I knew it was too good to be true.
Just wondering - how does a story like this [the original report alleging three nukes]come about? Deliberate fabrication? Misidentification of conventional warheads? Garbled communications? Did "Go down to the cafe and order me some falafel and mint tea" become garbled as "There are three nukes in a bunker near Tikrit." How does this happen?
<..snip..>
"A spokesman with Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's office told UPI that the report concerning the alleged missiles and warheads emerged "while gathering information for Saddam Hussein's tribunal" during the interrogation of a captured former official of Saddam's regime."
Can we assume that the report emerged from Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's office to begin with? It isn't all that clear here.
Regardless, I think the denial should have been made by someone higher up in the chain of command. This is not small potatoes.
""Nothing's been found. The report is not factual," said Master Sgt. Robert Cowens, a spokesman for the 1st Infantry Division, based in Tikrit."
With all due respect for Master Sgt. Cowens,
1. Is he the official spokesman? or, just the first American the reporter could find?
2. What question was he answering?
In less than 8 hours, the report has been totally discredited by the media.
I'm not gullible, but I don't believe anything from the media until they come up with documents or comments from a higher authority.
That doesn't mean he couldn't have gotten them from somewhere else, but it isn't the sort of item you find laying around on the road. Normally. Maybe I better go check my ammo trunk to see if anything's missing...
Somebody went to a lot of trouble and effort just to hide three missiles.