] He said he was jailed for 11 years by Saddam's regime for
] refusing to develop banned weapons but that he escaped
] from Iraq in 1991. He now lives in London.
]
] Shahristani said his information came from former
] colleagues and dissidents who had recently fled the
] country.

I am not really all that interested in hearing the suspicions of someone who hasn't even been in Iraq for over 12 years. As for the colleagues and dissidents that he mentions, I *am* interested in hearing what they have to say. Supposedly, there are recent defectors that we are getting this information from. How about getting one of them to come forward to the media? Disguise their voice, their face if necessary, but get them to give a statement, in their native language, with translations available.

It is my firm belief that one of the main causes of a rift between the Arab and Western worlds, is the language barrier. As difficult as it is for us to read what's going on in Arabic newspapers, it's doubly difficult for the people on the street there to understand what we're saying in ours! If we do have sources of information about Saddam's weapons, that can be presented in language that the Iraqi people can understand, let's present it. I'm sure they'd be far more interested to hear such news from someone speaking in their native tongue, and would give it far more weight, than just hearing it from an english-speaking politican.

*I* know to trust most of what I hear from Colin Powell. They, however, have not had the opportunity to build up that level of trust. Let's figure out a way for them to get the news from someone they *do* trust, speaking a language that even the common people can understand.