intential hiding or inept inventory control, the fact remains these weapons were never turned over for destruction.
>
>2) I recall at least one IED that was discovered that included a nerve-gas artillery shell. People are still being killed in Europe by WW-1 era gas shells.


We shouldn't have wasted all that time with UN inspectors, we should have just sent over Republican lawmakers! (Hey, that's not a bad idea....)