The question is EASY to answer ...

[lanparty]

Yes, the press conference was a bunch of hot air. The 380 tons only applied to the HMX and RMX material. This guy says he took out plastic explosives, detonating cord, TNT, and Phosophorous. He filed his report and it was CLASSIFIED!!!!

The facility was NOT being guarded while he was carrying out his operation. He did not encounter ANY IAEA seals at all broken or unbroken. From what I gathered MAjor Pearson cannot even identify HMX and RDX.

What is AMAZING about the report is seeing the scope and size of the Al-Qaqa facility!!!! It's probably as big as a large university campus!!! And there were likely THOUSANDS of tons of various materials stored there. So they can get away with saying they pulled out materials and destroyed them.

And BTW, Major Peason said he used the SOME of the plastic explosives from Al-Qaqa to destroy ordinace from OTHER sites!!!! He said the rest was presumably destroyed in a fire!!!!

The "special assistant" to Rumsferato talked a nice game about "not knowing" and "ongoing investigation". The matter is simple. There are classified reports that will ID what came out of Al-Aqa. All the Pentagon has to do is check those reports and hopefully declassify them!!!!

This story is STILL alive. I was VERY pleased to see the reporters at the press conference grew a spine. They pointed out that Maj Pearson didn't address the RDX and RMX that was the source of the concern!!!! And the MSNBC commentators ALSO saw right through this smoke and mirrors operation.

The verdict is still clear. The troops were NOT concerned about the site because the civilian Pentagon leadership DID NOT make securing those weapons caches a priority!!!!

[Hello_Kitty]

1. Press conference was a total bust

That's how they're reporting it.

[elehhhhna]

2. Those "known unkowns" again. drat.

[aden_nak]

3. The past few years have made the Bush Administration soft and weak.

They are so used to the press rolling over on command that they don't prepare like they should. When you are going to lie on national television about 380 tons of dangerous explosives falling into the hands of people who are killing American soldiers, you had better have your shit together. But it's been so long since they faced any hard questions from the press, they didn't bother to prep.

And now it showed. Big time.