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Half a Billion in Gold found in Iraqi Truck
Reuters | May 23rd, 2003 | Reuters

Posted on 05/23/2003 8:32:28 AM PDT by 12B

17:15 23May2003 RTRS-UPDATE 1-US seizes what may be $500 million in gold in Iraq

(Add details, background) WASHINGTON, May 23 (Reuters) - American troops have seized what appears to be $500 million worth of gold bars from a truck in Iraq, the U.S. military said on Friday. The 2,000 40-pound (18 kg) bars were seized on Thursday at Qaim on the Syrian border in western Iraq by soldiers of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, the U.S. military's Central Command said in a statement. It said the bars could be gold and worth as much as $500 million, depending on karat weight and purity. The Central Command, which headed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq to depose President Saddam Hussein, said soldiers found the bars while conducting "a routine traffic control search" of a Mercedes truck near the border. Two occupants of the truck, who were taken into custody, told the soldiers they had been told the bars were bronze, according to the command statement. The two also told soldiers they had been paid 350,000 Iraqi dinars (about $350) to pick up the truck in Baghdad and drive it to Qaim and turn it over to an individual. U.S. troops last month found an estimated $600 million in U.S. cash in boxes near Baghdad palace complexes. This month, U.S. officials said Saddam's son Qusay took about a billion dollars in currency from the central bank in Baghdad just before the Iraq war, but that most had been recovered. ((Reporting by Charles Aldinger and Will Dunham, editing by Stuart Doughty; Reuters Messaging: steve.holland.reuters.com@reuters.net; +1 202-898-8300, fax +1 202-898-8383)) For Related News, Double Click on one of these codes: [G] [UKI] [EMK] [C] [MTL] [GRO] [SOF] [RNP] [DNP] [PGE] [GOL] [US] [NEWS] [WASH] [IQ] [MEAST] [CRU] [PROD] [SY] [MET] [LEN] [RTRS] Friday, 23 May 2003 17:15:51 RTRS [nN233960] {EN} ENDS


TOPICS: Breaking News; Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: booty; gold; goldbars; iraq
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No no no.... Not gold BARS...


41 posted on 05/23/2003 10:02:40 AM PDT by adam_az
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To: Teacher317
errr... for some reason, I thought that was 1.5 billion... cut that number in third, please!
42 posted on 05/23/2003 10:03:11 AM PDT by Teacher317
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To: 12B
Damn, Delta finally found my lost luggage! ;-)
43 posted on 05/23/2003 10:04:43 AM PDT by Scenic Sounds
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To: Consort
So funny!
44 posted on 05/23/2003 10:06:28 AM PDT by ClancyJ
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To: Grampa Dave
If true, this will help to refinance the rebuilding of Iraq...

Mario Cuomo will have to go back to Hannity and say, once again, "I was wrong". These carping democrats should be made to pay a fine everytime they're caught badmouthing without the facts.

45 posted on 05/23/2003 10:18:14 AM PDT by swheats
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To: 12B
Hmmm.. this wouldn't happent o be part of Saddam's raid of Iraq's wealth before lighting off for Syria now, would it?
How much anyone wanna bet that Sadman is in Syria?
46 posted on 05/23/2003 10:32:49 AM PDT by Darksheare (Nox aeternus en pax.)
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To: 12B

Me thinks that Sadam is in Syria!


47 posted on 05/23/2003 10:37:52 AM PDT by OutSpot
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To: swheats
We need to send stuff like this to Sean. He loves to remind the rat losers of what they said on the radio and on his tv show.

I'm working on a short and pithy email to send to these lunatic libs when they come out with a new lie.

It will go something like this, "Jayson Blair must be in charge of your thinkless tanks when you come out with garbage like this!"
48 posted on 05/23/2003 10:38:15 AM PDT by Grampa Dave (Time to visit this website and join up: http://www.georgewbush.com/)
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To: Grampa Dave
BUMP
49 posted on 05/23/2003 10:41:26 AM PDT by Publius6961 (Californians are as dumm as a sack of rocks)
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To: savedbygrace
Is this part of the tax cut for the rich? ;^)
50 posted on 05/23/2003 11:07:52 AM PDT by RetiredArmy (We'll put a boot in your ass, it's the American Way! Toby Keith)
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To: OutSpot
actually, that is the key point here. if we really control the country, who the h*ll is giving orders to load trucks and move 500 million in gold across the border to Syria. this is another one of these "fishy" stories coming out of iraq.
51 posted on 05/23/2003 12:08:20 PM PDT by oceanview
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To: 12B
...and I saw a little bit of a debate on TV last night where there was a military man, a conservative young man, some liberals, some conservatives.... all debating whether US should have attacked Iraq or not. One of the liberals, of course, blamed all the problems in the Middle East on Poverty! They aren't poor over there, they just have dictatorships, regimes, and royal families who keep all the money for themselves, rob the country blind, steal, pilfer, enrich themselves, all while the people in the countries are starving. Somehow they manage to deflect all the blame on the US and UK.
52 posted on 05/23/2003 1:28:25 PM PDT by buffyt (Can you say President Hillary, Mistress of Darkness? Me Neither!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
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To: RadiationRomeo
About 40,000 pounds is what I consider a typical load for an 18 wheeler.

Long ago I moved as much as 89,000 with a semi.A little slow on the starts and stops but nothing unmanagable.

53 posted on 05/23/2003 1:41:37 PM PDT by Free Trapper
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To: Free Trapper
A 40 or 45,000 pound load of copper plate or rod and the trailer looks nearly empty.

It would be more empty looking with gold but what a thrill to haul home.:O)

54 posted on 05/23/2003 1:54:06 PM PDT by Free Trapper
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To: jjm2111
Never seen it.

Your obviously not a Clint Eastwood fan. If you are, you need to go rent it.

55 posted on 05/23/2003 3:01:19 PM PDT by Magnum44 (Duty, Honor, Country)
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To: 12B
Obviously Ted Kennedy or a relative wasn't driving it or it would have crashed on a bridge over the Euphrates.
56 posted on 05/23/2003 4:46:51 PM PDT by Beck_isright (When Senator Byrd landed on an aircraft carrier, the blacks were forced below shoveling coal...)
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To: Allan
Bump
57 posted on 05/23/2003 5:00:04 PM PDT by Allan
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To: 12B
I was wondering where my gold went. I'm so glad they found it. Now I'd like it back, the sooner the better...
58 posted on 05/23/2003 5:30:23 PM PDT by scott7278 (Four more years! Four more years!)
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To: ChadGore
What a good idea -- since it's already budgeted, it won't "cost" anything to give it back to us (using their reasoning).

Then they can go ahead and cut their spending for our other tax cut, too. Might as well feed one bird two worms.
59 posted on 05/23/2003 5:34:38 PM PDT by scott7278 (Four more years! Four more years!)
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To: Magnum44
More like a botched Arab version of "Kelley's Heroes". (A much better movie BTW)

There you go with them negative vibes!

(BTW, I agree--KH was much better than Three Kings).

60 posted on 05/23/2003 7:43:57 PM PDT by randog (It's always darkest before the dawn--a good time to steal the neighbor's newspaper.)
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