U.S. Troops Find Missiles Near Saddam's Hometown

Reuters ^ | 9/27/03 | NA

[dvan]

TIKRIT, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S. troops said they had found surface-to-air missiles and hundreds of other weapons including plastic explosives buried in an orchard near Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s hometown on Saturday.

A U.S. military spokesman described the haul as one of the most significant weapons seizures of recent weeks and a sign of how Saddam loyalists were still equipped to pose a threat to U.S. forces.

He said 23 SA-7 surface-to-air missiles were found as well as 1,000 pounds of plastic explosives, 500 hand grenades, dozens of mortar bombs and hundreds of detonators which could be used to set off car bombs or other explosions.

Also discovered were rocket-propelled grenades similar to those used on Saturday in an attack on a Baghdad hotel housing officials of Iraq (news - web sites)'s U.S.-led administration.

"This was a significant find but is just one of the numerous weapons caches we know exist around the country," the spokesman told reporters.

He said the owner of the orchard, about 10 miles outside Tikrit, was closely linked to Saddam's ousted regime.

Troops were led to the cache by an informant. They had raided the orchard three days before but found only one weapon on that occasion, the spokesman said.

[dvan]

Just a matter of time!

[Exit148]

I hope the informant was rewarded. And I hope it was publicized (not the name, of course), so that others throughout the country will do the same.

[Exit148]

I hope the informant was rewarded. And I hope it was publicized (not the name, of course), so that others throughout the country will do the same.

[Ben Bolt]

Reuters people are always on the top of the peak reporting no knowledge as usual . Bump for the soldiers .

[Exit148]

OOPS!

[xzins]

This is Machiavellian, but I'm nearly CONVINCED that there is a strategy NOT to look in certain places where the WMDs are known to be. There will be plausible deniability.

It will become an election campaign issue.

It could well be a campaign year OCTOBER surprise!

And the Dems are walking right into it.

[Huck]

You're dreaming.

[Diverdogz]

Not a chance that we know where weapons are, but haven't 'discovered' them.

Look at it this way, if we found a huge cache of WMD, we would be proven right in our case for war, and the rest of the world would almost be forced to commit $$$ and troops to stabilize Iraq. As it is, the rest of the world is energized to obstruct and be uncooperative because our stated reason for going to war hasn't panned out.

Also, what if the 'undiscovered' weapons were unburied by Saddam Loyalists, then lobbed into and American Military compound causing hundreds of deaths. All those deaths would be on Bush's hands.

Lay that tin foil fantasy to rest- we don't have a clue what happened to the WMD, if there were any.

[Texas Eagle]

Ooops! Looks like that list of suggested hiding places Jim McDermott and David Bonior gave to Saddam may have fallen into the wrong hands.

[xzins]

Not dreaming...............scheming


Machiavellian.

[Diverdogz]

Schemes like that would be impeachment-worthy for reasons stated above.

[Humidston]

You're right... Me too.
I call it Dubya's rope-a-dope "strategery."

[xzins]

So if they find WMDs during the election cycle, then it'll just be happenstance. Right?

[Diverdogz]

If we find them then, it had better be happenstance.

[xzins]

Do you remember the pictures of the MIG being dug out of the sand?

And now SAMs dug out of the sand.

Darn....they buried EVERYTHING in the sand.

Plausible.

[Diverdogz]

We've been applying 'pressure' to everyone we've captured who might know something about WMD. If there WMD to be discovered, ONE of them would be talking by now to get a sweet deal. It just hasn't happened and I don't think it will.

[xzins]

That is one view, isn't it?

And, besides, they don't do Machiavellian things on the political stage.

Would never happen.

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

...the owner of the orchard, about 10 miles outside Tikrit, was closely linked to Saddam's ousted regime.

Hanging from a tree, his body should provide much needed scare-crow effect for the orchard.

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

Sorry, too clever by halves. The actual situation is that intel is being garthered, confidences are being gained, searches are being conducted, inventories are being taken, Sadam loyalists are bein hunted down and (mostly) killed, and in the end the country will be stabilized and GW will have a great deal of evidence that he can disclose at a time of his choosing. Now if the timing is September 2004, well, what the hey!