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U.S. Team Took 200 Tons of Iraqi Explosives
Fox News ^ | October 29, 2004

Posted on 10/29/2004 9:32:03 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife

WASHINGTON — A U.S. soldier is coming forward Friday to say a team from the 3rd Infantry Division took about 200 tons of explosives from an Iraqi military facility soon after Saddam Hussein's regime fell last year.

The soldier will appear before reporters at noon, EDT. The briefing will be shown on the FOX News Channel.

The announcement is the latest twist in the mystery over what happened to 377 tons of explosives that the International Atomic Energy Agency said had disappeared.

The soldier's story comes as new videotape has surfaced that supports the contention that tons of the explosives were still at the base following Saddam's fall on April 9, 2003. U.S. officials had said they suspected the explosives were taken before U.S.-led forces took Baghdad.

Videotape shot by a Minnesota television crew traveling with U.S. troops in Iraq when they first opened the bunkers at the Al-Qaqaa (search) munitions base nine days after the fall of Saddam Hussein shows what appeared to be high explosives still in barrels and bearing the markings of the International Atomic Energy Agency (search).

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


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Front Page News; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: alqaqaa; cbs; explosives; hmx; iraq; kerrylies; nytimes; octobersurprise; rats; rdx; wot
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To: MercCPC

I wonder how long it will be before Kerry starts shouting down the Major.


81 posted on 10/29/2004 10:27:26 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: nmh
Kerry will turn this around. He hates the military.

"John Kerry: Trashing the military for over 30 years."

82 posted on 10/29/2004 10:28:22 AM PDT by talleyman (A foreign leader told me on his deathbed: "Kerry is a liar - he just makes stuff up...")
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To: Nathan Zachary

As if anyone can believe that ABC's video is of the real stuff.

They have already been vague over where it was shot, even the reporter wasn't sure.

Somebody need to stand up and tell the MSM to grow up, there again they are making complete fools of themselves.


83 posted on 10/29/2004 10:30:41 AM PDT by crazycat
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To: MercCPC

But, the reporter can NOT even verify from his video if it was a IAEA seal, nor can he verify if what he filmed was RDX or HMX, nor can he confirm the quantity. In otherwords, he didn't know if the stuff in question was there or not either.
Pearson says they took everything with them, 250 tons of it.
No matter how you work it, there was not 380 tons of stuff being "looted" recently as the story on Monday said.


84 posted on 10/29/2004 10:31:15 AM PDT by Nathan Zachary
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

You know, I was just thinking that it would probably be cheaper if Kerry were president. Why? Because we wouldn't have to pay for any cabinet members. I think he intends to just use the NYT and CBS as his source of council and information. That would be cheap right. How much is a subscription to the NYT.


85 posted on 10/29/2004 10:33:19 AM PDT by spotbust1 (Gun control is when you use both hands.)
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To: MaryJaneNC
Listen to the Pentagon press conference...
The U.S. military destory the weapons.
Bottom line.


The bottom line is that the US (and the President) had a plan, funded the plan, executed the plan, completed the mission.

And this insignificant weapons dump was taken care of without the specific attention of the most powerful man in the world. In direct contrast to what that idiot Kerry said.

The films show that the Saddam goons had a chance to go to the bunkers before the war and cherry pick out the stuff they wanted (can you say WMD's?).

John Kerry supports the soldiers but he doesn't want them to win!!!!!!!
86 posted on 10/29/2004 10:34:52 AM PDT by Joe_October (Saddam supported Terrorists. Al Qaeda are Terrorists. I can't find the link.)
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To: Catphish

I believe the Major but I think it was a mistake to send
him out in front of reporters and not brief him on a question
that he was certain to get.

This situation has been handled miserably by the administration and the Pentagon. Snow says the Russians
carted it away, It was only three tons, a flat bed and a pickup were at the site, It's in Syria, the mission was to get to Bagdad, We never saw it, we did see it, etc.

It's the gang that couldn't shoot straight on this issue.

Why didn't they send this Major out there in the first place?


87 posted on 10/29/2004 10:35:54 AM PDT by dwilli
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hahahaha! Rush just played a kerry interview where the guy told Kerry that Bushe's iq test when he was in the military shows he has a higher IQ than him. Kerry didn't like that, and shot back that he didn't kow whee they got that information from, wasn't on anything he released.


