Missing pre-war explosives stockpile may total 250,000 tons

[RebelYell]

The Associated Press
Updated: 2:56 p.m. ET Oct. 31, 2004

VIENNA, Austria - From the deserts of the south and west to the outskirts of Baghdad, Iraq is awash in weapons sites — some large, others small; some guarded, others not. Even after the U.S. military secured some 400,000 tons of munitions, as many as 250,000 tons remain unaccounted for.

Attention has focused on the al-Qaqaa site south of Baghdad, where 377 tons of explosives are believed to have gone missing — becoming a heated issue in the final days of the U.S. presidential campaign.

But with the names of other sites popping up everywhere — al-Mahaweel, Baqouba, Ukhaider, Qaim — experts say the al-Qaqaa stash is only a tiny fraction of what’s buried in the sands of Iraq.

“There is something truly absurd about focusing on 377 tons,” said Anthony Cordesman, a defense analyst and Iraq expert with the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. He contends Iraq’s prewar stockpiles “were probably in excess of 650,000 tons.”

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http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6376212/

[porphyrian]

1. Well, no wonder it got lost so easily...

I mean, it's only a giant fucking warehouse worth...

[bemildred]

2. No shit.

It's been being reported since well before "mission accomplished".
So now the media whores happen to notice between eatiing their donuts?

[charlie]

3. *swoon*

A quarter million tons.

Causing massive price deflation in the arms black market is gonna be Dubya's most lasting legacy. Apart from all that shit being used to kill soldiers and noncombatants for years to come, that is.

[nookiemonster]

4. Spin this you worthless media whores!

n/t

[RebelYell]

5. Kick

[chiffon]

6. This is a major issue...n/t

[drunkdriver-in-chief]

7. Wasn't the hiroshima nuke equivalent to 40,000 tons TNT?

If dems were smart , they'd say bush has lost the equivalent of 6 hiroshima nuclear weapons - prolly to terrorists.

[RebelYell]

8. Bush didn't lose it

He GAVE it to them