From WABC’s Steve Malzberg via NewsMax
Lt. Gen. Michael DeLong (USMC Ret.), who until last September was the No. 2 in command of the Iraq war under Gen. Tommy Franks, revealed Sunday that U.S. military intelligence had determined that weapons of mass destruction were being smuggled out of the country as the U.S. prepared to invade. “I do know for a fact that some of those weapons went into Syria, Lebanon and Iran,” Gen. DeLong told WABC Radio’s Steve Malzberg, while discussing his new book, “Inside CENTCOM: The Unvarnished Truth About the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.”
“Two days before the war, on March 17 [2003], we saw through multiple intelligence channels – both human intelligence and technical intelligence – large caravans of people and things, including some of the top 55 [most wanted] Iraqis, going to Syria,” Gen. DeLong explained.
“We also know that before then, they buried some of the weapons of mass destruction,” he added. “There are also some in Lebanon and probably a small amount in Iran.”
The WMD smuggling operation didn’t require large vehicles, the ex-general explained.
[Read the rest]Hat tip – Kevin McCullough
Update: The human cargo (Iraqi nuclear scientists) smuggled to Syria is apparently making that country nervous. From the Jerusalem Post:
Syria is making desperate efforts to persuade Iran to accept a group of 12 Iraqi nuclear scientists and their families who had sought refuge in Damascus before the US-led coalition toppled Saddam Hussein.
Quoting Western intelligence officials, the London-based Sunday Telegraph reported that Syrian President Bashar Assad fears that the US will use the presence of the Iraqi scientists as a pretext to target Syria and he is desperate to find a new home for them.
…The scientists and their families were sent to Syria before Saddam was overthrown under a combined operation mounted by Saddam’s now-defunct Special Security Organization and Syrian Military Security, which is headed by Arif Shawqat, brother-in-law of Assad.
The Iraqi scientists, who are said to have taken computer disks crammed with research data on Saddam’s nuclear program, were given new identities, as well as Syrian citizenship papers and false birth, education and health certificates.
Since their arrival in Syria, they have been hidden at a secret Syrian military installation where they have been conducting research on behalf of the Assad regime.
Just like Debka said 18 months ago …..
Friends:I have alway’s been amazed when I here the talking heads state:See..”There are no WMD’s”.How can you possibly know this ?This is a huge desert country.It would be so easy to bury these items…out there …somewhere! Not to mention shipping them across a neighbors border,and then burying them.We are not talking about hiding something the size of the Hoover Dam.
My belief is :The odds are some WMD’s are out there…somewhere.However,please do not try to tell me that you KNOW they do not exist.
I seem to remember that Iraq reportedly sent some of their military planes to Iran during the first gulf war to prevent them from being destroyed by the US military. It follows that they would do the same thing with their WMDs during the second gulf war.
I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it turned out that the chemical weapons seized in the thwarted attack in Jordan back in April could be traced back to Saddam somehow.
After being so wrong about Saddam’s stockpile of WMD and the 9.11 failure, why should we be so sure this intelligence is accurate? George Tenet has not been gone long and Porter Goss has just been confirmed. How do we know anything has really changed in the intel community?
I want to believe this, but I’ve been burned enough already.
I’ve always believed Saddam had the weapons sent to the Bekka Valley in Lebanon, essentialy a no-man’s land. And there’s this from last january: http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=2391662
Has the Malzberg story shown up any where else than Newsmax?
Captain’s Quarters has a post up from the Telegraph describing Syrian efforts to move Iraqi nuclear scientists on to Iran (see Time is a Factor trackback above for links). Also, both Syria and Iran have received aid from North Korea on their WMD programs. Bush’s description of “an axis of evil” is all too true.
There’s more … I believe an interview with one of Saddam’s men is supposed to happen today about WMD’s which he definitely had, on Fox. Will let you know for sure.
~C
The date of intelligence Gen. DeLong
Lastango –
“Bush administration’s preference for posturing and inaction”
That’s rich. I believe it was the mindset of a different crowd who was lamenting and whining for more inspections, more debates, more votes, et al.
There is one candidtate who understands the mechanics behind manking a decision and there is one candidate who believes the another poll, another roundtable discussion, another book will provide new and different insight.
Many have written books about leadership, about entrepreneurship, etc, and they all say the say thing,
“You can’t win if you don’t play.”
Sean,
But if this does turn out to be true, then our intel wasn’t/isn’t as flawed as the “no WMD” crowd says. If this is true (wouldn’t surprise me in the least if it were) then the intel bubbas were right. Saddam had WMD, he just moved them out before we attacked.
Tom,
Just because Kerry couldn’t make a decision to save his life doesn’t automaticvally give Bush a clean bill of health. It just makes him a less-poor choice.
FWIW, I agree with Lastango re: Fallujah and Iran as major mistakes. Though in Bush’s defense, Fallujah was a result of creating an interim Iraqi government that made the dumb move of insisting on and end to the military operation and a negotiated settlement. Lesson learned, I hope.
Tremor,
Then the Senate Intelligence committee and the Iraq Study Group are both really really wrong. I’ll wait patiently, but I don’t expect any blockbuster news.
Joe K,
A bad decision can be learned from, cleaned up, and victories can still be had. A “waffler” (my dad’s old expression, the coincidence is just that) never quite gets to the point wher evicotry is possible.
I think you ultimately agreed, and I ultimately agree with the jist of your comments.
I guess we can agree to agree…