88 posted on 10/29/2004 10:35:55 AM PDT by Nathan Zachary
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

The message needs to get out that in the confusion of facts, Kerry and Co immediately jumped to the conclusion that it was the fault of our military. The military force of the country that landed on Normandy and left many of their numbers there--that saved France's butt in two world wars when they couldn't--or wouldn't--save themselves. That went in to clean up the mess they left in Vietnam, but undercut while hosting Ho Chi Min and his minions in their capital city. This is the army that liberated Kuwait. And so it goes. We are the nation that puts its troops in harms way throughout the world when called upon. Are we--and our military--perfect? No. We make mistakes. Even serious ones. But while we get our boots on the ground, we have citizens whose ancestors spilt their blood to save their descendents and the freedom we enjoy in this country who would in these times negate their ancestor's sacrifices in the name of sensitivity and nuance. It's sickening. And I'm mad.


89 posted on 10/29/2004 10:37:33 AM PDT by twigs
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To: Nathan Zachary
Major Parsons looted the Al Qaqaa facility in a fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan.
90 posted on 10/29/2004 10:38:37 AM PDT by massgopguy (massgopguy)
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To: mlocher

Good point. I heard David McKay say this morning that the UN was supposed to destroy these stockpiles but this particular dump was saved by the direct intervention of--Hans Blix. Because Saddam Husein asked him to. Assured Blix that he would use it for peaceful purposes. I couldn't believe my ears. This is one more reason why we had to go into Iraq. The UN is not only incompetent but it's evil.


91 posted on 10/29/2004 10:42:14 AM PDT by twigs
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To: Cincinatus' Wife
Pearson, accompanied by DiRita, appeared at a Pentagon news conference and said his team's mission in April 2003 was to clear material from the Al-Qaqaa facility in order to secure it for U.S. forces. He admitted he was not an explosives expert.

So the STFU what?!?

Neither was I, nor anyone else on our ordnance loading team, but that was what DOD numbers, requisition numbers, DOD descriptions, serial numbers, etc was for. We somehow managed, without being ordnance or explosives 'experts' to properly load tens of thousands of tons.

I don't care what country or language, all military materiel is marked so that Pvt Idjitsky can still grab the stuff he was sent for.

92 posted on 10/29/2004 10:43:39 AM PDT by ApplegateRanch (The world needs more horses, and fewer Jackasses!)
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To: massgopguy

LoL! that's what this all boils down to, Kerry attacking the military, as he always has done. He is consistant on that.


93 posted on 10/29/2004 10:44:45 AM PDT by Nathan Zachary
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To: dwilli

They didn't send the guy out, because they didn't even know he existed. He saw the report on television and remembered that it was one of many, many sites he destroyed munitions at. Maybe the army should have cataloged each every munition dump they encountered there but such a thing would be ridiculous. The whole country was covered with munition dumps. How are they supposed to know about this particular one immediately?


94 posted on 10/29/2004 10:45:28 AM PDT by Catphish
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To: Catphish

If those two explosives are as potent as we have been lead
to believe there would be some sort of control records of their handling.

The fact the major can't say whether or not he handled
them or not is not helpful.

My gripe is that he should have been prepared to answer
a question he was sure to be asked. I am sure he gave
an honest answer, maybe too honest.


95 posted on 10/29/2004 10:51:05 AM PDT by dwilli
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To: Nathan Zachary
.... he [Kerry] didn't kow whee they got that information from, wasn't on anything he released.

What a creepy worm.

96 posted on 10/29/2004 10:53:40 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: talleyman
It's just another feaking Viet Nam all over again.

Kerry hates his country and he HATE the military with a passion. He'll trash anyone that disagrees with him.

I despise his elitism and hypocrisy as well.
97 posted on 10/29/2004 10:54:32 AM PDT by nmh (Intelligent people recognize Intelligent Design (God).)
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To: trebb

"This is good for Bush - it shows that the stuff was being taken care of by our guys and that Kerry, the MSM, and the U.N. are in cahoots with each other to spin any lies they can in order try and hurt Bush."

Wow. A one sentence succinct summary.

This guy at the UN is very bad. I think we've been trying to block his continuing in this post.


98 posted on 10/29/2004 10:54:57 AM PDT by truth_seeker
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To: dwilli

The biggest fear was WMD's, plain old explosives were not that big a deal.

Anyway the MSM tearing into an ordinary soldier to support their crazed arguments, doesn't play well with decent people.


99 posted on 10/29/2004 10:54:58 AM PDT by crazycat
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To: ApplegateRanch

If God came down and explained this to the MSM they would still spin for Kerry.


100 posted on 10/29/2004 10:55:52 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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