Posted on 10/25/2004 6:26:01 PM PDT by Timeout
KERRY SPOT
Jim Miklaszewski of NBC News pretty much dismantled the New York Times attack on behalf of Kerry today.
NBC News: Miklaszewski: “April 10, 2003, only three weeks into the war, NBC News was embedded with troops from the Army's 101st Airborne as they temporarily take over the Al Qakaa weapons installation south of Baghdad. But these troops never found the nearly 380 tons of some of the most powerful conventional explosives, called HMX and RDX, which is now missing. The U.S. troops did find large stockpiles of more conventional weapons, but no HMX or RDX, so powerful less than a pound brought down Pan Am 103 in 1988, and can be used to trigger a nuclear weapon. In a letter this month, the Iraqi interim government told the International Atomic Energy Agency the high explosives were lost to theft and looting due to lack of security. Critics claim there were simply not enough U.S. troops to guard hundreds of weapons stockpiles, weapons now being used by insurgents and terrorists to wage a guerrilla war in Iraq.” (NBC’s “Nightly News,” 10/25/04)
If Jill Abramson, managing editor of the New York Times, had a shred of concern over her paper's reputation for getting the facts right never mind objectivity or fairness, she would be running the correction - or at least this blatantly contradictory information - in the giant headline font and above-the-fold location that today's story got. But I guess the interest in echoing the sentiments of Maureen Dowd is more important than getting it right at the Old Gray Lady.
I knew I overlooked something. Dang, I forgot about that honesty thing.
I don't know if this is as big a story as Memogate, but certainly the major media will have to run with this story on the evening news tomorrow. They will have to explain that the NYSlime story was wrong and that the munitions were gone when we got there.
Gotta love it when they get caught up in their own lies.
The UN too, yes.
and not let the story be only that they put out a bogus story - but build on it. Stretch those legs...
Now that this massive storage story has been broken with UN admission of their existence, etc...now we can build on
Where did they go?
Who spirited them away?
With who's help and knowledge?
Where are they now?
On this video the biggest shots are nowhere near 100K people. Not even CLOSE. But they never did have a rooftop shot.
I hate inflation (I was a charter member of WIN :).
great letter
How about this....
SADAM WMD'S IN SYRIA
It appears that the Wall Street Journal is at it again. Note that the rest of the paper is 180* opposite of the editorial board. The following story was posted at 9:37 PM, EDT (well after nbC broke that the NYT Story was bogus). I mention that fact since the now urban myth of the weapons is mentioned without correction. http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB109872532373254775,00.html?mod=home_whats_news_us
These proKerry hacks can be reached at greg.hitt@wsj.com and jacob.schlesinger@wsj.com
I can't say I agree with your assessment, but I can't refute it either. It's just a hunch, but I'd bet a cold one that many of these "undecideds" are not being altogether honest with the pollsters. They know, but they ain't sayin'...
Getting inside these people's heads would be a major coup I suspect.
FGS
My, my... March 2003 was such a busy month:
MARCH 2003 : (IRAQI AIDE TO SADDAM HUSSEIN EXPLAINS WHY IRAQ TOOK NO PICTURES OF AL SAMOUD MISSILE DESTRUCTION TO PROVE IT WAS ACTUALLY CARRIED OUT AS THE IRAQIS HAD CLAIMED) "It is too harsh. It is unacceptable. That's why we have released no pictures." -- General Amir Al-Saadi, special aide to Saddam Hussein, whining about the destruction of the Al Samoud missiles, quoted at http://timblair.spleenville.com/archives/002046.php
Once again weapons inspector Hans Blix steps in to show us how objective the UN inspections process is:
MARCH 2003 : (UN'S HANS BLIX SAYS HE IS MORE CONCERNED ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT & GLOBAL WARMING THAN ABOUT PEACE & WAR) "To me the question of the environment is more ominous than that of peace and war ... I'm more worried about global warming than I am of any major military conflict." -- Hans Blix, quoted at http://timblair.spleenville.com/archives/002046.php
Repeat after me: "There is no connection between 911 and the Iraqi Baathist regime" :
MARCH 2003 : (REPORTS SURFACE THAT 911 CONSPIRATOR GALAN WAS INVITED TO PARTY BY IRAQI AMBASSADOR TO SPAIN) An alleged terrorist accused of helping the 11 September conspirators was invited to a party by the Iraqi ambassador to Spain under his al-Qaeda nom de guerre, according to documents seized by Spanish investigators. Yusuf Galan, who was photographed being trained at a camp run by Osama bin Laden, is now in jail, awaiting trial in Madrid.
