October 26, 2004
White House Downplays Missing Iraq Explosives
By Mark Mazzetti and Maggie Farley, Times Staff Writers
WASHINGTON — The White House acknowledged Monday that nearly 380 tons of powerful explosives were missing from a weapons facility that American forces failed to guard after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, raising fears that the munitions could be given to militants or used for attacks against troops in Iraq.
U.S. officials say the explosives — which are powerful enough to detonate a nuclear bomb — may have been looted from one of Saddam Hussein's bomb-making plants when U.S. forces worked to pacify Baghdad and other restive cities.
White House officials downplayed the significance of the missing explosives. But coming eight days before the presidential election, the disclosure reverberated through the campaign, with Democratic nominee Sen. John F. Kerry calling it one of President Bush's "great blunders" in Iraq.
Using the report to take the offensive Monday, Kerry tried to turn against Bush a key question the president has raised throughout the campaign: Which candidate is best suited to keep the country safe?
"The incredible incompetence of this president and this administration has put our troops at risk and put this country at greater risk than we all need," Kerry said. "George W. Bush has failed the essential test of any commander in chief, to keep America safe."
Bush, Kerry added, "talks tough and brags about making America safer," but "once again failed to deliver."
The timing of the theft was in dispute Monday. One Pentagon official said that when U.S. forces advancing toward Baghdad reached the Al Qaqaa military facility in early April 2003, the weapons cache was already gone. He suggested that the Americans had no chance to safeguard the material, which had been labeled and was being monitored by United Nations weapons inspectors.
"It had already been looted by the time U.S. forces went through there," the senior Defense official said. "When the troops went in, they never saw anything that was tagged."
Some cast doubt on the Pentagon's claim. Given the size of the missing cache, it would have been difficult to relocate undetected before the invasion, when U.S. spy satellites were monitoring activity at sites suspected of concealing nuclear and biological weapons.
"You don't just move this stuff in the middle of the night," said a former U.S. intelligence official who worked in Baghdad.
Iraqi officials told the International Atomic Energy Agency — the U.N. monitoring group — earlier this month that the explosives were looted after April 9, 2003, when U.S. forces entered Baghdad. IAEA officials verified that the explosives were still at the site and under seal in January 2003, the last time the inspectors were there.
The IAEA had been monitoring the material — known as HMX and RDX — as part of the U.N. inspection program after the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
The agency had issued numerous warnings about the explosives falling into the wrong hands before and after the U.S. invasion.
Pentagon officials said that although U.S. troops searched the facility on several occasions during and after the invasion, the facility was not high on U.S. commanders' list of sites to guard because survey teams found no nuclear or biological materials at Al Qaqaa, a collection of 87 buildings and underground bunkers less than 30 miles south of Baghdad.
Asked if U.S. troops were ever ordered to guard the facility, where Hussein built conventional warheads and the IAEA dismantled parts of his nuclear program after the Gulf War, a Defense official responded, "Not that I'm aware of."
David Kay, the CIA's former chief weapons hunter in Iraq, believes that the material was looted in the immediate aftermath of the war.
He said he saw the facility in May 2003, "and it was heavily looted at that time. Sometime between April and May, most of the stuff was carried off. The site was in total disarray, just like a lot of the Iraqi sites."
Kay said that HMX and RDX were "superb explosives for terrorists" because they were stable compounds that could be transported safely and used for large-scale attacks.
Both types of material "would be good for a car bomb or a truck bomb," Kay said. "Just pack it together with a detonator."
The U.S. failure to guard hundreds of ammunition depots after the invasion has been well documented. Top military officials in Iraq believe that weapons taken from these sites have armed an insurgency that is taking American lives almost daily. More than 1,100 U.S. troops have been killed since the invasion began.
The explosive power of the stolen material — just half a pound of HMX brought down Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988 — has officials particularly worried.
"That's half a pound; 380 tons are missing — that's almost 40 truckloads," an IAEA official said on condition of anonymity. "Imagine what it could do in the hands of insurgents there. It's a huge concern that it is missing, whatever it may be used for."
