U.S truck carrying radioactive material caught in Kuwait [Al Jazeera]

[Sparky McGruff]

U.S truck carrying radioactive material caught in Kuwait

6/15/2004 11:00:00 PM GMT

Kuwait refused to allow a radioactive material-bound truck to enter the country as demanded by the US army, Kuwait Times reported Sunday.

Kuwaiti customs department on Thursday impounded four trucks on route to Iraq for suspicion that they were loaded with radioactive material.

Customs officials refused to open the truck, and insisted that it should not move before American military personnel and Kuwaiti security officers arrive at the scene.

http://www.aljazeera.com/cgi-bin/news_service/middle_east_full_story.asp?service_id=2230

Note: I didn't see this up yet, although it was posted a couple of hours ago. Although the source is possibly questionable (Al Jazeera is reporting secondhand via a UAE news agency), it's worth keeping track of. There's a photo of a nuclear storage container accompanying this link. Are these the "weapons of mass destruction" we are supposed to find?

[fearnobush]

1. Just in the nick of time? We found them!!! well, not really.

[FlashHarry]

2. Why heading for Kuwait, though?

[Sparky McGruff]

5. Running through Kuwait

The article (and other related stories on middle eastern sites) suggests that the US was trying to bring it into Iraq via Kuwait. It's not as clear in the Al Jazeera story as in the similar stories on other (more questionable) sites.

Quote from the Tehran Times.

TEHRAN (MNA) -– The UAE-based daily Al-Khaleej reported on Monday that Kuwaiti tariff officials have intercepted a truck loaded with radioactive materials in the Iraq-Kuwait border.

The daily quoted informed sources as saying that the radioactive control team from Kuwait’s Health Ministry discovered that one of the trucks belonging to the U.S.-led coalition forces was carrying heavy radioactive materials trucks. The trucks were headed for Iraq.

[muriel_volestrangler]

10. Original Kuwait Times article here

which clearly says the material was going from Iraq into Kuwait. The archives (one week) are in PDF form of the printed paper - select '1' to get page 1, where the article was.
http://www.kuwaittimes.net/archive_en/sun/

Truck carrying radioactive material sent back

KUWAIT: Informed sources said the customs department released three out of four trucks it had impounded since Thursday after suspicion they were carrying radioactive material from Iraq to Kuwait for the US Army. The trucks were driven by four Indians. Sources said it was found that three trucks did not contain any radioactive matter, while the fourth was found to be carrying a container of highly radioactive substance. Customs officials refused to open the truck, and insisted that it not move before American military personnel and Kuwaiti security officers arrive at the scene. Sources said the American Army warned against opening the container and asked that it be allowed proceed, but the officers refused. The sources said that is was then agreed to send the truck out of Kuwait to where it came from despite the US army's objections.

Note that radioactive material is trying to cross the Iraq border into Jordan too - this report does not say who's transporting it.

Ban on scrap from Iraq recommended amid concern over radioactivity

"“About 10 to 15 trucks carrying scrap from Iraq enter Jordan daily and many others are turned back because the load they carry contains pieces of military equipment or traces of radioactivity,” the official said in a telephone interview.

Al Arab Al Yawm newspaper reported Sunday that border officials turned back 50 trucks carrying scrap from Iraq after military and other experts tested them for radioactivity.

The border official, who declined to be named, could not confirm that 50 trucks were turned back but told AFP “any truck that shows a security violation is sent back. Everyday many trucks go back.”

Al Rai daily reported on May 28 that customs officials stopped scrap trucks from Iraq after one of them was tested positive for “enriched uranium.”"

http://www.jordantimes.com/Mon/homenews/homenews7.htm

[Dover]

6. .....think about it.

Ahhh too bad Dubya had his special October surprise ruined.

[Ilsa]

3. Here are two other links posted on DU about this yesterday:

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-06/13/content_1523130.htm

http://www.tehrantimes.com/Description.asp?Da=6/15/2004&Cat=4&Num=020

Glad it made Aljazeera. Maybe someone will call them on this shit now.

[Dover]

7. Still hasn't made into the U.S. media.....not holding my breath either.

eom

[DoNotRefill]

4. is it just me, or does the photo look photoshopped?

look at the padlock...

[Dover]

8. Here's the DU thread on this from yesterday too

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=622438

[Gman]

9. Some freeper posted a comment

"since when has radioactive material only been used in wmd's. there are millions of things in our everyday lifes that use radioactive materials. how about you people get all the facts straight before you rush to conclusions. if this had actually been wmd's i think it would be on the cover of millions of news articles across the world, rather then a second rate article in a second rate website.
IP Address: 209.114.252.42 Aaron from USA"

Well, duh... how about Hiroshima? Then there was Nagasaki. And don't forget it was the US that used nuclear material in a WMD, right, wrong or indifferent.