The indictment against him, drawn up by investigating judge Baltasar Garzon, claims he was 'directly involved with the preparation and carrying out of the attacks ... by the suicide pilots on 11 September'. Evidence of Galan's links with Iraqi government officials came to light only recently, as investigators pored through more than 40,000 pages of documents seized in raids at the homes of Galan and seven alleged co-conspirators. The Spanish authorities have supplied copies to lawyers in America, and this week the documents will form part of a dossier to be filed in a federal court in Washington, claiming damages of approximately $100 billion on behalf of more than 2,500 11 September victims.
The lawsuit lists Saddam's government in Iraq as one of its principal defendants, claiming it provided 'material support' to the al-Qaeda terrorists. Under US law, the victims' families do not have to prove active direction or involvement in the details of the 9/11 conspiracy by Iraq, only that Saddam's regime gave al-Qaeda more general assistance in the knowledge that it was planning to attack American targets. The evidence in support of the 9/11 damages claim cites several examples of this alleged co-operation. They include the terrorist training camp at Salman Pak near Baghdad, where former Iraqi intelligence brigadier Jamal al-Qurairy has said that non-Iraqi Islamic radicals were trained to hijack aircraft using knives.
- "Spain links suspect in 9/11 plot to Baghdad," by David Rose, The Observer , see UK Guardian , Sunday March 16, 2003
Repeat after me: "Iraq didn't seek to buy uranium in Africa" :
MARCH 2003 : (IAEA : EL BARADEI SAYS IRAQ MENTIONED IT HAD AN AGENT IN AFRICA WHO HAD VISITED NIGER IN FEBRUARY 1999) He said Baghdad suggested the visit by an unidentified Iraqi official to a number of African countries, including Niger, in February 1999, might have given rise to the allegations. - VOA News Report, V-O-A Correspondent ALEX BELIDA, 03/07/03, via http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/iraq/2003/iraq-030307-2d189eab.htm.
Repeat after me: "What WMD?"
MARCH 2003 : (THIS IS THE TIME IRAQ MOVED 'UNSPECIFIED MATERIALS' TO SYRIA,' INCLUDING SOME COMPONENTS OF IRAQ'S WMD PROGRAMS, ACCORDING TO LATER REPORT BY DR. DAVID KAY) - "Kay says some Iraq weapons in Syria: report,"AFP, Sunday, January 25, 2004. 1:00pm (AEDT) via http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1031270.htm
Repeat after me: "The UN inspections were working!"
MARCH 2003 : (IRAQ : SCIENTISTS & SPECIAL REPUBLICAN GUARD ABANDON AL TUWAITHA NUCLEAR RESEARCH FACILITY, ACCORDING TO LATER REPORTS OF IRAQI VILLAGERS) - "Marines hold nuclear site," by Carl Prine, Pittsburgh Tribune Review, Wednesday, April 9, 2003
Repeat after me: "Iraq is secular! They hate Islamic fundamentalist terrorists"
MARCH 2003 : (IRAQI AID TO SADDAM HUSSEIN INSULTS KUWAITI DELEGATE TO ISLAMIC SUMMIT) "Shut up you minion, you (U.S.) agent, you monkey. You are addressing Iraq. You are insolent. You are a traitor to the Islamic nation." -- Saddam aide Izzat Ibrahim to a Kuwaiti delegate at an Islamic summit
Repeat after me: "I see nothing..."
