Posted on 10/28/2004 4:36:02 PM PDT by Cavalier79
Oct. 28, 2004 — The strongest evidence to date indicates that conventional explosives missing from Iraq's Al-Qaqaa installation disappeared after the United States had taken control of Iraq.
Barrels inside the Al-Qaqaa facility appear on videotape shot by ABC television affiliate KSTP of St. Paul, Minn., which had a crew embedded with the 101st Airborne Division when it passed through Al-Qaqaa on April 18, 2003 — nine days after Baghdad fell.
Discrepancy Found in Explosives Amounts
Alleged American Al Qaeda Warns of U.S. Attacks Video Suggests Explosives Disappeared After U.S. Took Control Person of the Week: Complete Coverage Experts who have studied the images say the barrels on the tape contain the high explosive HMX, and the U.N. markings on the barrels are clear.
"I talked to a former inspector who's a colleague of mine, and he confirmed that, indeed, these pictures look just like what he remembers seeing inside those bunkers," said David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security in Washington.
The barrels were found inside sealed bunkers, which American soldiers are seen on the videotape cutting through. Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency sealed the bunkers where the explosives were kept just before the war began.
"The seal's critical," Albright said. "The fact that there's a photo of what looks like an IAEA seal means that what's behind those doors is HMX. They only sealed bunkers that had HMX in them."
After the bunkers were opened, the 101st was not ordered to secure the facility. A senior officer told ABC News the division would not have had nearly enough soldiers to do so.
It remains unclear how much HMX was at the facility, but what does seem clear is that the U.S. military opened the bunkers at Al-Qaqaa and left them unguarded. Since then, the material has disappeared.
ABC News' Martha Raddatz filed this report for World News Tonight
I completely agree.. It was a devastating piece.. until disputed. I'm wondering now which side started this chess war?
One little problem I just found and highlighted on another thread.
The 101st did not pass through Al Qaqaa on April 18. They were there on April 10, one day after Baghdad fell.
This is some other place and ABC must be "mistaken" when they say it was taped at Al Qaqaa. (I'd say they lied, but I don't want to jump to conclusions)
The problem is that enough people already dislike Bush or have wavering opinions. Propaganda like this only cements a negative aura that the media hammers away on everyday. I really hope Rove comes back swinging, no holds barred. That's the only way you can deal with these turds. We all know their game doesn't hold water, but there are a lot of gullible people out there.
From 1990 to 2001, Albright was a member of the Health Advisory Panel appointed by Colorado Governor Roy Romer. (Not surprisinly, Romer was a former chairman of the DNC.)
In 1996(during the Clinton administration), Albright was appointed to the Department of Energy Openness Advisory Panel, which operates under the auspices of the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board.
We had better realize that we are engaged in the Second Civil War.
The MSM (or as I prefer to call them, the DSM - downstream media) have declared war on us. They have subordinated their constitutional power of the free press to the service of a political party. There are no lines drawn; they will say anything in favor of their candidate and spike any story that supports Bush.
Recognize that and all their drivel makes sense. Recognize that and fight against it!
I read someplace that the seal on the bunker doors are one thing but that the inspectors did not check inside. That there were some type of 'slats' for air flow and that these were easily removed and someone could easily get inside that way and replace them.
Yes.
The problem is ABC reporting wrong information.
The 101st was not at Al Qaqaa on April 18, ergo, there is an attempt here to distort the facts.
This was posted on Lucianne.com by a poster who heard the photographer on the radio this morning:
"This ABC story is very misleading. The photographer who shot the video was on a local radio station this morning and he made no such claims. In fact he had the tape sent to some weapons experts to try and verify that what was on his videotape was the stuff that has been in the press.
He also wasn't even sure he was at Al-Qaqaa, he stated that the reporter that he was with was constantly taking GPS readings and that he was also trying to find the GPS coordinates of Al-Qaqaa to match the coordinates that he and the reporter were recording.
He was very adamant that he did not know what he saw or for that matter exactly where he was and he was waiting for more information before he would be confident that the stuff he saw was indeed the controversial explosives."
http://www.kstp.com/article/stories/S3740.html?cat=1
The reporter is not even sure it was Al-QaQaa, and the date cited is April 18 - one week AFTER the time frame that has been discussed when the 101st was there (April 11)and two weeks after the 3rdID was there (April 4).
The time frame and the location then are suspect, as the IAEA has not claimed that HMX was missing from any other location, and it appears the photographer was not even sure where he was.
Debbie
Hey your posts are doubling --- BTW so are mine. Must be a malfunction somewhere.
You're wrong about the Bush team. The Bush team has been saying there's an ongoing investigation and all the facts are not known.
The orange sticker is a fire symbol that indicates mass detonating explosive (1.1 D). The "D" marking indicates the compatibility group for the explosive.
Soldiers who took a 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS crew into
bunkers on April 18 said some of the boxes
uncovered contained proximity fuses. (Photos 5 Eyewitness News) http://www.kstp.com/article/stories/S3723.html?cat=1
It won't. It has no traction because no one understands it. There's no quick emotional response available and too much conflicting information. This is a dud but the MSM will continue attempting to shuffle coals under it, working for a flame...
no political motivation there.
I heard kerry in a clip refer to Cheney as the CEO of Haliburton.
Memo to kerry: you're an imbecil.
I'd be surprised if this story could even change three votes nationwide. It's too technical, nuanced, and boring. No sex, no movie stars, and no Oprah. It's a dud.
Those idiots over at DU leap at illogical conclusions just like Kerry does.
Johnson approved every strike in Viet Nam the night before!
YES YES YES!!! It was even stated on the IAEA report. THEY DID NOT CHECK INSIDE THE BUNKERS, ONLY THE SEALS ON THE OUTSIDE WERE CHECKED. SOMEONE STILL COULD HAVE GOTTEN INSIDE THE BUNKERS WITHOUT BREAKING THE SEALS. SO IAEA HAD NO IDEA WHETHER THE HMX WAS STILL ACTUALLY INSIDE. ABC IS NOT REPORTING THE WHOLE TRUTH. RAT BASTARDS!! WHY ARE THEY ALLOWED TO GET AWAY WITH THIS!!!!
Here it is:
ABC said the inspection report noted that the seals at Al-Qaqaa may have been useless because the storage bunkers had ventilation slats on the sides that could have been removed to give looters access to the explosives.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1260318/posts
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