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Location: Nashville, Tennessee, United States

12/18/2003

Absurd!
Kevin Drum is making fun of pre-war intelligence reports that claimed Iraq had both biological and chemical weapons and could deliver them to cities along the Eastern seaboard via unmanned aerial vehicles, commonly known as drones.

Just in case you've forgotten, the picture above shows the fearsome Iraqi drone in all its glory, duct tape and all. Another triumph of American intelligence.
Yeah, Kevin, you are right. A cheap flying drone held together with duct tape could never ever threaten the East coast. Thinking otherwise would be like ... well ... like believing 19 men armed only with box cutters could destroy two 100-story office buildings. You are so right, Kevin - it would be absurd to be concerned.

Look, in the post-9/11 world EVERY scrap of intel suggesting a threat must be treated as serious until proven otherwise. Saddam WAS building drones to deliver chemical weapons, period. In hindsight we know the capability was not well-developed, but hindsight is always 20/20. In a post-9/11 world, NOT reacting preemptively to such intel is simply too dangerous. At least some of us believe that way. Others believe as Kevin does - that it makes more sense to wait until the enemy's technological capabilities ARE sufficient to kill tens of thousands of Americans, and that we have ironclad proof the enemy is on the verge of launching an attack. But that risks acting too slowly to prevent another horrific attack like September 11, 2001, when they killed 3,000 Americans, armed only with box cutters.