IAEA head Mohamed ElBaradei has been stepping up pressure for an accounting of sensitive sites in Iraq. In a letter to the U.N. Security Council this month, he said that under IAEA agreements, Iraq is obligated "to declare semiannually changes that have occurred or are foreseen at sites deemed relevant by the agency." But since March 2003, he said, "the agency has received no such notifications or declarations."
The IAEA reported the missing explosives to the Security Council on Monday. The monitoring agency waited before informing the council to give the U.S.-led multinational force and Iraqi authorities a chance to track down the missing material, said IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming.
An article in Monday's New York Times accelerated the agency's disclosures.
Officials at the White House, the State Department and the Pentagon insisted that the 380 tons of stolen explosives were not a nuclear threat and noted that roughly 400,000 tons of collected munitions in Iraq had either been destroyed or were in U.S. custody.
"There is not a nuclear proliferation risk," White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan told reporters aboard Air Force One. "We're talking about conventional explosives."
Officials also argued that the vast number of weapons sites made it difficult to ensure that Hussein's entire arsenal was brought under U.S. control.
"Given the number of arms and the number of caches and the extent of the militarization of Iraq, it was impossible to provide 100% security for 100% of the sites, quite frankly," State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said.
This month, the former U.S. civilian administrator of Iraq, L. Paul Bremer III, said he believed that the Pentagon had too few troops in Iraq to prevent the looting and chaos that erupted after U.S. forces entered Baghdad.
The Iraq Survey Group, the CIA's weapons-hunting team, estimated that there were more than 10,000 weapons sites across Iraq.
Although the Pentagon maintained that all known stores of munitions and potential nuclear sites were being guarded by U.S. or allied forces, even some highly sensitive facilities were guarded only loosely.
The interim Iraqi government notified the IAEA of the missing 380 tons of explosives on Oct. 10, and the IAEA passed the information to the U.S. Embassy in Vienna on Oct. 15. According to McClellan, Bush learned of the missing explosives days later.
Jon Wolfstahl, deputy director of the nonproliferation project at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said the Al Qaqaa location was well known to U.N. nuclear weapons inspectors and had been routinely visited by them from 1991 to 1998 — before inspectors left Iraq.
"This isn't some stash that no one knew about," Wolfstahl said. "The IAEA knew about it and warned the administration about its sensitivity."
Military responsibility for northern Babil province, where the Al Qaqaa facility is located, has shifted among several U.S. Army and Marine units since American forces took control of the area in April 2003.
Since last month, about 3,200 Marines have been based in the area — twice the number that had protected the region earlier in the year. Despite the increase, military officials have complained of being stretched thin.
Kerry hammered Bush about the missing explosives in campaign appearances Monday, saying the administration was "doomed to repeat the same mistakes" with Iran or North Korea, two countries that U.S. officials believe are developing nuclear weapons.
"Terrorists could use this material to kill our troops, our people, blow up airplanes and level buildings," he told supporters at a New Hampshire rally.
Kerry accused the administration of "blindness," "stubbornness" and "arrogance" on Iraq, and blasted Bush for failing to "do the basics" in securing Hussein's weapons.
The Democrat said U.S. troops "have been doing their job courageously and honorably. The problem is the commander in chief has not been doing his."
Steve Schmidt, a spokesman for Bush's reelection campaign, said Kerry had "no vision for fighting and winning the war on terror, so he is basing his attacks on the headlines he wakes up to each day."
"If John Kerry wants to spend the next eight days trying to explain his positions again, we welcome that debate," Schmidt said. "John Kerry can't lead the nation to victory in a war he doesn't believe in."
-------------------------------------------------------
Mazzetti reported from Washington and Farley from the United Nations. Times staff writers Greg Miller and Tyler Marshall in Washington, Edmund Sanders in Baghdad and Michael Finnegan in Philadelphia contributed to this report.
Link: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld ... -headlines
The Real Deal on the Missing 380 Tons of Explosives Courtesy
Moderator: Super Moderators
The Real Deal on the Missing 380 Tons of Explosives Courtesy
Anchors Aweigh!
