Posted on 10/24/2004 7:21:04 PM PDT by icecold
Edited on 10/25/2004 6:42:02 AM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
Huge Cache of Explosives Vanished From Site in Iraq By JAMES GLANZ, WILLIAM J. BROAD and DAVID E. SANGER
Published: October 25, 2004
This article was reported and written by James Glanz, William J. Broad and David E. Sanger.
BAGHDAD, Iraq, Oct. 24 - The Iraqi interim government has warned the United States and international nuclear inspectors that nearly 380 tons of powerful conventional explosives - used to demolish buildings, produce missile warheads and detonate nuclear weapons - are missing from one of Iraq's most sensitive former military installations.
The huge facility, called Al Qaqaa, was supposed to be under American military control but is now a no man's land, still picked over by looters as recently as Sunday. United Nations weapons inspectors had monitored the explosives for many years, but White House and Pentagon officials acknowledge that the explosives vanished sometime after the American-led invasion last year.
The White House said President Bush's national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, was informed within the past month that the explosives were missing. It is unclear whether President Bush was informed. American officials have never publicly announced the disappearance, but beginning last week they answered questions about it posed by The New York Times and the CBS News program "60 Minutes......"
Oh why am I not buying this?
^^^^
Because "QaQaa" in British is what one finds in a smelly nappie?
connection?
Large Explosion Shakes Downtown Baghdad
ABC News ^
Posted on 10/24/2004 10:17:07 AM PDT by LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1255347/posts
If I were the president, the weapons wouldn't have gone missing under my watch. The president made a grave mistake not guarding these weapons to make sure they are not used against us. The buck stops at the President's desk. It's time for new leadership, leadership that can get the job done. President Bush, You're fired!
Thunderous applause coming from Moore and Soros
So, the NYT confirms what the rest of us sane folks have known for a long time.
Welcome to FR.
Does this story remind anyone else of the big deal that was made over the so-called looting of that Baghdad museum?
Every time Kerry talks about what was not done it Iraq it is a direct hit on the military. The President does not run day to day operations in the war and for Kerry to intone that it undermines our great military.
- Why did they not find out about this earlier?
- If the site was not guarded, was it because they checked the site sometime during the war and concluded it was empty?
- Why did they let NYT break with the story?
Right now I do not think this will harm President's re-election efforts, but I would be surprised if Kerry campaign didn't spin some new related talking points.
I know that they are used for nulcear weapons. my shock is the NY Times admitting in the first sentence Iraq used them for nuclear weapons research.
Huge, but not hugh.
A_R
Maybe the explosives were shipped with the WMD to Syria?
By the way. Is 380 tons of explosives considered a Cache?
Compared to this, the sarin that was found in Iraq to date would kill how many people?
I believe the figures that our military was estimating for Hussein's ordinance in Iraq was 400,000 tons - yes, TONS ... scattered through over 120 major ammo dumps and many minor ones (like schools) many of which were the size of Manhattan.
.
Kerry is on TV raising hell about this now. The articles on this say they don't know when this material was removed. This is just one ammo dump of many.
This really is a non-issue despite what DU wants to claim.
(They're watching this trhead)
First off, RDX, HMX, and PETN are merely "HIGH" explosives, not super-destructive mass killing weapons.
And if they want to claim that they ARE massively dangerous, then they have to admit that they were a threat under Saddam.
Iraq has thousands of ammo dumps, most of them 55 acres or so in size.
They were being raided while Saddam was in power, they would have been raided whether the murdering creep was in power or not.
So their claim that the US is at fault is, once again, just so much terrorist sympathising BS.
Ice, sorry if this is 'preaching to the choir', but our dear slimy friends at DU are linking here and tehy need to see the info.
Bet they haven't read the Duelfer report either.
http://www.foia.cia.gov/duelfer/Iraqs_WMD_Vol3.pdf
i'm agree, i believe its a non-issue too...can't underestimate what the MSM will blow it up into though
"...Composition C4: 91% RDX, 9% non-explosive plasticizers. This compound is used in mines and hand grenades..."
RDX is a common military explosive.
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