Word: blix
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...more time that has passed, the more I think it's unlikely that anything will be found." HANS BLIX, former chief U.N. weapons inspector, on Iraq's elusive weapons of mass destruction...
...since the case for war was based primarily on the idea that Iraq possessed actual weapons of mass destruction, and that it had a relationship with al-Qaeda, which together made Iraq an immediate and intolerable threat to the U.S. and its allies. And former chief UN inspector Hans Blix is firing broadsides, bluntly accusing the U.S. and Britain of spinning the available evidence beyond the realm of plausible conclusions to make the strongest case for war, likening them to Mediaeval witch-hunters who went out and "found" witches once they'd convinced themselves that such creatures actually existed...
WERE YOU SURPRISED WHEN THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION WAS FORCED TO RETRACT SOME OF THE EVIDENCE IT HAD OFFERED ON WMD? We had weapons inspectors who took three years to prepare, and then were shut down in about 3 1/2 months, when [then U.N. chief arms inspector Hans] Blix said they needed more time. We've always felt in this organization that disarmament requires patience and time. And we didn't have it. I think what's happening in Iraq proves that that judgment wasn't entirely wrong...
...ability to utilize the threat of force by rendering it meaningless. Like a prosecutor trying a murder suspect, Bush asked Saddam for a plea bargain—cooperate with U.N. inspectors, and we might not invade. But even after Saddam admitted the inspectors and Chief U.N. Weapons Inspector Hans Blix begged for more time, Bush still went for the death penalty, and our international credibility was trashed. The President proved his most ardent critics right—his stated goal of regime change and his half-hearted pursuit of a diplomatic solution were mutually exclusive...
...Blix: "We need at least a year to complete our inspections." Powell: "Take 10 years; better yet let's wait until Saddam uses them." Blix: "I'm not sure even the French will be willing to wait that long." Powell: "Well the U.S. isn't going to waste money and risk lives on some hypothetical threat. Democracies don't invade other countries without incontrovertible proof of an imminent threat." Blix: "And if we find that proof?" Powell: "If it's a real threat, I'm sure Old Europe will unite behind...