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.

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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...
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