Paper Trail Shows Syria as Iraq's Main Weapons Link

LA Times ^ | Dec. 29, 2003 | Bob Drogin and Jeffrey Fleishman

[Keith in Iowa]

>>How hard is it to post the whole article?

We are not allowed to post full LA Slimes articles for leal reasons.

From the FreeRepublic Front page...

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[NormsRevenge]

The San Jose Mercury News started doing that a few months ago as well.

They used to put together some occasionally decent articles/exposes as well, even if they were occasionally more than a wee bit biased most of the time.

It's the LA Times and Merc's loss, imo.

[FairOpinion]

Debka had an article about Saddam's WMD having been moved to Syria.

http://www.debka.com/article.php?aid=482

May 4, 2003, 12:21 AM (GMT+02:00)

Syria is reported by DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s intelligence sources as having secretly disposed of Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction by moving them into eastern Lebanon for burial in the Beqaa Valley. Iraq’s biological weapons may be there too. They were interred deep under the heroin poppy and cotton fields in two of the most fertile regions of Lebanon: the valley stretching between Jabal Akroum, the town of al Qbayyat and the Syrian border, and the land lying between the towns of Al Hirmil and al Labwah between the Orontes River and the Syrian frontier.

On February 14, about a month before the start of the war in Iraq, DEBKA-Net-Weekly Issue 97 ran an article captioned “Is Iraq’s WMD cache in Lebanon available to Al Qaeda?” To subscribe to DNW click HERE

Now, our intelligence sources can disclose exclusively that the relocation of Iraq’s WMD systems took place between January 10 and March 10 and was completed just 10 days before the US-led offensive was launched against Iraq. The banned arsenal, hauled in giant tankers from Iraq to Syria and from there to the Bekaa Valley under Syrian special forces and military intelligence escort, was discharged into pits 6-8 meters across and 25-35 meters deep dug by Syrian army engineers. They were sealed and planted over with new seedlings. Nonetheless, their location is known and detectable with the right instruments. Our sources have learned that Syria was paid about $35 million to make Saddam Hussein’s forbidden weapons disappear.

Before US secretary of state Colin Powell arrived in Damascus on Saturday, May 3, the Syrians made the placatory gesture to Washington of speeding and upgrading the handover of Iraqi fugitives from the Saddam regime sheltering in Syria

[sarasmom]

The LA Times finally got access to the "miles and miles" of documents Brenmer talked about?
Oh thats right, a new report from the coalition weapons inspectors is due out soon ...

[Michael Barnes]

If the odd UN commercial I saw the other night is any indication, they are more likely to sanction the US. The commercial accused the US of being a major purchaser of slaves... 20,000 in the last year. I'm still wondering if it was flu induced dementia.

Where did you see this commercial?

[rwfromkansas]

bump...from the LA Times no less.

But, exclusives like this get the journalist heart all jumpy, and the political meaning of the report tends not to matter.

[nutmeg]

ping!

Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my infrequent ‘miscellaneous’ ping list.

[Charles H. (The_r0nin)]

The commercial accused the US of being a major purchaser of slaves... 20,000 in the last year.

Actually, it might be true. Several Christian groups have been raising money to buy slaves in the Sudan and other African countries. Once the slaves are bought, they are freed (which is the whole purpose of the effort). There is a lot of debate among the folks involved in the programs and others as to whether or not the programs are simply increasing the incentive to capture other tribesmen to make slaves, or whether they are actually helping the people there.

Of course, trust the scummy UN to distort the facts and purpose of the sales. I wonder how much negative attention they've paid to the slavetraders and backwater African countries that still sell slaves...?

[XHogPilot]

The LA Times gives an absolutely mindboggling amount of details and specifics.

Any chance of a username & password? For some reason I am unable to register...

[FairOpinion]

You need to have cookies enabled.

There used to be a FR password, ID & Password "annoying" but it no longer works.

[SevenDaysInMay]

We're in Iraq for a real war. We're in the Med. Sea in strength. Syria is next, unless N.K. pulls up suicidal, but Syria is in our sights.

The Middle East club will beg the UN to protect and coverup their corrupt gravy train.

Miss Popularity Hillary would be a disaster in this perpetual Terror War and against our Constitutional Republic.

[TheDon]

"I'm shocked, shocked I tell you."

No doubt the gov't knows a great deal more than is being released to the public. I expect this is groundwork to begin pressuring Syria to do a Libya, or get Iraqed.

[Grampa Dave]

Is A$$ad dumber that Krazy Kaddaffi?

[BraveMan]

Welcome to FreeRepublic.

[Dont Mention the War]

How hard is it to post the whole article?

Go ahead. Try it yourself. We'll wait.

[Bobby777]

I've been saying since March or so that the Kornet anti-tank missiles probably entered Iraq from Syria ... Syria purchased something like 1000 Kornets in 1997 or so ...

for those who don't recall, the Kornet can stop an M1A1 if it attacks the vehicle from the rear ... this is how we lost a couple tanks overthrowing Saddam ... it's the same tactic T-72/80 Iraqi tank commanders (only a couple of them) used to attack M1A1's in 1991 ... turn off the tank and let it cool and wait for the M1A1 to go by ... then shoot in the rear ...

at one time, there were claims that Iran sent a 747 to Syria 3 times per month loaded with weapons ... I have not seen an article confirming it though ...

[Eva]

Sorry, I refuse to register for the LA Times, all the darned pop-ups that they use crashed my computer the last few times that I went there.

[highlander_UW]

No doubt we can trust the UN to make an example of Syria, for violating the "Stringent Embargo" on Iraq, and in turn, impose similar sanctions on Syria.

Kofi Annan will set things right.

No doubt Kofi will place Syria in charge of the committee to investigate arms improprieties.

[Jumper]

In the 1980's South Korea sold arms to both Iran and Iraq during their dirtly little war; all of this equipment was manufactured by circumventing "Third Country Sales" agreements. The pipeline was shut down enmass when Iraq was to receive two ship loads of "ambulances" painted with the International Red Cross, but in actuality they were 155 mm artillery round haulers - at this point the South Korean government stepped in officially and decided to jeapordize fruther their solid relationship with the US both militarily, economically and politically. South Korea had provided uniforms, cannons, shells, vehicles, etc.