MARCH 1, 2003 : ("IRAQI DINARS TO DOLLARS" COUNTERFEITING CASE : ROUGHLY $20 MILLION FAKE BILLS HAVE BEEN SEIZED IN COLUMBIA SINCE JAN 26, 2003; COULD IT BE STATE-SPONSORED?) Since that night [Jan 26, 2003], nearly $20 million of the same counterfeit bills have been seized in Colombia. And the U.S. Secret Service and other intelligence agencies are questioning why a counterfeiting ring protected by Marxist guerrillas had access to bank notes from Iraq. "It's very important to the Secret Service to see what we can find out," Agent Gerald A. Cavis, head of the Secret Service in Orlando, said Friday of the Iraq connection. "We'll look at it in particular with other intelligence agencies to see if it is state-sponsored." The possible link between Iraq and counterfeit U.S. currency has prompted the Secret Service to send similar bills to Washington for inspection. Agents say they don't know where the investigation will lead."We don't find that a significant amount of counterfeit currency is related to terrorism, but it has an increased significance to us since 9-11," Cavis said.
Counterfeit currency has been a persistent problem in Orlando since Central Florida became an international destination in the 1970s. Most local cases involve $5,000 to $10,000 passed at area tourist attractions and stores along International Drive and U.S. Highway 192, according to federal court records. Counterfeiters sell bills for as little as 20 cents on the dollar to people who pass them at banks and stores. The profit comes from pocketing the change. Nationally, counterfeiting cost banks, businesses and residents $43 million in 2002. By law, anyone duped with a counterfeit bill bears the loss. -- "Secret Service tracks mystery of fake fortune," By Henry Pierson Curtis, Sentinel Staff Writer, Orlando Sentinel, Saturday, March 1, 2003
Repeat after me: "What missiles? I see no missiles!"
MARCH 1, 2003 : (UNMOVIC DEADLINE FOR IRAQ TO DESTROY AL SAMOUD 2 MISSILES & ROCKET ENGINES) UNMOVIC has reportedly ordered Iraq to destroy all of its Al Samoud 2 missiles and 380 rocket engines that were illegally imported by Saturday, March 1. This is also the date that a written report from UNMOVIC is due to the United Nations Security Council. - http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/iraq-timeline.htm.
Repeat after me: "Iraq has no connection to terrorism."
MARCH 3, 2003 : (PHILIPPINES : HAMSIRAJI ALI BRAGGED THAT HIS GROUP RECEIVED ALMOST $20,000 A YEAR FROM IRAQIS CLOSE TO SADDAM HUSSEIN) As the Washington Times's Marc Lerner reported on March 3, 2003, Hamsiraji Ali, an Abu Sayyaf commander on the southern island of Basilan, bragged that his group received almost $20,000 annually from Iraqis close to Saddam Hussein.
"It's so we would have something to spend on chemicals for bomb-making and for the movement of our people," Sali explained.-- "Clarke’s Not Blind; Even the Dems’ favorite grandstander sees the Saddam-9/11 link.," By Deroy Murdock, National Review Online , March 26, 2004, 8:58 a.m., http://www.nationalreview.com/murdock/murdock200403260858.asp
Repeat after me: "What WMD?"
MARCH 2003 first week : (CUBA : CASTRO TELLS IRAQ TO DESTROY ITS WMD & COMMENTS ON IRAN) President Fidel Castro has urged Baghdad to destroy "the last cubic centimetre of chemical or biological weapons" to remove any pretext Washington might have to attack it. At the close of the new Cuban parliamentary legislature, in which Castro's re-election as head of the government and the state came as no surprise, the Cuban leader praised Iraq's decision to destroy its Al-Samoud 2 missiles. "The American Government will no longer have the least legal or moral pretext to attack Iraq," Castro said. He slammed Washington for closing its eyes to atomic weapons held by Israel having provided the means for their transportation. "Only the complete truth ... would give the Iraqi people enough moral strength and international support to defend their homeland and integrity right up to the last drop of blood," he said.
