UN INspectors Found Nothing At Al-Qaqaa ON March 8, 2003

[Prince Charles]

Copyright 2003 Valley Daily Bulletin
  Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (Ontario, CA)
April 4, 2003 Friday
LENGTH: 813 words

[SNIP]

Troops encounter unknown chemical items

As the military advances closer to Baghdad, signs of Iraqichemical preparedness are multiplying, although there is still no conclusive evidence Saddam Hussein's regime possesses weapons of mass destruction.

On Friday, troops at a training facility in the westernIraqi desert came across a bottle labeled "tabun" a nerve gas and chemical weapon Iraq is banned from possessing.

Closer to Baghdad, troops at Iraq's largest militaryindustrial complex found nerve agent antidotes, documents describing chemical warfare and a white powder that appeared to be used for explosives.

U.N. weapons inspectors went repeatedly to the vast al QaQaa complex most recently on March 8 but found nothing during spot visits to some of the 1,100 buildings at the site 25 miles south of Baghdad.

Col. John Peabody, engineer brigade commander of the 3rdInfantry Division, said troops found thousands of 2-by-5-inch boxes, each containing three vials of white powder, together with documents written in Arabic that dealt with how to engage in chemical warfare.

[SNIP]

[Peach]

Saw that. Why the Bush team isn't responding to this is a mystery.

[Phocion]

Careful, folks. "Nothing" refers to WMD, not RDX or HMX. The "white powder that appeared to be used for explosives" mentioned in this release could actually be the explosives the Times was talking about.

[Mo1]

We ain't gonna take the lies from the liberals any more

They want a fight ... They got one!

[Peach]

Check this out:

http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1257780/posts

[StAnDeliver]

You are a prince indeed. I knight thee, Sir Prince Charles (is that redundant?). Thou name shall be spoken in kind with the great Buckhead and the honourable Howlin. We giveth all thanks and glory to God, and to one of His most wonderous gifts that humbleth our enemies and aideth our friends -- Lexis-Nexis.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

To the BM (Big media )

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

fyi

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Where is buckhead and tankerkc?

[Lunkhead_01]

The DemonRATS will say that this just states the UN inspectors did not find any CHEMICAL or BIOLOGICAL weapons.

This report does raise the question as to why the UN weapons inspectors did not check on the status of the HDX/RDX they now allege was there a few months before.

[EdReform]

BTTT

[txrangerette]

Exactly!

[rwfromkansas]

***this article does NOT disprove the NYT story***

However, this one does:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1257780/posts

Why? This Lexis-Nexis find is in the context of WMD's and not finding WMD's specifically. The linked article there talks about weapons in the context of WMD's and explosives in general. And, the 3rd found white powder, not the stuff supposedly missing.

The linked article is a legit find and supports NBC's piece from last night.

Send it to various news orgs.

[Mo1]

To late ...

[Clint N. Suhks]

Col. John Peabody, engineer brigade commander of the 3rd Infantry Division, said troops found thousands of five-centimetre by 12-centimetre boxes, each containing three vials of white powder, together with documents written in Arabic that dealt with how to engage in chemical warfare. A senior U.S. official familiar with initial testing said the powder was believed to be explosives. The finding would be consistent with the plant's stated production capabilities in the field of basic raw materials for explosives and propellants.

I believe you are right...but I don't see how thousands of tiny bxes add up to 380 tons. Nor does it prove it were still there April 10.

[SlowBoat407]

Finding "nothing" would seem to indicate that they didn't find what they were looking for, i.e. WMD. Multiple other reports state that the seals on the bunkers containing the high explosives were still in place at the time of this inspection. In other words, this article doesn't establish that the explosives weren't there in March 2003, and various others say they were.

I have to agree. In fact, it would have been news if the seals had been broken and the explosives missing at that point.

[concan]

'Careful, folks. "Nothing" refers to WMD, not RDX or HMX. The "white powder that appeared to be used for explosives" mentioned in this release could actually be the explosives the Times was talking about.'

Ok, riddle me this. We're talking 380 TONS OF EXPLOSIVES

When IAEA said 'NOTHING', how could they have meant nothing at all and NOT mention 380 TONS of explosives?

Besides all that. After the site was taken and "secured" by the army, no chance in hell anybody could just come by and take 380 TONS of explosives from there! That's totally impossible even by the standards of those who tell stories about Ali Baba and the 40 thieves.

[Fred Fighter]

Do the arithmetic.

[lugsoul]

Um... I think that's the point. The site wasn't "secured."

[unspun]

Lexis-Nexis Prince Charles gem bump

[unspun]

Somebody please tell the Pentagon...