Absence of proof. Bad Attitudes journal reports on Rumsfeld’s triumphal tour and the search for deadly precursors of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq:
“Listen,” said the threateningly affable defense secretary, “wouldn’t you expect a man like Saddam to hide his weapons of mass destruction? Last time I checked, hidden means you can’t find them. In fact if we could find them, it would be proof that they weren’t hidden and consequently proof of their nonexistence because we happen to know they are hidden.”