Castro acknowledged that Iraq had "committed two grave and unjustifiable actions" in invading Iran and occupying Kuwait, but had also had to endure "very hard action" itself. Iraq "is not in a position, militarily speaking, to constitute the least risk to US security or of their allies in the region", Castro said.- "Castro tells Iraq: destroy weapons," Agence France-Presse , March 7, 2003
Repeat after me: "We need to consult with France and Germany."
MARCH 5, 2003 : (AXIS OF WEASELS RELEASE JOINT DECLARATION TO RESIST US & UK AT UN) The foreign ministers of France, Russia and Germany release a joint declaration stating that they will 'not allow' a resolution authorising military action to pass the UN security council. The hardening stance from the anti-war bloc increases the pressure on the US and Britain to compromise on their draft UN resolution.France, Russia and Germany harden stance - http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/page/0,12438,793802,00.html
Repeat after me: "What Axis of Evil?"
MARCH 2003 : (AL QAEDA-ASSOCIATED PHILIPPINE TERRORISTS ORDER ARMS FROM NORTH KOREAN INTELLIGENCE OFFICER RIM) The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has ordered more than $2-million worth of armaments and sophisticated weapons from an alleged North Korean intelligence officer, as part of rebel plan to launch an all-out war against the government, military officials said Thursday. The officials said the rebels also plan to purchase minisubmarines to augment its fighting capability. These orders and plans were revealed, the military added, by documents seized from the house of MILF chairman Salamat Hashim, when the military overran the rebel camp in Buliok Complex in Pikit.
North Cotabato. Copies of the documents were released to mediamen by the Armed Forces Thursday. Among the documents seized by the Marines included receipts and purchase orders allegedly signed by Gadzali Jafaar, MILF vice chairman for political affairs, a certain Rim Jyu Do and a certain HS Ahmmad. Rim is said to be a ranking North Korean intelligence officer, who is also allegedly engaged in arms-smuggling.
---- "MILF ordered $2 million in arms from North Korea, " or "AFP officials say MILF ordered $2-M in arms from Nokor spy " by Fernan Marasigan, TODAY Reporter , ABS-CBNNews.com 3/13/03
Repeat after me: "Global warming's the threat, global warming's the threat, global warming's the threat..."
MARCH 7, 2003 : (UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL : INSPECTOR BLIX REPORT ON IRAQ), Mar 08, 2003-- In a 173-page dossier on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, chief U.N. inspector Hans Blix says Baghdad may possess about 10,000 liters of anthrax, Scud missile warheads filled with deadly biological and chemical agents, and drones that far exceed the 150-kilometer (93-mile) limit. The report, obtained late Friday by The Associated Press, traces the history of Iraq's weapons programs and outlines the many areas where questions remain - many old but some new. Blix told the Security Council earlier in the day that he planned to cull the document and compile a list of key remaining disarmament tasks by the end of March that Iraq must complete. The table of contents reflects the scope of the unanswered questions: missile technology, aerial bombs, spray devices and drones, mustard gas, Sarin, chemical processing equipment, Botulism toxin, ricin, genetic engineering and viral research - and the list goes on. British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw described the document as "a shocking indictment of the record of Saddam Hussein's deception and deceit, but above all, of the danger which he poses to the region and to the world." Britain and the United States, which are seeking Security Council approval for a war against Iraq, can find plenty of ammunition in the dossier to support their argument that Baghdad has failed to cooperate and fully disarm. But opponents of a rush to war counter that Iraq is starting to provide evidence - and therefore U.N. weapons inspections should continue. Blix has previously questioned Iraq's reporting of its destruction of anthrax supplies from 1988 to 1991.
