Burden of Proof

Throughout the argument over WMD in Iraq, people have continually forgotten where the burden of proof is supposed to rest. It was never up to the UN or any other body to prove whether Iraq had weapons – it was up to Iraq to prove it didn't.

I had a "fix-it" ticket almost two years ago. A headlight was burned out, and a passing cop took official notice of it and wrote me a citation. These citations are called "fix-it" tickets because they're generally dismissed if the court is provided with proof that the defect has been repaired before the court date.

So, in addition to buying a new bulb for the headlight, I had to find someone who would certify that the headlight now worked. The guy at the desk of a California Highway Patrol office was very cool about the whole thing. He was able to see from the desk that both headlights lit up, and filled out a certification on the spot. I mailed it in, and the ticket went away.

The point, though, is that it was not up to the police to track me down and prove I hadn't complied. It was up to me to prove that I had. If I failed to submit proof before the court date, I'd either be assessed a fine, or if I failed to appear at all, a warrant would be issued for my arrest.

Now I could complain all I wanted about the heavy-handed tactic of dragging a guy off to jail for a stupid broken headlight, and one that wasn't even broken at the time of the arrest, but to no avail. The arrest would not have been for the headlight, it would have been for failure to comply with the instructions of the police and the court. And as any lawyer would assure any of us, it would be my own damn fault.

Saddam Hussein, in signing the cease fire agreement at the end of the Gulf War, did the same thing I did when I signed that "fix-it ticket". He promised to prove compliance with a set of demands to the satisfaction of the authorities. He never did this, and refused repeated notices to comply.

When the police finally took official notice of his deficient status and hauled him off to jail, he had no one to blame but himself.

At least in this case, the police have stayed around to clean up the mess caused because Hussein resisted arrest.

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Links to the actual Duelfer report:

• Cover page at Findlaw.com
• Key Findings (304 Kb)
• Volume I (54 Mb)
• Charles Duelfer’s Transmittal Message
• Acknowledgements
• Scope Note
• Regime Strategic Intent
• Regime Finance and Procurement
• Volume II (76 Mb)
• Delivery Systems
• Nuclear
• Volume III (70 Mb)
• Iraq's Chemical Warfare Program
• Biological Warfare
• Glossary and Acronyms