It Was Never About the Weapons of Mass Destruction

by Cenk Uygur

North Korea is proof positive that the Bush administration never cared about weapons of mass destruction. If that was really their main concern, clearly North Korea would have been their top priority. As it was, North Korea was so low on the priority list that we paid almost no attention to them for six years while they built and tested nuclear weapons.

Meanwhile, we invaded a country that had no biological or chemical weapons, let alone even a hint of a nuclear weapons program. Cheney and the rest of the administration looked so far and so wide to find any evidence, questionable or otherwise, to link Iraq to WMD. If they were so concerned about WMD, why didn't they obsess about far, far clearer evidence of WMD in North Korea?

The answer is obvious. They never cared about weapons of mass destruction. That was just a convenient excuse to invade a country they wanted to invade since the first day they stepped into office. One of the main architects of the war, Paul Wolfowitz, pretty much admitted it to Vanity Fair, saying it was the most convenient reason they could use. Paul O'Neill explained that the White House was holding meetings on invading Iraq ten days after inauguration - and eight months before September 11th.

There are some that even argue that the Bush administration eased up on the weapons inspection requirements for North Korea (they argue that because it's true). There are some that argue that the Bush White House stopped an investigation of the financing behind nuclear weapons proliferation, which led to North Korea having the bomb.

But you don't have to believe any of that to understand the indisputable fact that the whole weapons of mass destruction excuse they used to attack Iraq was nothing but a clear and unequivocal lie. There isn't one person on earth that can justify an invasion of Iraq (and now a complete obsession with Iran) while totally ignoring North Korea - if you're real concern was weapons of mass destruction.


Some people are now using North Korea as an excuse to go further down the road of military action against Iran. What?! How does that make any sense? Iran doesn't have any WMD and couldn't possibly have any for another five years. North Korea has them now. So, why six party talks for North Korea and military options for Iran?

Why didn't we do six party talks for Iraq if they're such a great idea for North Korea? Because six party talks is another way of saying, "I don't really care and I just want to avoid this topic until my administration ends."

You might think all of this is painfully obvious (and you would be right). But then why are we still seriously talking about Iran's nuclear program as if that's the real reason we're interested in Iran. Could it be that we are obsessed with Iran and couldn't care less about North Korea because one has oil and the other has absolutely no natural resources.

It's definitely not about the weapons of mass destruction. That is now abundantly clear. So, you tell me what the difference is? Why did we invade Iraq and now threaten military action against Iran and couldn't care less about North Korea?