Pentagon Ousts Official Who Tied Russia, Iraq Arms

The Washington Times ^ | December 30, 2004 | Bill Gertz

[Atlantic Friend]

Absolutely - will Dr Rice stick to her policy of "forgive Russia, forget Germany, and punish France" when Russia is so heavily suspected of supplying weapons and spiriting WMDs out of Iraq, I wonder.

[berserker]

Its pretty clear why he was let go: releasing classified material for a political reason (and admitting this was the reason), as noted in the article:

In October, Mr. Shaw told The Washington Times that he had received foreign intelligence data showing that Russian special forces units were involved in an effort to remove Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction in the weeks before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq began in March 2003. ... Mr. Shaw went public to counter a political "October surprise" campaign designed to "crucify the president" over the missing explosives, he wrote to Mr. Rumsfeld. "The Kerry media-driven October surprise attack on us and the president stopped within hours," Mr. Shaw wrote. "If I had not had the openly hostile environment in [Pentagon public affairs], I would have moved the story differently. Getting the truth out instantly was more important than process."

[GarySpFc]

You are joking, right?

No, I am not joking. That is why Condi Rice said we need to forgive the Russians.

[ravingnutter]

And this has been discredited.

Since when...this story is only from two months ago:

Russia tied to Iraq's missing arms - Oct 28 2004

Do you have a source saying this is not correct? From my recollection, there were satellite photos and documents showing Saddam paid Russia to protect their weapons. They also supplied missiles, electronic jamming equipment and night vision goggles to Iraq for use in fighting US troops.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

That is why Condi Rice said we need to forgive the Russians.

This would indicate that that people at State and elsewhere (NSA?) knew about the whole thing beforehand. They need to be weeded out and seriously smacked down. If that means Condi, so be it.

[Mitchell]

Ping.

[TapTheSource]

Not been postin for a wile because several keys on keyboard not workin. Still, tis is definately wort readin (see wat I mean about my keyboard!!!)--TTS

[BobS]

Condi Rice is correct. Russian people are actually nice, just like us. They just have a management problem to work through. Their approach to democracy will not be like ours.

Of course we will get mad at each other at times. We are not going to war, though.

[chudogg]

Well, he did some other things...

Elaborate please.

[chudogg]

okay, i didnt see your very next post

[Allan]

Interesting.
I'd like to know
what Loftus says about this.
Unfortunately
WABC has been doing reruns this week.

[Tailgunner Joe]

The oil for food profits Russia received were simply payback on money owed to them.

Maybe they shouldn't have lent Saddam so much money.

[GarySpFc]

Maybe they shouldn't have lent Saddam so much money.

I can't argue with your point, but they were still entitled to their monies.

[Tailgunner Joe]

They were entitled to lend lots of money to their friend and our enemy Saddam and then they were entitled to keep cooperating with him despite international sanctions. We are entitled to point out that these are not the actions of any kind of friend of the USA.

[GarySpFc]

