Rumsfeld Syndrome

Tony Blair has caught it.

Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain, America's closest ally in Iraq, said today that the unconventional weapons cited as a justification for the war against Saddam Hussein might never be found.

It was the closest Mr. Blair has come to acknowledging that his central argument for last year's invasion in the face of widespread public opposition may never be proven true or false. Mr. Blair's handling of the weapons issue has damaged his credibility and his popularity with voters, while his decision to support the American-led war is depicted as the defining event of his premiership.

"We know Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, but we know we haven't found them," Mr. Blair said, addressing senior government and opposition legislators at a routine meeting. "I have to accept we have not found them, that we may not find them."

Mr. Blair suggested that unlawful weapons "could have been removed, could have been hidden, they could have been destroyed." But he maintained that Saddam Hussein had been a threat and had been in breach of United Nations resolutions concerning unlawful weapons.

Mr. Blair declined to offer an apology for going to war as the junior partner in an alliance with the United States.

"I do not believe there was not a threat in relation to weapons of mass destruction," he said.

Emphasis added.

What the hell? I do not believe there was not a threat? How much not finding weapons would it take to convince this guy? It's a good thing he doesn't sit on US juries!

"I do not believe that the defendant was not a murderer, despite the state's complete inability to produce any evidence, motive, or witnesses averring that he did, in fact, murder the victim."

Or, to quote from Rummy, "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence."

What he's saying, really, is "Trust us, we're from the government."