Tons of explosives gone missing: whose fault

[RedEarth]

In a story headlined "Bombshell for Bush," The Independent calls news that nearly 380 tons of explosives went missing from an Iraqi weapons base after the war "a massive pre-election embarrassment for the Bush administration."

The New York Times, which first reported the story late Sunday, wrote that the Al Qaqaa weapons facility (30 miles south of Baghdad) "was supposed to be under American military control but is now a no man's land, still picked over by looters as recently as Sunday."

......


Salon quotes Joseph Cirincione, director of the Non-Proliferation Project at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, as saying: "This is thousands and thousands of potential terrorist attacks. ... It's like they knocked off the Fort Knox of explosives."

The Boston Globe quotes another expert on the significance of the Al Qaqaa site.

"This is not just any old warehouse in Iraq that happened to have explosives in it; this was a leading location for developing nuclear weapons before the first Gulf War," said Gary Milhollin, director of the Wisconsin Project, a nonprofit organization that has followed Iraq's attempts to procure weapons of mass destruction for more than a decade. "The fact that it had been left unsecured is very, very discouraging. It would be like invading the US in to order to get rid of and not securing Los Alamos or Livermore ."

http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/1026/dailyUpdate.html

[steve2470]

1. good picture of * taking a nap n/t

[RedEarth]

3. Actually, he drank too much and passed out....poor george

[bahrbearian]

5. He should stay away from Wedding Receptions and Camcorders

Dumb Little Monkey.

[RedEarth]

8. He sure should...it's my understanding, the video was taken after

george found Jesus and "quit drinking"....looks like he slipped-up.

[The_Casual_Observer]

2. "still picked over by looters as recently as Sunday"

If this weren't so tragic it would be funny. This ought to be the final nail in chimp's coffin on the way to the pet cemetery. However,
the US public is about as dumb as a lead bar, so more will be required, and knowing the chimp, more will come.

[MisterP]

10. and it appears the resistance or the terrorists haven't used any yet

that'd be quite a crater if they set it off all at once, or even a ton at a time--Lockerbie was downed by about 1 lb.

[russiamommy]

4. No way to spin this

There's no way to spin this that makes * look good. We'd known about the site for 12 years before the invasion and knew exactly what was there. It should have been secured and an inventory taken immediately. This is very bad no matter how they try to spin it. Kerry needs to keep beating this drum right through next Tuesday.

[DoYouEverWonder]

6. al Qa Qaa and Tuwaitha were probably the two most important sites

that had quantities of know weapons materials. Both had been under guard before the invasion. Bush & Rummie knew about these sites and chose to ignore them. Despite the fact that these sites were the main reason why we were invading Iraq supposedly.

[maddezmom]

7. according to the misadministration..............the looters

:eyes: Will they ever admit to just ONE f'up???

[Sara Beverley]

9. Who invaded Iraq? That's your answer. Even if Saddam moved the

explosives, he did it becuase he knew Bush was going to invade. However, I believe that the explosives were removed (looted) while everyone was focusing on "shock and awe."

[RedEarth]

11. Here are the Republican talking points on the explosives....typical

To provide guidance on what they are supposed to say about the "missing explosives in Iraq", Di Rita, a political appointee sent out these "talking points" yesterday to folks in the Pentagon.

Recent stories in the media report that the Iraqi government has notified the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that several hundred tons of explosives are missing from the former Al-Qaqaa military facility in Iraq, about 30 miles south of Baghdad. Following are talking points on the issue.
# Since Operation Iraqi Freedom began in March 2003, Coalition forces have discovered that Saddam’s regime stored weapons in countless locations, including schools, mosques and hospitals. Citizens were forced to hide weapons in their homes and neighborhoods. Many Iraqis have bravely stepped forward with information leading to more weapons.

# Weapons searches have been successful in Iraq. The Duelfer Report states that since mid-September, Coalition forces have reviewed and cleared more than 10,000 caches of weapons and destroyed more than 240,000 tons. Another 162,000 tons of munitions are awaiting destruction.

# Some weapons were stored at the Al-Qaqaa Complex. Coalition forces were present in the vicinity at various times during and after major combat operations. The forces searched 32 bunkers and 87 other buildings at the facility, but found no indicators of WMD. While some explosive material was discovered, none of it carried IAEA seals.

# Although some believe the Al-Qaqaa facility may have been looted, there is no way to verify this. Another explanation is that regime loyalists or others emptied the facility prior to Coalition forces arriving in Baghdad in April.

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2004_10_...

[sugus]

14. Simple Strategy

I think strategy is very simple. If they want to conquer lands or oil, cherokees have to fight against sioux, sunnies and shias against kurds, and all between themselves.

To fight they will need a lot of weapons.

Who is the most important manufacturer and seller of weapons in the World?

Anybody asked him? Perhaps he knows something.

[Cocoa]

12. Ashlee Simpson's band

and Clinton's penis.

[shraby]

13. On Lou Dobbs tonight

Albright said that the seals were not on each individual container of explosives, it was on the DOOR of the bunker. So if they didn't see seals on the containers, that's cause there were none.

[wrate]

15. Didn't the Apocalyptic Idiot (aka *) say he wants to create chaos? Maybe

this is his idea of making as much of a mess as he and his mafia can.

[Jim__]

16. Whose fault? One thing we know for sure - it wasn't junior's fault - n/t

[bluedog]

17. ?? for bush

don't disappoint us. No one does the blame thing better than George W. .

Was it Clinton's fault?

The CIA's?

The Democratic minority in Congress?

The American media with its collection of lazy and unquestioning journalists?

Can't wait to hear who's going to get the blame this time - since, of course you can never take responsibility for your own actions.