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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: weapons of mass destruction

weapons of mass destruction stories: 20 news summaries

 Iran Reopens 
 Nuke Negotiations 

Tehran will present 'updated' package to US, others in Germany today

Sep 2, 09 5:41 AM CDT
(Newser) - Iran will present an "updated nuclear package" at talks with five UN Security Council nations and Germany today, according to state-run Iranian television. The Islamic Republic's chief nuclear negotiator promised to "cooperate in order to alleviate mutual preoccupations"—days after Angela Merkel threatened stiffer sanctions if Iran... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iran • Angela Merkel • nuclear weapons • nuclear program • Saeed Jalili • weapons of mass destruction • UN Security Council

Saddam's FBI Interviews Released

Says WMD fiction was aimed at Iran; he wanted pact with US

Jul 2, 09 12:22 PM CDT
(Newser) - Transcripts of Saddam Hussein's two dozen interviews with the FBI before his execution were released yesterday, after details were published last week by the New York Daily News, which obtained them through the Freedom of Information Act. Some details are still redacted, but the FBI says no "enhanced" techniques... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iraq • Iran • Saddam Hussein • FBI • weapons of mass destruction • Iraq war

 N. Korea Set to Launch 
 2nd Long-Range Missile 

Weapon may be launched when S. Korea prez visits DC

Jun 1, 09 8:06 AM CDT
(Newser) - North Korea is preparing to launch another intercontinental ballistic missile, according to South Korean media reports. Pyongyang is said to have moved its most advanced missile, whose 4,000 mile range puts Alaska within striking distance, to a brand-new launch pad and has forbidden ships from sailing the waters off... More »

MORE ABOUT:
North Korea • South Korea • nuclear program • missile • weapons of mass destruction • nuclear missiles • Lee Myung-bak

 Gates: US Won't Tolerate 
 a Nuclear North Korea 

Gates warns N Korea as satellites spot missile being moved

May 30, 09 3:20 AM CDT
(Newser) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates has warned that the US will not accept a nuclear-armed North Korea, Reuters reports. Gates said any transfer of nuclear material from North Korea to another country or group would be considered "a grave threat." "We will not stand idly by as North... More »

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North Korea • Robert Gates • nuclear weapons • weapons of mass destruction • nuclear test

 North Korea Fires 
 6th Missile: Report 

Tensions rise further as Pyongyang warns of 'self-defense'

May 29, 09 6:24 AM CDT
(Newser) - North Korea has fired yet another short-range missile off its east coast, according to reports from a South Korean news agency. Although unconfirmed, the launch would be the sixth missile that the North has test-fired since its surprise nuclear test on Monday. Today Pyongyang warned it would take "self-defense"... More »

MORE ABOUT:
North Korea • missile • weapons of mass destruction • UN Security Council • nuclear test

ANALYSIS

North Korea's Real Aim May Be to Peddle Nukes to Others

Sale of weapons, info is true threat from secretive regime

May 26, 09 6:44 AM CDT
(Newser) - North Korea's nuclear test yesterday makes it no likelier that the rogue state will actually launch a weapon of mass destruction, argues AP analyst Robert Burns. What it does suggest is something perhaps even scarier: that the regime may facilitate the nuclear ambitions of other state actors or even... More »

MORE ABOUT:
nuclear proliferation • Barack Obama • North Korea • nuclear weapons • nuclear program • Kim Jong Il • weapons of mass destruction • nuclear test

'Biohackers' Create New,
DIY Organisms

Feds try to asses
threat from part-time Frankensteins

May 12, 09 1:14 PM CDT
(Newser) - Katherine Aull is creating new forms of life in her closet. Armed only with jury-rigged equipment and some DNA she bought online, the 23-year-old is creating custom E. coli bacteria she thinks could help cancer research. Aull is part of a growing movement of “biohackers,” amateur biologists crafting... More »

MORE ABOUT:
national security • FBI • bacteria • biology • weapons of mass destruction • biological weapons • biohackers

OPINION

'Naive' Hillary Underestimates North Korea

Pyongyang can't be trusted with any nuclear program, says Bolton

Feb 18, 09 8:54 AM CST
(Newser) - Hillary Clinton has embarked on an Asian tour armed with Bush-administration rhetoric and precious little understanding of the gravity of the North Korean situation, writes John R.  Bolton in a Los Angeles Times op-ed. The secretary of state is attempting to gain further support for American efforts to block... More »

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Hillary Clinton • North Korea • Asia • John Bolton • WMD • nuclear disarmament • weapons of mass destruction

(Newser) - Saddam Hussein didn't have weapons of mass destruction, but America made such a strong case that even the Iraqi leader himself had doubts, the Washington Post reports. Saddam, apparently in awe of US intelligence, asked his top commanders if the nation had stashes even he didn't know about. So says... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Saddam Hussein • Russia • CIA • Vladimir Putin • Colin Powell • weapons of mass destruction • Iraq war • invasion • Charles Duelfer

 Rice Regrets 
 Bad Iraq Intel, 
 But Not Invasion 

Former State chief also denies that race clouded Bush Katrina response

Jan 29, 09 3:52 PM CST
(Newser) - Condoleezza Rice appeared on The View today to defend Bush administration policies, and lament a few key mistakes, the Los Angeles Times reports. Rice expressed regret that weapons of mass destruction never surfaced in Iraq—but stands behind the ouster of Saddam Hussein. Rice also said Hurricane Katrina was “... More »

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Bush administration • Saddam Hussein • Hurricane Katrina • The View • Condoleezza Rice • secretary of State • WMD • weapons of mass destruction • Iraq war • George W. Bush

