Russia Denies Involvement in Iraq Weapons

[RedEarth]

MOSCOW -- Russia angrily denied allegations Thursday that Russian forces had smuggled a cache of high explosives out of Iraq prior to the U.S. invasion in March 2003.

Defense Ministry spokesman Vyacheslav Sedov dismissed the allegations as "absurd" and "ridiculous."

"I can state officially that the Russian Defense Ministry and its structures couldn't have been involved in the disappearance of the explosives, because all Russian military experts left Iraq when the international sanctions were introduced during the 1991 Gulf War," he told The Associated Press.

The denial followed a story in The Washington Times on Thursday that quoted a high-ranking U.S. defense official alleging that Russian special forces had "almost certainly" helped spirit out the hundreds of tons of high explosives that went missing from the al-Qaqaa base. The newspaper based its report on an interview with John Shaw, the deputy U.S. undersecretary of defense for international technology security.

Two weeks ago, Iraqi officials told the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency that 377 tons of explosives had vanished as a result of "theft and looting ... due to lack of security." The compounds, HMX and RDX, are key components in plastic explosives, which insurgents in Iraq have used in bomb attacks.

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-russia-iraq-weapons,0,995083.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines

[NNN0LHI]

1. Does this mean Putin doesn't endorse Chimpy for president any more? n/t

[Javaman]

4. You mean Vladmerrrr, right? ;)

[russian33]

6. No, it means there's a new excuse for missing weapons coming

[maddezmom]

2. another backfire for rove and his minions

[wishlist]

3. Media needs to say "High ranking Bush Administration official"

It bugs me how they keeping citing officials merely as Pentagon or Defense Dept officials as if these people are objective sources, when in fact they are Bush political appointees who pushed for and are defending the Bush agenda.

[maddezmom]

5. John Shaw, a deputy under-secretary of defence

they need to say his freaking name, it's in the FT article.

[AlCzervik]

7. i wonder if Bill Gertz for the moonie times

has a place to hide.

[Cha]

14. Didn't they think far enough ahead

to realize the Russians would come out and state emphatically that it was a BIG TIME LIE?

[AlCzervik]

16. he better ask cheney if he can use one of his

undisclosed locations. I bet the unmaed defense official the he quotes is Douglas feith.

[skypilot]

18. That was my first thought.

They might as well have claimed that France stole them.

[Cha]

22. They would have better off...

with their ugly base.

[Fovea]

8. Ok, this must stop!

Rove can't be allowed to Cheney up our relationship with the Russians.
It is just too important to let these goons in DC screw up.

[Ganja Ninja]

11. They really don't care.

Desperate times call for desperate lies. This group is starting to circle the wagons. It's really laughable.

I agree though, these guys are flailing wildly and don't care who they injure in the process.

[Cha]

15. It's funny as

shit! If it weren't so tragic!

[GrassyNoel]

9. Moonies

Why does the Washington Times even bother? I'd rather read the nutrician label off of box of Twinkies.

[Bandit]

10. Did we say Russians we meant to say Iranians

Iran has been meddling and we need to bomb immediately no later than this week end. If we wait even til next Tuesday you may see a mushroom cloud in your town. :crazy: The threat is imminent and we need to safe guard their oil supplies immediately.

[rocktivity]

12. I don't give a rat's ass WHO took them

I give a rat's ass that they were there when Bush invaded, and that if they'd been properly secured, they WOULDN'T have been taken!

:headbang:
rocknation

[Cha]

17. I just saw where guilani

was BLAMING THE TROOPS! Finally that ASSHOLE shows his true Jerkness to the World!

These neo fascists will go down in History as the anti Truman..the greatest passers of Bucks of all time!

[mourningdove92]

13. "Russia Angrily Denied The Allegations"

Way to go, Smirk. Piss off the Russians. Trying to start a new cold war?

[skypilot]

19. Start a new cold war.

That's probably it. The Cold War looks like the good ol' days right about now. Maybe they think they can turn back the clock with this ploy.

[freebird04]

20. Do you beleive the Russians

If the Russians HAD helped Saddam, do you think they'd admit it?

I'm not saying they did or didn't, just that, if they did, they wouldn't be dumb enough to admit it so their statement does not shed any light an the situation IMO.

[skypilot]

21. If the Russians had done it...

...they wouldn't have to admit it. Russians taking explosives out of Iraq and moving them to Syria? That's alot of movement. There's no way we would have missed that.

[Career Prole]

23. Nah...these are the same guys who accused Sandy Berger of hauling

half the National Archives in his underwear. They'll just say "Imagine what you could fit in a platoon of these pantaloons!"

[pinniped]

24. Next these monkeys are going to blame the French...

for making them disappear.

[beniciodeltoro]

25. The Russians did it! No...OK - Iran, Iran did it, for sure!

Why involve Russia?
This is too silly.