In a speech delivered at the Pentagon earlier this week, Bush mouthed a series of non sequiturs and absurdities in an attempt to do the impossible: pose as a supporter of the weapons inspections while dismissing them as irrelevant. Stating a theme that has become increasingly prominent in the administration’s propaganda, Bush argued that a clean bill of health from the weapons inspectors will not signify Iraqi compliance with U.N. resolutions or spare the country from an American invasion.

“Inspectors do not have the duty or the ability to uncover terrible weapons hidden in a vast country,” he said. “The responsibility of inspectors is to confirm the evidence of voluntary and total disarmament. It is Saddam Hussein who has the responsibility to provide that evidence as directed and in full.”

Behind this doubletalk lurks a sinister meaning. What counts, according to the Bush administration, is the intelligence which the US claims to have about Iraqi weapons programs. This information—known only to the US government—is the standard against which Iraqi compliance or noncompliance is to be measured, not the findings of the weapons inspectors on the ground. Of course, incriminating testimony extracted by U.S. officials from an Iraqi scientist would serve as additional “proof.”