 Cheney: I OK'd Waterboarding 

VP gave go ahead for 'remarkably successful' tactic

Dec 16, 08 4:00 AM CST
(Newser) - Vice President Dick Cheney personally approved using waterboarding to interrogate 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, he reveals in a wide-ranging interview on ABC News. "I was  involved in helping get the process cleared. The agency came in and wanted to know what they could and couldn't do," said... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iraq • Saddam Hussein • Dick Cheney • torture • Karl Rove • Guantanamo Bay • Khalid Sheikh Mohammed • interrogation • WMD • Guantanamo prisoners • waterboarding • weapons of mass destruction • George W. Bush

Talk Show Roundup

Obama: Dark Days Ahead, but Cultural Focus Will Re-Emerge

Condi makes rounds; UAW pleads for bailout

Dec 7, 08 11:07 AM CST
(Newser) - Barack Obama stressed that the economy will see darker times before things turn around, but promised in a Meet the Press interview that his White House will bring back a focus on culture and science. The president-elect also vowed to kick his smoking habit for good. Elsewhere on the talk... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • Condoleezza Rice • secretary of State • Fox News • Chris Dodd • Ron Gettelfinger • Rick Wagoner • Meet the Press • weapons of mass destruction • Iraq war • President Obama

Rove: If We Knew the Truth, We Wouldn't Have Invaded

Contradicts president's past statements

Dec 3, 08 1:59 PM CST
(Newser) - If George Bush had known that Saddam Hussein had no weapons of mass destruction, he wouldn’t have invaded Iraq, Karl Rove said last night during a debate in New York. Were it not for the WMDs, the administration would have found “more creative ways to constrain him, like... More »

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Bush administration • Karl Rove • intelligence • weapons of mass destruction • Iraq war • George W. Bush

Bush's Biggest Regret:
Faulty Intelligence 

But 43 says he plans to leave office with 'head held high'

Dec 2, 08 4:50 AM CST
(Newser) - President Bush's biggest regret of his presidency is receiving faulty intelligence before launching the Iraq war, the president told ABC News in a wide-ranging "exit interview." Bush declined to say whether he would have ordered the invasion if he had known Saddam Hussein didn't actually possess weapons of... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Bush administration • presidency • weapons of mass destruction • Iraq war • George W. Bush

Drug Smugglers' Subs Could
Open US to Terrorists

Semi-submersibles are difficult to detect

Aug 17, 08 11:21 AM CDT
(Newser) - Semi-submersible boats used to smuggle drugs into the US could provide a path into the country for terrorists or their weapons, the Boston Globe reports. “If drug cartels can ship up to 10 tons of cocaine in a semi-submersible, they can clearly ship or rent space to a terrorist... More »

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drug trafficking • terrorist • boat • submarine • smuggler • drug trade • weapons of mass destruction • submersibles

 Bush Forged Evidence
 for War: Book

Bribed Saddam official $5M to write letter

Aug 5, 08 8:44 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Bush administration forged a letter linking Saddam Hussein to the 9/11 attacks, author Ron Suskind alleges in his new book. In December 2003, a letter surfaced from Saddam’s intelligence chief, describing a meeting between Saddam and one 9/11 hijacker. The letter was actually drafted by the White House,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iraq • Bush administration • weapons of mass destruction • Iraq war • forgery

Bush, Advisers Misled US
on Iraq: Senate Report

Dem-led committee blasts administration; Republicans dismiss 'partisan exercise'

Jun 5, 08 2:19 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Bush administration distorted facts in justifying the invasion of Iraq and overstated Saddam Hussein’s links to al-Qaeda, a long-delayed report from the Senate intelligence committee concludes. Bush and his advisers also ignored doubts about Iraq’s possession of weapons of mass destruction in constructing their case for military... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iraq • Bush administration • Saddam Hussein • September 11 • Senate Intelligence Committee • US intelligence • WMD • John D. Rockefeller • weapons of mass destruction • al-Qaeda • Iraq war

Rogue al-Qaeda Backers Call for
Nuke Attack in Online Video

But no evidence of specific plot, says FBI

May 28, 08 8:52 AM CDT
(Newser) - Al-Qaeda supporters will use an Internet video to call for the use of biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons in a new attack on civilians in the West, reports ABC News. FBI officials have alerted US law enforcement of the tape, said a spokesman, but emphasized that there is no evidence... More »

MORE ABOUT:
War on Terror • Israel • terrorism • FBI • nuclear weapons • Department of Homeland Security • Osama bin Laden • WMD • weapons of mass destruction • al-Qaeda • Ayman al-Zawahiri

Saddam Faked Nukes to
Scare Iran, Not US: Agent

Did not believe US would invade over weapons of mass destruction

Jan 25, 08 5:18 AM CST
(Newser) - Saddam Hussein revealed in FBI interrogations that he had no nuclear or biological weapons of mass destruction, but hid that fact to avoid invasion by Iran—and was stunned when the US invaded. "For him, it was critical that he was seen as the strong, defiant Saddam to prevent... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iraq • Iran • Saddam Hussein • FBI • nuclear weapons • chemical weapons • interrogation • WMD • weapons of mass destruction • George Piro • Dora Farms • biological weapons

Group Counts 932 Falsehoods in Runup to War

False statements by Bush, top officials were 'orchestrated campaign'

Jan 23, 08 9:09 AM CST
(Newser) - President Bush and top administration officials made hundreds of false statements—932, to be exact—about the national security threat from Iraq following 9/11, report two nonprofit journalism organizations. In the two years after the attacks, Bush and top officials stated at least 532 times that Iraq had weapons of... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iraq • Bush administration • nuclear weapons • September 11 • WMD • weapons • weapons of mass destruction • al-Qaeda • George W. Bush

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