Thanks, Joolz. Good find -- this and the other one debunking Drudge. I had seen the Drudge article much earlier, but knowing that Drudge is not a reliable site from their past history, and knowing where Matt's allegiance lies, I figured it was only a matter of a few hours until it would be debunked.
Sure looks like Bush messed up his Iraq invasion in a number of ways, doesn't it? What a shane that this "goof" has resulted in so many deaths, and probably will for some time to come.
This whole war was a big mistake, and then it wasn't even conducted well -- except for the people making the big bucks off it.
Sure looks like Bush messed up his Iraq invasion in a number of ways, doesn't it? What a shane that this "goof" has resulted in so many deaths, and probably will for some time to come.
This whole war was a big mistake, and then it wasn't even conducted well -- except for the people making the big bucks off it.
We must, indeed, all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately. B. Franklin
Well folks, a little logic goes a long way. Ask yourself this question: If this were not a FU why was the theft kept a secret? If the explosives were not there when the US military arrived, as contended by the WH, why was this whole thing buried? I am not exactly waiting on tenter hooks for Repub talking points. Please, some original thinking would be appreciated. And while you are at it, answer this: Has BushCo ever lied? (if you answer no, you are, of course quite insane). Why the frell would you believe him now?
Ignore the radio head blather, at this point the WH itself is NOT saying the explosives were not there when the US military arrived. Their official line (subject to change when mo betta excuses are invented):
...Yet even as Mr. Bush pressed his case, his aides tried to explain why American forces had ignored warnings from the International Atomic Energy Agency about the vulnerability of the huge stockpile of high explosives, whose disappearance was first reported on Monday by CBS and The New York Times.
In several sessions with reporters, the White House spokesman, Scott McClellan, alternately insisted that Mr. Bush "wants to make sure that we get to the bottom of this" and tried to distance the president from knowledge of the issue, saying Mr. Bush was informed of the disappearance only within the last 10 days. Frelling swell. OTL again? Feel comfy now?
White House officials said they could not explain why warnings from the international agency in May 2003 about the stockpile's vulnerability to looting never resulted in action.
At one point, Mr. McClellan pointed out that "there were a number of priorities at the end of Operation Iraqi Freedom."
Asked about accusations from the Kerry campaign that the White House had kept the disappearance secret until The Times and CBS broke the story on Monday morning, Dan Bartlett, the White House communications director, said the White House had decided "to get all the facts and find out exactly what happened in this case, and then whether there are other cases." Other cases? Yes indeed. ...
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/26/polit ... ALTAVISTA1
(no apologies for the punctuation)
Ignore the radio head blather, at this point the WH itself is NOT saying the explosives were not there when the US military arrived. Their official line (subject to change when mo betta excuses are invented):
...Yet even as Mr. Bush pressed his case, his aides tried to explain why American forces had ignored warnings from the International Atomic Energy Agency about the vulnerability of the huge stockpile of high explosives, whose disappearance was first reported on Monday by CBS and The New York Times.
In several sessions with reporters, the White House spokesman, Scott McClellan, alternately insisted that Mr. Bush "wants to make sure that we get to the bottom of this" and tried to distance the president from knowledge of the issue, saying Mr. Bush was informed of the disappearance only within the last 10 days. Frelling swell. OTL again? Feel comfy now?
White House officials said they could not explain why warnings from the international agency in May 2003 about the stockpile's vulnerability to looting never resulted in action.
At one point, Mr. McClellan pointed out that "there were a number of priorities at the end of Operation Iraqi Freedom."
Asked about accusations from the Kerry campaign that the White House had kept the disappearance secret until The Times and CBS broke the story on Monday morning, Dan Bartlett, the White House communications director, said the White House had decided "to get all the facts and find out exactly what happened in this case, and then whether there are other cases." Other cases? Yes indeed.
...http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/26/polit ... ALTAVISTA1
(no apologies for the punctuation)
TIMELINE
4/ 1/03 Tuesday
Coalition troops number above 100,000 in Iraq, and are increasing;
was more bombing of republican guard units and targets in Baghdad.
