NBCNEWS: CACHE OF EXPLOSIVES VANISHED FROM SITE IN IRAQ BEFORE TROOPS ARRIVED...
The NYTIMES urgently reported on Monday in an apprent October Surprise: The Iraqi interim government and the U.N. nuclear agency have warned the United States that nearly 380 tons of powerful conventional explosives are now missing from one of Iraq's most sensitive former military installations.
[The source behind the NYT story first went to CBSNEWS' 60 MINUTES last Wednesday, but the beleaguered network wasn't able to get the piece on the air as fast as the newspaper could print. Executive producer Jeff Fager hoped to break the story during a high-impact election eve broadcast of 60 MINS on October 31.]
Jumping on the TIMES exclusive, Dem presidential candidate John Kerry blasted the Bush administration for its failure to "guard those stockpiles."
"This is one of the great blunders of Iraq, one of the great blunders of this administration," Kerry said.
In an election week rush:
**ABCNEWS Mentioned The Iraq Explosives Depot At Least 4 Times
**CBSNEWS Mentioned The Iraq Explosives Depot At Least 7 Times
**MSNBC Mentioned The Iraq Explosives Depot At Least 37 Times
**CNN Mentioned The Iraq Explosives Depot At Least 50 Times
But tonight, NBCNEWS reported: The 380 tons of powerful conventional explosives were already missing back in April 10, 2003 -- when U.S. troops arrived at the installation south of Baghdad!
An NBCNEWS crew embedded with troops moved in to secure the Al-Qaqaa weapons facility on April 10, 2003, one day after the liberation of Iraq.
According to NBCNEWS, the HMX and RDX explosives were already missing when the American troops arrived.
"The U.S. Army was at the site one day after the liberation and the weapons were already gone," a top Republican blasted from Washington late Monday.
The International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors last saw the explosives in January 2003 when they took an inventory and placed fresh seals on the bunkers.
Dem vp hopeful John Edwards blasted Bush for not securing the explosives: "It is reckless and irresponsible to fail to protect and safeguard one of the largest weapons sites in the country. And by either ignoring these mistakes or being clueless about them, George Bush has failed. He has failed as our commander in chief; he has failed as president."
A senior Bush official e-mailed DRUDGE late Monday: "Let me get this straight, are Mr. Kerry and Mr. Edwards now saying we did not go into Iraq soon enough? We should have invaded and liberated Iraq sooner?"
Top Kerry adviser Joe Lockhart fired back Monday night: "In a shameless attempt to cover up its failure to secure 380 tons of highly explosive material in Iraq, the White House is desperately flailing in an effort to escape blame. Instead of distorting John Kerry’s words, the Bush campaign is now falsely and deliberately twisting the reports of journalists. It is the latest pathetic excuse from an administration that never admits a mistake, no matter how disastrous."
Why is the U.N. nuclear agency suddenly warning now that insurgents in Iraq may have obtained nearly 400 tons of missing explosives -- in early 2003?
NBCNEWS Jim Miklaszewski quoted one official: "Recent disagreements between the administration and the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency makes this announcement appear highly political."
http://www.drudgereport.com/nbcw.htm
Kerry strikes out as Boston Red Sox leave him red-faced
SENATOR John Kerry’s efforts to portray himself as "just a regular American guy" suffered a blow this weekend when he comprehensively messed up the scoreline at a game featuring his beloved Boston Red Sox.
Twice on Sunday, the Democrat said he was basking in the glory of Boston’s 10-9 win on Saturday night. The problem was, the Red Sox won 11-9.
"Ten-nine, the Sox did fabulous," Mr Kerry said with a big smile as he ducked into church on Sunday morning in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Inside, the minister asked worshippers to clap "if the Lord has done anything wonderful in your life this week", to which Mr Kerry applauded.
"I had a special reason to clap," Mr Kerry explained. "The Red Sox won 10-9."
Mr Kerry’s spokesman, David Wade, said the senator got the score wrong because 10-9 was the last update he got during his late-night flight to Florida.
The problem is, the score never was 10-9. The Sox won on a two-run homer, meaning they went from nine runs to 11. Regardless, Mr Kerry’s adviser, Mike McCurry, explained to reporters: "The senator had bad intelligence last night."
However, the confusion struck again within hours of his team’s second game.
Landing in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, the Democratic candidate bounded off the plane wearing his Red Sox cap to exclaim:
"Seven-one Red Sox!"
The Red Sox were winning 6-1 at the time. They went on to win 6-2.
http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=1238772004
What a dork.
Am I the only who's tired of hearing about these two guys' Vietnam service? Except maybe for John F. Kennedy, I don't recall any WWII vets exploiting their war experiences so much for political purposes as Kerry and McCain have done with their time in Vietnam:
SEN. John McCain — who declined John Kerry's offer to be his running mate and was also rumored as a possible replacement for Vice President Dick Cheney — says he was never tempted to be the number two man in the White House. At a small fund-raiser for McCain the other night at the St. Regis, McCain cracked, "As a POW in Vietnam, I was kept in the dark and fed scraps. Why would I want to do that again?" The comment drew guffaws from guests Al D'Amato and his son, Chris, Rick Lazio, Tricia Nixon's husband Ed Cox, socialite Gail Hilson and potential Senate hopeful Adam Brecht. (Page Six)
A family friend was a prisoner for several years in a German POW camp, Mr. M's uncle was badly wounded fighting both Nazis and Communists in Yugoslavia with the Chetnik army, and my father's U.S. Navy service in WWII was more distinguished than Kerry's, but it's funny how men like that didn't try to glorify themselves through their war experiences. They just did their duty, came home and had productive lives.
Kerry is such an idiot. Fox news pointed out that the White House has already debunked this story, and Kerry continues to use the NYT story against the President. Everyone knows you can't quote the NYT, they lie and cheat!! Kerry is all negative on the stump. He knows that people hate him, I mean look at him (barf), so the only way he can (cringe) win, is if he attacks the President. All of this will work in our favor, since Americans typically will not vote for the doom and gloom candidate.