Cynical Nation

"THERE ARE NO WMD IN IRAQ!!!"

"THERE ARE PROBABLY NOT MANY WMD's IN IRAQ, AND BESIDES, THEY'RE PROBABLY REAL OLD AND PROBABLY WON'T KILL VERY MANY PEOPLE!!!"

Hmm, it doesn't have quite the same ring to it, does it? I guess that's why some of Bush's critics are downplaying recent WMD stories currently coming from Iraq (oh, it appears we can add mustard gas to the list of recent discoveries, by the way).

Still, it seems to me the discovery of this sarin shell raises some very obvious questions that we should all want the answers to, no matter which side of the war debate we're on: Where did it come from? How many were created? When? By whom? Where has it been hiding all this time? Are there others where this one came from? If not, why? If so, how many and where?

Astonishingly, many of the liberals I have spoken with seem to have zero interest in learning these answers. Indeed, they seem only interested in dismissing the significance of the story altogether. Once again, it's the subordination of reasoned inquiry to blatant politics.

Make no mistake, the significance of these discoveries is far from clear. There have been false alarms in the past, and this could certainly be another. The reflexive dismissals of the liberal left, however, before all the facts are even in, speaks volumes.