[soccer_linux_mozilla]

Tomorrow's Washington Times features an article by Bill Gertz in which John A. Shaw, the deputy undersecretary of defense for international technology security, says that Russian troops "almost certainly" helped Saddam's men clean the Al Qaqaa site out before the Iraq War started.

We'll have more on this tomorrow. One way or another, it appears clear that the 380 tons of explosives that are now "missing" were moved by Saddam prior to the start of the war. I suppose the point is too obvious to be worth making, but 380 tons is a lot of material--approximately 38 semi-truck loads. Yet it has, apparently, completely disappeared, probably because it was shipped to Syria before the war started. Do you suppose that, whereever the 380 tons are now, there might be a little extra room for some vials of anthrax, sarin, nerve gas, etc.?

DEACON adds: If Shaw's version, as reported by the Washington Times, holds up and (as importantly) gets heard, the consequences for Kerry could be serious. The Senator will have (a) jumped to a conclusion that wasn't supported by the facts, (b) assumed the incompetence of our troops, (c) confirmed President Bush's position that Iraq had weapons worth worrying about, and (d) unleashed evidence that, as Rocket Man notes, suggests that chemical and biological weapons could easily have been moved out of Iraq just before we invaded. In light of the final point, though, what puzzles me is this: if the Defense Department has evidence that the Russians helped clean out Alqaqaa, why haven't we heard about this before now (or did I just miss it). Evidence that Iraqi weapons, any weapons, were moved out of the country by the Russians would have been helpful to the administration long before now. Maybe we learned about it recently, as relations with Russia have improved.

http://powerlineblog.com/archives/008341.php

[GottaLuvAkitas1]

I adore Bill Gertz
"Treachery" is my fav. political book EVER!

Treachery : How America's Friends and Foes Are Secretly Arming Our Enemies

(I guess he pegged this story)

[whershey]

They said the evidence was recent but more then likely there wasn't any reason to release this and it doesn't give definite proof of anything other then an alternate and better explanation for what happened to the explosives.

[Cold Heat]

You forget about the U.N. admission that is also coming out that states the 370 is really more like 180tons and they made a mistake.

[eureka!]

"Maybe we learned about it recently, as relations with Russia have improved. "

Putin has endorsed W as well. He knows what is at stake. Maybe we'll have our own October Surprise vis WMDs in Syria. Perchance, to dream....