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Missing explosives capture spotlight - John Pike cites "treasure trove," soft peddles WMD
Baltimore Sun ^ | October 26, 2004 | David L. Greene, Tom Bowman and Julie Hirschfeld Davis

Posted on 10/26/2004 3:43:31 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife

....Treasure trove

Military analysts had mixed reactions to the significance of the missing explosives.

John Pike, a defense analyst for GlobalSecurity. org, said the explosives, the disappearance of which was first reported in yesterday's New York Times, would prove to be an "unprecedented treasure trove" of bomb-making material.

"I think the evil-doers will put it to good use," he said. "You'd have to be concerned. We'll be hearing about it again."

The missing cache, reported to be about 380 tons of the explosives HMX and RDX, not only offers a large quantity of material but more importantly has useful "fabrication properties" for making bombs, Pike said.

The materials can handily be molded and shaped into bombs, he said, but the explosives are only "slightly more powerful" than TNT and not as explosive as C4 chemical explosives.

While both HMX and RDX can be used in detonating nuclear bombs, there is no indication that whoever took the explosives has materials for building a nuclear weapon. Those materials are more difficult to acquire, Pike said....

(Excerpt) Read more at baltimoresun.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Front Page News; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: campaign; cnn; criminallies; dirtytricks; explosives; globalsecurity; globalsecurityorg; hanoijohnny; johnpike; kerry; kerrystinks; media; missingexplosives; msm; nbc; nytimes; spin; terrorism; wmd; wot
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Pike is a LIBERAL activist: Why does the media think John Pike is a "national security expert"?
1 posted on 10/26/2004 3:43:32 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: All
Campaigns head to Wisconsin - President fires back on explosives lie***…..(CNN)..........The report that tons of high explosives were missing from a depot in Iraq provided campaign ammunition Monday, with Kerry launching a blistering attack on Bush. The Democrat called it "one of the great blunders of Iraq and one of the great blunders of this administration."

Late Monday, the mystery took another twist -- NBC News, which had a crew embedded with the U.S. military during the invasion, reported that the material had already vanished by the time American troops arrived there on April 10, 2003, the day after Baghdad fell. (Report: Explosives already gone when U.S. troops arrived) http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/10/26/iraq.explosives/index.html

The Bush camp wasted little time in firing back, firing off a statement saying that Kerry's criticism of the president over the missing material has "been proven false before the day is over."

"John Kerry's attacks today were baseless," Bush campaign spokesman Steve Schmidt said. "He said American troops did not secure the explosives, when the explosives were already missing."

Schmidt also said that Kerry "neglects to mention the 400,000 tons of weapons and explosives that are either destroyed or in the process of being destroyed" in Iraq.

But Kerry senior adviser Joe Lockhart fired back with a statement of his own, accusing the Bush campaign of "distorting" the NBC News report.

"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," Lockhart said. "It is the latest pathetic excuse from an administration that never admits a mistake, no matter how disastrous."...

Lockhart did not elaborate on how the Bush campaign was distorting the NBC report.....

2 posted on 10/26/2004 3:45:18 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

Not only that. They ignore the fact that both CNN and NBC are reporting that the explosives have been missing since April 2003. The ONLY reason this is being brought up NOW is to prop up Kerry's Campaign.


3 posted on 10/26/2004 3:46:38 AM PDT by MNJohnnie (Vote Bush 2004-We cannot survive a 9-10 President in a 9-11 World)
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To: MNJohnnie
The ONLY reason this is being brought up NOW is to prop up Kerry's Campaign.

Bump!

4 posted on 10/26/2004 3:47:25 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: Cincinatus' Wife
"Lockhart did not elaborate on how the Bush campaign was distorting the NBC report....."

Train wreck in progress....

5 posted on 10/26/2004 3:53:08 AM PDT by Dallas59 ("A bad peace is even worse than war" -Taticus)
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To: MNJohnnie
There is no other reasonable option for Bush now. He must attack Kerry like he's never done before. I'd send Giuliani out on every news outlet imaginable. And instead of pointing out the exact number of tons of weapons that have been secured and destroyed, the Bush Administration should just point out that one thousand times the amount of weapons that Kerry is whining about have actually been destroyed by our forces.

