Posted on 04/09/2003 4:23:57 PM PDT by DannyTN
OPERATION: IRAQI FREEDOM Marines find underground nuke complex Captain guarding facility: 'How did the world miss all of this?'
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: April 9, 2003 7:00 p.m. Eastern
© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com
U.S. Marines have located an underground nuclear complex near Baghdad that apparently went unnoticed by U.N. weapons inspectors.
Hidden beneath the Iraqi Atomic Energy Commission's Al-Tuwaitha facility, 18 miles south of the capital, is a vast array of warehouses and bombproof offices that could contain the "smoking gun" sought by intelligence agencies, reported the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
"I've never seen anything like it, ever," said Marine Capt. John Seegar. "How did the world miss all of this? Why couldn't they see what was happening here?"
Marine nuclear and intelligence experts say that at least 14 buildings at Al-Tuwaitha indicate high levels of radiation and some show lethal amounts of nuclear residue, according to the Pittsburgh daily. The site was examined numerous times by U.N. weapons inspectors, who found no evidence of weapons of mass destruction.
"They went through that site multiple times, but did they go underground? I never heard anything about that," said physicist David Albright, a former International Atomic Energy Agency inspector in Iraq from 1992 to 1997.
In a 1999 report, Albright said, "Iraq developed procedures to limit access to these buildings by IAEA inspectors who had a right to inspect the fuel fabrication facility."
"On days when the inspectors were scheduled to visit, only the fuel fabrication rooms were open to them," he said in the report, written with Khidhir Hamza, an Iraqi nuclear engineer who defected in 1994. "Usually, employees were told to take their rooms so that the inspectors did not see an unusually large number of people."
Chief Warrant Officer Darrin Flick, the battalion's nuclear, biological and chemical warfare specialist, said radiation levels were particularly high at a place near the complex where local residents say the "missile water" is stored in mammoth caverns.
"It's amazing," Flick said. "I went to the off-site storage buildings, and the rad detector went off the charts. Then I opened the steel door, and there were all these drums, many, many drums, of highly radioactive material."
Iraq began to develop its nuclear program at Al-Tuwaitha in the 1970s, according to the Institute for Science and International Security. Israel destroyed a French-built reactor there in 1981 and a reactor built by the Russians was destroyed during the 1991 Gulf War.
Hamza testified before Congress last August that if left unchecked, Iraq could have had nuclear weapons by 2005.
Noting that the ground in the area is muddy and composed of clay, Hamza was surprised to learn of the Marines' discovery, the Tribune-Review said. He wondered if the Iraqis went to the colossal expense of pumping enough water to build the subterranean complex because no reasonable inspector would think anything might be built underground there.
"Nobody would expect it," Hamza said. "Nobody would think twice about going back there."
Michael Levi of the Federation of American Scientists said the Iraqis continued rebuilding the Al-Tuwaitha facility after weapons inspections ended in 1998.
"I do not believe the latest round of inspections included anything underground, so anything you find underground would be very suspicious," said Levi. "It sounds absolutely amazing."
The Pittsburgh paper said nuclear scientists, engineers and technicians, housed in a plush neighborhood near the campus, have fled, along with Baathist party loyalists.
"It's going to take some very smart people a very long time to sift through everything here," said Flick. "All this machinery. All this technology. They could do a lot of very bad things with all of this."
Marine Capt. Seegar said his unit will continue to hold the nuclear site until international authorities can take over. Last night, they monitored gun and artillery battles by U.S. Marines against Iraqi Republican Guards and Fedayeen terrorists.
The offices underground are replete with videos and pictures that indicate the complex was built largely over the last four years, the Tribune-Review said.
Among them was Bill Tierney, a member of the last U.N. weapons inspection team in Iraq. He was there in 1997 and 1998 and said Saddam probably has a small atomic bomb.
``The Iraqis still have weapons of mass destruction,'' said Tierney, who lives in the Tampa Bay area. ``They have tons of chemical weapons. I'm not sure how much biological weapons are there, but I think he has nukes that can go.''
