LoBiondo lies on Iraq nuclear weapons and hypes Iran

by: Hopeful

Fri Apr 21, 2006 at 10:35:03 PM EDT

more in the extended entry...

A student asked LoBiondo if he thought it a good idea to begin a search for nuclear weapons in Iran when the same search in Iraq was unsuccessful.

"I think that's absolutely the right idea," LoBiondo said. "Iran says they need nuclear power for domestic use. That's ridiculous. They don't need it at all."

At least he says the US should not go it alone.

But then he makes a remarkable claim about Saddam that can only be described as a lie:

Taped conversations of Saddam Hussein were discovered in Iraq, he said, and had him instructing people on how to dispose of nuclear weapons.

"The question is where are (the nuclear weapons) now and how did (Hussein) get rid of them," LoBiondo said.

Saddam Husayn ended the nuclear program in 1991 following the Gulf war. ISG found no evidence to suggest concerted efforts to restart the program.

What about the supposed tapes?  I think he is distorting the tapes described in this Nightline story.  The CIA director's spokeswoman said:

Intelligence community analysts from the CIA, and the DIA reviewed the translations and found that, while fascinating, from a historical perspective the tapes do not reveal anything that changes their post-war analysis of Iraq's weapons programs nor do they change the findings contained in the comprehensive Iraq Survey group report

While I commend Representative LoBiondo for meeting with high school students and answering questions, it would be better lesson if he did not lie.