[Smedley]

Instead, the Marines apparently broke U.N. seals designed to ensure materials aren't diverted for weapons use or end up in the wrong hands.

Amazing. Placing a U.N. seal on this stuff was enough?

[ez]

The Combat Engineers said looters or Iraqi officials broke seals placed on uranium stores at the Yellowcake site by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Broke seals at 14 different buildings? Broke seals at the site of huge underground caverns of "heavy water?" I don't think so.

We were told that Saddam was missing one thing from being able to create a nuke...fissionable material. It does not inspire confidence to learn that that the UN "sealed" radioactive nuclear material right in Iraq and knew about it all along.

[MightyMouseToSaveThe Day]

Apparently the UN thought that placing a seal was enough and are irritated that the Marines disregarded the seal (which i find hard to believe). But notice a few sentences down from that in the original article where it says that looters and/or Iraqi officials broke other seals! I guess they didn't know either the seals were supposed to thwart diversion to the wrong hands. haha

[browardchad]

From IAEA.org:

11, Friday: IAEA Concerned About Security of Nuclear Material in Iraq. US authorities have assured the IAEA that stored nuclear material at Iraq's Al Tuwaitha site is properly protected and secured. The assurances came in response to a letter from IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei in which he underlined the need to ensure the security, safety, and protection against proliferation of all the nuclear material there, which has been under IAEA seal since 1991. The Al Tuwaitha research center has been a focal point of IAEA weapons inspections in Iraq under Security Council mandate.

You really have to laugh -- "seals" were supposed to keep this material safe in Iraq? And if the seals were broken, or material was missing, what would the IAEA do? Stamp their feet and ask for more time?

The other day, ElBaradei was insisting that the IAEA had to inspect any nuclear material found in Iraq -- I guess the high radiation levels (not to mention flying bullets and the absence of his pal Saddam's protection) have made him change his tune.

[JasonC]

It isn't even true, it is just a Ritterist guess without being there. If you read a little farther on, the Marines say the seals were broken when they got there, either by Saddam's people before leaving or by looters.