Tierney also said he believes Saddam is close to having a missile delivery system for a nuclear warhead. He says the U.N. inspectors in Iraq four years ago found designs for missiles similar to those other countries use for nuclear warheads.
``I am solidly convinced, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Saddam Hussein has a weapons of mass destruction program,'' says Dave Suban, who also lives in the area. ``We've seen him use these weapons on his own people. Does he have a nuclear, biological and chemical program? I'm absolutely certain he does.''
Suban, however, believes Saddam's nuclear ability is limited to dirty bombs
......Tierney said he believes Saddam ``has nukes he has bought on the black market, the man-packs or `suitcase nukes.' Organized crime is very active in Russia, and Saddam is a buyer. That makes me lean toward the fact that he does have them.''
Former inspector Tierney said every chemical and biological weapon Iraq has or makes is a direct violation of the agreement that ended the Gulf War in 1991, ample reason for the United States to move against Iraq now.
``It's time to go to war,'' he said. ``It's time to solve this issue.''
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I found that through Google's cache--Tampa Tribune. If this is a hoax, it is being picked up all over. I just saw a report on FOX saying "Explosive Discovery" and showing some kind of facility with Marines in their gear--but I didn't catch where they were referencing.
Well, well, well…wonder if France is going to send its troops now, LOL.
There is such a huge violation of the UN sanctions on WMD in Iraq that we will need time to uncover this. Right now we have another job, liberating the people of Iraq and killing the dirtbags that enslaved these people. We'll get to it, when we get to it! Dear God, what has been placed on our shoulders, let's review:
1) Remove Saddam and his loyal thugs.
2) Do the ladder without civilian casulties, or damage to vital infrastructure.
3) Assure that the ports are open, and capable of recieving humanitarian aid. At the risk of our troop's lives.
4) Defeat all opposition without one single innocent life being taken.
5) Not looking like an "occupying" force, or conqeuring force, so as to assume the trust of the Iraqis.
6) Satisfy the international press and kiss their ass. Bringing them tea in the morning while our troops were in need of water.
7) Making nice with every commie newsie that ask a stupid question of General "Vince" and got his/her ass waxed by General "Vince".
8) Last, but not least, listening to the insufferable whining from the socialist, elistist ba$tards that run their mouths 24/7 about how bad freedom really is.
I've had it folks! The only way to get along in this life is to take your liberty, and your freedom, put it in your back pocket and, STAND AND DELIVER for the defense of those precious things.
We have those brave men and women to look to for consolence, and spirit. They have done a fine job, and they will never be forgotten.
In this war we fought and won, our hearts on our sleeve, our cause taken forward by the brave troops of our country. Friends and neighbors of us, brothers and sisters of us, husbands and wives of us. We gave more than what we should have, but we always do. We do it for our safety, but we do it for the world as well. We do it without thinking because we know we must.
The inhuman treatment of the tyrant and his thugs have more than proven that we had to intervene. WMD will come after we liberate the people of Iraq. We are a humble people of truth, and justice. We see oppressed people and we rise to their defense, we see a tyrant and we want to bring him to his knees before his people. We see injustice and we want to make it go away. The UN needs an emema, cause you know what they are full of.
The United States of America will always stand for peace, but it will always fight for that prospect, because we know that freedom ain't "free" . We don't let some little meglomaniac try to rule the world. We are a people that are "of the people, by the people, and for the people", we just can't ignore tyrants, it won't be tolerated.
I'm humble before God, and I'm proud of my Country tonight. We did a magnificent thing. We gave the creed of our freedom to people that were slaves to a dictator and we took away their fear. I'm proud of all of us for our sacrifice for another people, and our gift to them.
I went outside tonight to see my flag snapping in the breeze, and I thought how, half way around the world, the new freedom of the Iraqi people must feel. The stars were bright tonight, God is putting on a light show for the victory of the love He has for liberty.
Our fallen are with God tonight, and they will be with Him into eternity. God will keep them, and He will care for them. God gave us freedom and liberty, but He knows the terrible price for both.
God bless our military.
God bless it's people.
God bless our leaders.
God bless the United States of America!
I dearly love my country so.
Timy
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