U.S. Marines capture huge Iraqi ammunition depot

Reuters | 3/31/03

[kattracks]

U.S. Marines capture huge Iraqi ammunition depot

AS SAYLIYA CAMP, Qatar, April 1 (Reuters) - U.S. Marines captured a huge ammunition depot in south-central Iraq that included 40 warehouses, U.S. Central Command said on Tuesday.

The facility compared in size to the ammunition dump at Camp Pendleton in southern California, which is home to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, said a Central Command statement from its war headquarters in Qatar.

The Marines, who suffered no injuries in the operation on Sunday, found "scores of ammunition, rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and various other small arms," the statement said.

It made no mention of chemical weapons, which U.S. military leaders say they have yet to find in Iraq.

The Iraq invasion was launched by the United States and Britain last month to oust Iraqi President Saddam Hussein for supposedly holding stores of chemical weapons.

Central Command said it would take several days to destroy all the captured ammunition and weapons.

03/31/03 21:33 ET

[aristeides]

Baghdad Defenses Showing Strain.

[Xthe17th]

..."scores of ammunition, rifles, ...and various other small arms,"

IMHO, we ship it all back to the USA and have a charity gun show - procedes to the Iraqi people.

[DannyTN]

Why do we destroy all the weapons?

Shouldn't we keep the more reliable and accurate ones and give them to other people who are fighting for their freedom? (like perhaps some of the Christians in African countries or Indonesia where Muslims have declared war on them)

[Happy2BMe]

I think your's is such an excellent, common-sense, down-to-earth, logical, realistic, doable, practical solution no polititian in the universe would touch it.

#:>)

[Paleo Conservative]

All your ammunition are belong to us!

[DannyTN]

"I think your's is such an excellent, common-sense, down-to-earth, logical, realistic, doable, practical solution no polititian in the universe would touch it. "

Yes, lol. One would hope that they would announce to the world that they are destroying them, even as they secure them for shipment.

[MrPeanut]

It could be left to be found. I'd stay away from any water bottles or canteens....

[John H K]

It's mostly very cheap stuff.

Not worth the hassle of transporting it. Especially when you've got more important things to do with your precious transport assets like bringing our own ammo and food up, and food and water for the Iraqis.

And some of it may be old or unstable or whatever, not safe to transport.

And if you don't destroy it, you have to waste troops guarding it that could be off killing Iraqi resistance.

Hence, it's eminently logical to destroy all of it.

[thoughtomator]

Nah, we should booby trap it. Soon as they come back for it... boom!

[MrPeanut]

If I were the Iraqis I would leave huge stores above the ground to be found. I would hide my nifty weapons right underneath.

[etcetera]

Give it to the Kurds.

[Hanging Chad]

"...that included 40 warehouses...compared in size to the ammunition dump at Camp Pendleton in southern California...found scores of ammunition, rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and various other small arms..."
- -
Scores of ammunition? That is like, what, 40 rounds?
(and in 40 warehouses, no less.)
Another fine example of Reuter's reporter's stupidity.

[ironman]

This can't be true, after all we are in an operational pause and all of our troops are starving to death and are searching the country for food to eat, not weapons.

[slag]

I think we should send it all back to them - as in "down range"

[struwwelpeter]

ship it all back to the USA and have a charity gun show

Think of all the lawsuits from this cheap junk wrecking people's guns. Besides, NORINCO wouldn't appreciate the competition. ;-)

[geedee]

Shouldn't we keep the more reliable and accurate ones and give them to other people who are fighting for their freedom? (like perhaps some of the Christians in African countries or Indonesia where Muslims have declared war on them)

Hey, how about is conservatives in the good 'ol U.S.A.?

[July 4th]

True. But you can't get this stuff at a gun show: rocket-propelled grenades, mortars

[Beck_isright]

"Why do we destroy all the weapons?"

Because then we can't create jobs here with the "oil for M-16's" program. Seriously though, it takes manpower to protect old ammo and weapons and when you are on the offensive, it's cheaper, quicker and safer to destroy it. You don't want some 8 year old kid stumbling across it either because you couldn't leave enough manpower behind to guard it. It's SOP.

V

[Paleo Conservative]

Give it to the Kurds.

Don't the Kurds mostly use weapons they have captured from Iraqis? In that case, it would be useful to send some to the Kurds. On the other hand, we probably have already brought quite a bit of ammunition to them with our C-17's.