Question the timing. Expose the inaccuracy. Throw in references to Jayson Blair. Make comparisons to Dan Rather. Most of all, expose Kerry as the kneejerk alarmist he's become, someone who undoubtedly gets an extra spring in his step whenever bad news or allegedly bad news comes out of Iraq.

6 posted on 10/26/2004 3:54:16 AM PDT by billclintonwillrotinhell
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To: Dallas59

Lockhart will slime and spin and lie....it's what the Kerry camp does.


7 posted on 10/26/2004 3:54:47 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: Dallas59

Howevewr, the MSM won't help us out on this at all. Is Fox talking about this at all?


8 posted on 10/26/2004 3:55:01 AM PDT by tirednvirginia
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To: billclintonwillrotinhell
Bush won't do this unfortunately...
9 posted on 10/26/2004 3:55:29 AM PDT by Dallas59 ("A bad peace is even worse than war" -Taticus)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife
I'm glad you linked the thread with his bio material. It seems to be gone from FAS. Several years ago at FR I dug out the following.

"..(Exerpt From John E. Pikes bio at WWW.FAS.ORG) "He advised the 1984 Mondale campaign, the 1988 Dukakis campaign, and the 1992 Clinton campaign on defense and space policy issues. He is frequently called on by print and broadcast media for commentary, and by Congressional Committees for testimony, on space and national security issues." .."

Why does the media think John Pike is a "national security expert"? is a treasure trove of debunking and some of that material has been disappeared, probably to preserve some fraction of this guy's reputation.

He doesn't know from shinola.

10 posted on 10/26/2004 3:57:04 AM PDT by Anti-Bubba182
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To: tirednvirginia

E.D. did bring it up and questioned the Dem. spokeswoman.

The Dem just waved it off by saying it is important for Kerry to point out how dangerous things are in Iraq (paraphrased).


11 posted on 10/26/2004 3:57:15 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

It will be on all the radio talk shows...on the socialist controlled network TV? It will be buried and some other lie brought up to cover that.


12 posted on 10/26/2004 3:58:31 AM PDT by Dallas59 ("A bad peace is even worse than war" -Taticus)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife
...the disappearance of which was first reported in yesterday's New York Times,...

In other BREAKING NEWS, Francisco Franco has died.

13 posted on 10/26/2004 3:59:28 AM PDT by facedown (Armed in the Heartland)
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To: billclintonwillrotinhell; Dallas59

I believe Bush must defend the troops (his troops).

He can't let it stand anymore than he let stand the Tora Bora (bin Laden) business.


14 posted on 10/26/2004 3:59:44 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

Is the media in a sad state of affairs or what? The fact that a story is false doesn't dissuade them in the slightest. Just keep repoting it! It's mind-boggling.


15 posted on 10/26/2004 4:00:23 AM PDT by PrtzlLogic
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

I guess they will keep repeating the lie. Its headline news in my newspaper this morning.


16 posted on 10/26/2004 4:00:51 AM PDT by tirednvirginia
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To: Anti-Bubba182



Pike gives the impression he's non-political but if you know his background and track record, it puts a new light on how he spins things.


17 posted on 10/26/2004 4:01:26 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: Dallas59
Bush won't do this unfortunately...

Hopefully, Dick Cheney will do it. If not him, have Lynne Cheney do it. If not her, have Liz Cheney do it. If not them, have Giuliani do it. If not him, have Gen. Tommy Franks do it. Heck, have the twins do it!

The bottom line is that, assuming the NBC report is correct, this is a golden opportunity presenting itself to the Bush campaign. It shows how Kerry will believe anything as long as it's anti-Bush, anti-troops, anti-commanders, anti-America. It shows this country's undecided voters just how French John Kerry really is.

18 posted on 10/26/2004 4:01:51 AM PDT by billclintonwillrotinhell
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To: PrtzlLogic

The MSM is campaigning for Kerry.


19 posted on 10/26/2004 4:01:53 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: billclintonwillrotinhell
The bottom line is that, assuming the NBC report is correct, this is a golden opportunity presenting itself to the Bush campaign. It shows how Kerry will believe anything as long as it's anti-Bush, anti-troops, anti-commanders, anti-America. It shows this country's undecided voters just how French John Kerry really is.

Bump!

Bump!

20 posted on 10/26/2004 4:02:54 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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