Then U.S. army and marines troops started advance toward Baghdad -
have gone arnd Karbala, where there was not much resistance. Many
now believe Hussein is either killed for severly injured. Two
reporters have been kicked out of Iraq - have not been giving
reports conducive to U.S. military.
4/ 2/03 Wednesday
U.S. marines crossed Tigris river and are coming in to Baghdad from
the SE; army has crossed both rivers and is approaching Baghdad
from the SW. U.S. F18 shot down in S Iraq; U.S. army blackhawk
heliocopter, also shot down. Maternity hospital in Baghdad was
accidentally bombed. Not much resistence from republican guard, so
far, around Baghdad. Some reporters were released from Iraq
prison - had had illegal gear and were not registered.
4/ 3/03 Thursday
U.S. army took control of Baghdad airport - is securing area around
airport. Marines are still approaching Baghdad from SE. Much is in
news of "rescued" U.S. army POW in hospital in town in S Iraq -
there had been an informer, POW had broken bones, was 19 year old
girl. Missing F18 is presumed to have been shot down by U.S.
patriot missile. Friendly forces in north Iraq are slowly pushing
south.
4/ 4/03 Friday
U.S. marines are in suburbs of SE Baghdad; some excursions of army
troops have ventured into Baghdad; reporters are saying no U.S
troops have been seen in Baghdad. New videos of Hussein where
shown on Iraq TV; showed Hussein in streets, viewing bombed rubble,
talking to crowd of people; also video of regular speech - most
coalition pundits have concluded Sadaam Hussein is still living;
U.S. military says condition of Hussein does not matter.
4/ 5/03 Saturday
Marines continue towards SE section of Baghdad. U.S. army troops
took brief "tour" of Baghdad, in tanks & bradley armored vehicles.
Another tape of Hussein was shown on Iraq TV. Some MIA's were
changed to KIA's of U.S. troops. Iraq TV says there is no problem
and republican guard controls Baghdad airport. Ted Koppel is
reporting from the Baghdad airport.
4/ 6/03 Sunday
U.S. army made 2nd "excursion" into Bagdad. British are still
having some problems in their town, but have it mostly under
control. Still is bombing in Baghdad. Was a bombing accident on
Kurdish troops and U.S. special ops troops in N Iraq. U.S.
aircraft are landing in Baghdad airport - C130 transports. Iraq
military seems to be suffering losses in Baghdad - in the
thousands; Saddam Hussein seems to be still around.
4/ 7/03 Monday
More U.S. excursions into Baghdad - presidential palace fought
over and occupied by U.S. army. Two foreign reporters were killed
in rocket attack. U.S. marines are in SE Baghdad & have control of
military airport. Four 2,000 lb bombs were dropped in residential
area of Baghdad, to target Saddam Hussein - not known if Hussein
was killed - was big hole in ground where bombs landed. Bush and
Blair met in Ireland, to discuss the end of the war.
4/ 8/03 Tuesday
Third foreign reporter killed in hotel in Baghdad; several
civilians were killed in attempt on Iraq leaders - some say leaders
were not in restaurant, when bombed. F18 down, missing, & same for
an F15; U.S. "bushhog" aircraft was downed by missile. Many more
U.S. MIA's are reported, when statistics are "upgraded". U.S.
marines and army are due to meet - army from W, marines from E.
Another army division will be entering Baghdad from NW; U.S troops,
in Baghdad outskirts, are increasing in numbers. Iraq information
minister is becoming well known on TV, and is popular with people
in arab countries - tells of much that is obviously not true, is
said to have helped reporters, after U.S. tank shelling incident.
4/ 9/03 Wednesday
Noted, around 9:10am, news on TV - seemed to be people in Baghdad,
celebrating the downfall of the Iraq government - were tearing
down statue of Hussein, ransackng Basque party offices, talking to
U.S. troops in streets. Was reported that earlier, newscasters
were missing their usual "minders", who were Iraq government
escorts. Concluded the Iraq government officials, and other
government workers, had not shown up for work this am, Iraq time -
and that the Iraq government was not in existence - had escaped,
left, etc.
