A White House Spokesman Explains...

deadline poet

By Calvin Trillin

This article appeared in the November 1, 2004 edition of The Nation.

October 14, 2004

Why the Duelfer Report's Finding That Iraq Had No Weapons of Mass Destruction Provides Justification for Having Attacked Iraq in Order to Rid It of Weapons of Mass Destruction

Though all his weapons programs were
Abandoned and defunct for sure,
Saddam had weapons on his mind.
Since sanctions had him in a bind,
The man was forced to concentrate
On wily schemes to extricate
Himself from sanctions and postpone
His dreams of weapons all his own.
So sanctions couldn't have worked, you see.
Not clear to you? It's clear to me.

Subscriber Login

4 ISSUES FREE

Subscribe Now!

The only way to read this article and the full contents of each week's issue of The Nation online is by subscribing to the magazine. Subscribe now and read this article -- and every article published since for the past five years -- right now.

There's no obligation -- try The Nation for four weeks free.

.

About Calvin Trillin

Calvin Trillin is The Nation's "deadline poet." He has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1963 and has written the syndicated weekly column "Uncivil Liberties" since 1986. He has authored many, many books, including Tepper's Not Going Out and Deadline Poet: My Life as a Doggerelist. more...
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Blogs

» The Notion

The Just Say No Democrats | Conservative Democrats voting against healthcare reform represent constituents most in need of insurance.
Ari Berman
Posted 7 minutes ago

» Act Now!

The Wall Comes Down | It was twenty years ago today. Watch it live.
Peter Rothberg
16 Comments
Posted at 10:44 ET

» The Beat

Six Smart Progressive Complaints About House Health Bill | Women's groups, patient advocates, unions, anti-corporate congressmen explain what's wrong with "reform" measure as it now stands.
John Nichols
57 Comments
Posted at 10:23 ET

» The Dreyfuss Report

The Deal with Iran | The alarmists, and Bibi, should shut up. There's plenty of time to make the deal with Iran work.
Robert Dreyfuss
16 Comments
Posted at 8:32 ET

» Editor's Cut

Around The Nation | Obama, one year on. Plus: Jeremy Scahill takes your questions, and a new video series from The Nation.
Katrina vanden Heuvel
49 Comments

» Altercation

Slacker Thursday | Dying laptops, recapping the election, the Dow, and the Yankees with the World Series.
Eric Alterman