Posted on 11/15/2005 6:26:36 AM PST by conservativecorner
In a stunning about-face, the New York Times reported Sunday that when the U.S. attacked Iraq in March 2003, Saddam Hussein possessed "stockpiles of monitored chemicals and materials," as well as sophisticated equipment to manufacture nuclear and biological weapons, which was removed to "a neighboring state" before the U.S. could secure the weapons sites.
The U.N.'s Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission [UNMOVIC] "has filed regular reports to the Security Council since last May," the paper said, "about the dismantlement of important weapons installations and the export of dangerous materials to foreign states."
Story Continues Below
"Officials of the commission and the [International] Atomic Energy Agency have repeatedly called on the Iraqi government to report on what it knows of the fate of the thousands of pieces of monitored equipment and stockpiles of monitored chemicals and materials." Last fall, IAEA director Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei confirmed that "nuclear-related materials" had gone missing from monitored sites, calling on Iraqi officials to start the process of accounting for the missing stockpiles still ostensibly under the agency's supervision.
Quoting Sami al-Araji, Iraq's deputy minister of industry since the 1980s, the Times said:
"It appeared that a highly organized operation had pinpointed specific plants in search of valuable equipment, some of which could be used for both military and civilian applications, and carted the machinery away."
Calling the operation "sophisticated," Dr. Araji said the removal effort featured "cranes and the lorries, and they depleted the whole sites," adding, "They knew what they were doing."
The top Iraqi defense official said equipment capable of making parts for missiles as well as chemical, biological and nuclear arms was missing from 8 or 10 sites that were the heart of Iraq's WMD program.
Dr. Araji said that if the equipment had left the country, its most likely destination was a neighboring state.
The United Nations, worried that the nuclear material and equipment could be used in clandestine bomb production, has been hunting for it throughout the Middle East, largely unsuccessfully, the Times said.
BTW...if you like that Times article, then you will positively go ballistic over this one.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/924587/posts
While the admission of the existence of WMD in Iraq and thus validating the primary stated purpose of the invasion makes some here giddy, doesn't it bother anyone that since the WMD materials were safely transfered to another country and thus still making it available to terrorists, our primary mission was a failure?
These facts mean nothing in the Twin Cities. The lefties in Ninnieapolis (along with Madistan, Sad Freaksicko, and other leftist enclaves in denial) will continue their rant chants of "No WMD's! Bush Lied People Died! HATEBUSHHATEBUSH......"
It has become.....a CASE CLOSED, FACT!!
Newsmax is being misleading. "Stockpiles of monitored chemicals and materials" is not the same thing as "WMD stockpiles".
And note the number of times that were before 20 January 2001 as well! (GWB's inauguration).
you can search using the word: UNMOVIC,
Looks like it might be covered in:
THE CONFLICT IN IRAQ: THE LOOTING; Looting at Weapons Plants Was Systematic, Iraqi Says...
have fun
Somebody at the NYT got confused between "strike" and "print".
They sure didn't mean for this to get out.
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