He said Iraq declared that it produced 8,445 liters but cited evidence in the new report that it produced more. "The strong presumption is that about 10,000 liters of anthrax was not destroyed and may still exist," he said. In addition, "Iraq currently possesses the technology and materials, including fermenters, bacterial growth media and seed stock, to enable it to produce anthrax." "Many of the skilled personnel familiar with anthrax production have been transferred to civilian industries. There does not appear to be any choke points, which would prevent Iraq from producing anthrax on at least the scale of its pre-1991 level," Blix said. The chief inspector also expressed concern about Iraq's program to build pilot-less aircraft known as drones, citing intelligence reports that Saddam Hussein is developing vehicles with a range of 500 kilometers (312 miles) - far exceeding the 150-kilometer (93-mile) limit. While small, Blix said, drones can be used to spray biological warfare agents such as anthrax. Iraq hasn't declared the development of any drones that fly automatically, though it has declared that it developed two vehicles controlled from the ground or other aircraft with a range of 100 kilometers (62 miles), he said, adding that this must be investigated. "Recent inspections have also revealed the existence of a drone with a wingspan of 7.45 meters (24.43 feet) that has not been declared by Iraq.
Officials at the inspection site stated that the drone had been test flown," Blix said. The chief inspector also expressed concern that Baghdad may be developing or planning missiles other than the Al Samoud 2 - which Iraq has started destroying - that may also have ranges exceeding 150 kilometers (93 miles). "Indications of this come from solid propellant casting chambers Iraq has acquired through indigenous production, or from the repair of old chambers," he said. "The size of these chambers would enable the manufacture of a missile system with a range much greater than 150 kilometers (93 miles)." Blix said Iraq must also produce evidence to prove it has fully abandoned its program to develop a medium-range ballistic missile with a range of between 1,000 and 3,000 kilometers (625 and 1,875 miles). On Scud-B missiles, he said, "the lack of documentation to support the destruction of Scud-B liquid propellant, and the fact that approximately 50 warheads were not accounted for among the remnants of unilateral destruction, suggest that these items may have been retained for a proscribed missile force." Iraq must also account for up to 30 chemical and biological Scud-type warheads which it claims it destroyed, he said. One way would be to provide minutes from a committee formed in 1991 to address the issue of retaining banned material and weapons, he said. Copyright 2003 Associated Press, All rights reserved - "Chief inspector says Baghdad may possess 10,000 liters of anthrax," by EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press (AP WorldStream via COMTEX) , March 8, 2003
But these troops never found the nearly 380 tons of some of the most powerful conventional explosives, called HMX and RDX, which is now missing.
I assumed the "IAEA seal" was referring to the HMX and RDX. If this is the case then MSNBC seems to be contradicting their own report that says they were "intact" and then "never found".
If I'm just being completely dense then...well...knock me in the head with a hammer.
Brit Hume show was at 6:00 PM EDT, NBC news was broadcasted at 6:30 PM EDT. Brit Hume would not have been able to catch the NBC news story but make sure he will talk about it tomorrow.
Didn't the Brits report this about a month ago?
I've taken a news vacation for the past several days in order to let my nails grow back. Sounds like tomorrow will be a good day to get back to watching the game.
"Ok everyone ? in your own opinion , is this bigger than MEMOGATE ? and will this prove that the US , Bush , Bushes people and the Republicans, ( WAS RIGHT ALL ALONG ! ) about SADDAM having those WMDs ? and that the UN helped SADDAM move those WMDS out of IRAQ into SYRIA before the war ?"
If what you say regarding the UN smuggling weapons out of Iraq and into Syria is true (I have no idea whether it is or not, but I certainly wouldn't be surprised), then yes, this is much bigger than memogate. That would be tantamount to an act of war. The UN would be beyond finished, they would be war criminals. We'll see if it gets that far--but this story certainly introduces the possibility.
can anyone tell me, what ( TIN HATS ) mean ? sorry for not knowing.
The roof top was a guess on my part .. but they did have an over head shot of the crowd that reached down the parkway
As for the exact number .. I'm not an expert so I'll leave that to others to decide
bttt
Pray for W and Our Troops
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