Yes, while I have respect for Bill Gertz the report was not as solid as he makes it out to be. The photographs are in this article. The foreign intelligence source was a general and former director of the Romanian Intelligence Service. You will note this article is dated 10/29/04 --- http://washingtontimes.com/national/20041028-115519-3700r.htm Photos point to removal of weapons By Bill Gertz THE WASHINGTON TIMES U.S. intelligence agencies have obtained satellite photographs of truck convoys that were at several weapons sites in Iraq in the weeks before U.S. military operations were launched, defense officials said yesterday. The photographs indicate that Iraq was moving arms and equipment from its known weapons sites, said officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity. According to one official, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, known as NGA, "documented the movement of long convoys of trucks from various areas around Baghdad to the Syrian border." The official said the convoys are believed to include shipments of sensitive armaments, including equipment used in making plastic explosives and nuclear weapons. About 380 tons of RDX and HMX, used in making such arms, were reported missing from the Al-Qaqaa weapons facility, though the Pentagon and an embedded NBC News correspondent said the facility appeared to have been emptied by the time U.S. forces got there. The photographs bolster the claims of Pentagon official John A. Shaw, who told The Washington Times on Wednesday that recent intelligence reports indicate Russian special forces units took part in a sophisticated dispersal operation from January 2003 to March 2003 to move key weapons out of Iraq. In Moscow, the Russian government denied that its forces were involved in removing weapons from Iraq, dismissing the claims as "far-fetched and ridiculous." "I can state officially that the Russian Defense Ministry and its structural divisions could not have been involved in the disappearance of the explosives, because Russian servicemen were not in Iraq long before the beginning of the American-British operation in that country," Defense Ministry spokesman Col. Vyacheslav Sedov told Interfax news agency. Bush administration officials reacted cautiously to information provided by Mr. Shaw, who said details of the Russian "spetsnaz" forces' involvement in a program of document-shredding and weapons dispersal came from two European intelligence services. White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters aboard Air Force One that he was unaware of the information in The Times report. "I know that there is some new information that has come to light in the last couple of days," Mr. McClellan said, noting that another news report said the amount of high-explosive materials may have been less than 377 tons, as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) claims. Asked about foreign intelligence reports of Russian troops moving Iraq's weapons to Syria, Mr. McClellan said, "I have no information that points in that direction." National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice said in a interview on the Laura Ingraham radio show that she also was not aware of the information about Russian troops relocating Saddam's weapons to Syria, Lebanon and possibly Iran. Defense officials said the information has been closely held within the Pentagon because Mr. Shaw, a deputy undersecretary of defense of international technology security, has been working with the Pentagon inspector general in investigating the Russian role in the weapons transfers. Information in the inspector general office is not widely shared within the policy and intelligence communities. The Pentagon is still investigating the fate of the explosives and possible Russian involvement. Officials said numerous intelligence reports in the past two years indicate Saddam used trucks and aircraft to withdraw weapons from Iraq before March 2003. However, the new information indicates that Russian troops were directly involved in assisting the Iraqi military and intelligence services to secure and move the arms. Documents reviewed by one defense official include specific Russian military unit itineraries for the truck convoys. The arms that were taken out of the country included missile parts, nuclear-related equipment, tank and aircraft parts, and chemicals used in making poison gas weapons, the official said. Regarding the satellite photographs, defense officials said the photographs bolster the information obtained from the European intelligence services on the Russian arms-removal program. The Russian special forces troops were housed at a computer center near the Russian Embassy in Baghdad and left the country shortly before the U.S. invasion was launched March 20, 2003. Harold Hough, a satellite photographic specialist, said commercial satellite images taken shortly before U.S. forces reached Baghdad revealed Russian transport aircraft at Baghdad's international airport near a warehouse. "My thought was that the Russians were eager to get something out of Iraq quickly," Mr. Hough said. "But it is quite possible that the aircraft was used to transport the Russian forces." Note, the confusion as to what transpired. Also yesterday, the IAEA said it warned the United States about the vulnerability of explosives stored at Al-Qaqaa after Iraq's Tuwaitha nuclear complex was looted. "After we heard reports of looting at the Tuwaitha site in April 2003, the agency's chief Iraq inspectors alerted American officials that we were concerned about the security of the high explosives stored at Al-Qaqaa," IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming told the Associated Press. She did not say which officials were notified or exactly when.

[Domestic Church]

Actually, what he did just might have been an Op...it will be interesting to see what private sector job falls in his lap now.

[Domestic Church]

" My
memory is not clear but I also thought there was also news in the first few weeks of Iraq War about Russian
special force involvement in Iraq. "

Yeah, There were reports posted on FR of Russian military advisors still in Iraq as we were advancing on Baghdad. Reported back then as retired military leadership...now they are presented as special forces. There also has been a report about the Russians aiding with nightvision stuff.

[Domestic Church]

"They also supplied missiles, electronic
jamming equipment and night vision goggles to Iraq for use in fighting US troops."

That news surfaced many months ago on FR but wasn't widely reported by MSM.

[oceanview]

there was also some thought that these fleeing Russian diplomats had smuggled Saddam out - which was not true.

still, I have to believe that their are sat photos that show these convoys (russian or otherwise) taking stuff to Syria before the war. Al Douri is in Syria. why the US refuses to "out" Syria in this whole thing, I do not know, perhaps its because we aren't prepared to do anything about them.

[Domestic Church]

There was a convoy on route to Syria that we hit.