So where are WMDs in Iraq?

The U.S. declared that Osama Bin Laden and his ultra-radical al Qaeda terrorist organization were behind the September 11 bombings of the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington and thus was the main target in the fight against terrorism. At the time it was determined that the radical religious regime of the Taliban in Afghanistan had given sanctuary and even help to Bin Laden and his radicals and thus had to be eliminated.

The U.S. used its massive war machine to wipe out the Taliban and the bases of al Qaeda but until today it has been unable to find Bin Laden, the man who is said to be behind the terrorism menace. This has been a negative element in the fight against terrorism as Bin Laden continues to issue warnings and threats against the U.S. and its allies.

Where does the international war against terrorism stand today? With Bin Laden running loose and the momentum of the struggle shadowed by the Iraqi crisis it seems the war on terrorism has been sidelined. The U.S. has tried to link al Qaeda with Iraq but has been rather unsuccessful.

So the emphasis on Iraq has been the argument that this country possesses weapons of mass destruction and thus has to be disarmed.

International weapons inspectors were sent to Iraq by the United Nations but failed to come up with anything. The U.S. and its allies said Iraq is hiding these weapons and Washington ordered the invasion that deposed the Saddam Hussein regime. The Americans are going through Iraq with great care trying to find these weapons but have produced nothing until now. Both the American public and the British are getting restless asking their leaders to produce some results without any further delay.

So the priority of the Americans is not really to find Saddam Hussein and his family but to unearth these notorious WMDs which will surely become a headache for everyone.

Osama Bin Laden has to be found but that argument is not really valid for Saddam Hussein. He was a menace for his countrymen and for the neighbors of Iraq as long as he was in office. Once he was deposed he became trivial whether he is caught or not. Of course it is preferable that he be brought to justice for his atrocities and the suffering he caused for his own people and for his neighbors. That is not the same for Bin Laden whose freedom means a threat to the ordinary man in the street throughout the globe from Bali to New York…

So now the Americans have an obligation to find Bin Laden and ease the threat of international terrorism and also produce the WMDs that allowed them to invade Iraq…

No one wants to believe all this was done for Iraqi oil, to use up the weapons in the U.S. arsenal so they can be replaced and thus provide new finances for arms producers and to dish out lucrative contracts to U.S. companies to prop up the sagging American economy…