4/10/03 Thursday
Nobody seems to know where the Iraq government staff has gone -
merely that have probably gone home, and that top leaders may be
going to Syria, or border. The war is still active in spots in
Baghdad; two towns in northern Iraq have been taken by U.S. army
and Kurdish troops. More statues of Iraq leader have been knocked
over; banner pictures have been burned. No-one knows where the
U.S. POW's are - there are 7, and around 16 MIA's. Pundits figure
Iraq scientists, and some of the general populace, can now tell
where the chemical and biological weapons are located.
4/11/03 Friday
Much in news of looting in Iraq; seems to be going on in all large
towns; U.S. military is guarding one hospital in Baghdad, but all
other hospitals are looted; Rumsfield says looting is to be
expected, others say it will drop off in a few days. Iraqis are
burning and shredding the Iraqi paper currency. U.S. military KIA
figure is arnd 104; seems to still be going up. Many U.S.
reinforcements are still in Kuwait. There are some fires in
buildings in Baghdad, after looting. Most towns in north are being
won, not having any resistence; although there is not much U.S.
military on the ground in the north.
4/12/03 Saturday
Looting still going on, being covered in news, in Iraq towns. In
Baghdad, museum of antiquities was ransacked. Marines have entered
the last of the N towns - not much resistence, after bombing of
republican guard units around towns in N. Some is said of the
underground section of Baghdad - was built for subway system, then
money ran low and government put in some bomb shelter bunkers. A
top government Iraqi scientist turned self in, and said there were
no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq - has been sent to an
undisclosed location.
4/13/03 Sunday
U.S. troops started doing some guarding of Baghdad areas; was some
organizing of Baghdad civilians into anti-looting groups. U.S.
marines took control of Tikrit, and informers led marines to find
the 7 missing POW's, in house, south of Tikrit. A Hussein relative
was picked up near the Syrian border; another Iraqi official turned
self over to authorities. U.S. authorities say if the two held top
Iraqi officials talk and tell where the weapons of mass destruction
are located, they will be given amnesty.
4/14/03 Monday
Bush, Rumsfield have warned Syria not to harbor Iraqi top leaders;
some wonder if such warnings predict a war on Syria. Most of
Baghdad's police force started on duty; U.S. army is recruiting
volunteers for a sort of Iraq national guard. A few looters have
returned some loot, in Baghdad. Have been some U.S. soldiers
killed by accidents. Tunnels under Baghdad are being searched; so
far, no top leaders or weapons of mass destructions have shown up.
Some is said of U.S. military's card deck, showing the top 52 most
wanted Iraqi leaders.
4/15/03 Tuesday
An old, 1985 terrorist leader was apprehended, in Iraq town; no
further Iraqi leaders have shown up, nor weapons of mass
destruction found. Some dispute over U.S. troops shooting into
crowd of civilians, in Iraq. There are a few statues of Iraq
leader left, in Tikrit, leader's home town. Was first meeting of
people to start new government for Iraq - some groups refused to
send reps, in protest - will be another meeting in ten days. Are
several dumps of munitions found in Baghdad. U.S troop strength is
continuing to increase, in Iraq; two aircraft carriers are being
re-called.
4/16/03 Wednesday
U.S. KIA count in Iraq is arnd 130. U.S. military stopped two bank
robberies in Baghdad. A question is starting to come up: where are
the weapons of mass destruction. The DOW is arnd 8,400; econonmic
indictors are mostly down. SARS disease is reported to be larger
than thought, in China, due to not having seen reports from
military hospitals - still not many cases in U.S.
4/17/03 Thursday
Work is being done to restore electrical power to Baghdad; some
looting is still going on. Some more talk of Iraq's loss of
"national treasures", in the looting of various museums. Appears
U.S. big airlines will not have to go bankruptcy, though are doing
very poorly. Powell says "weapons of mass destruction" was only
one of many reasons, for the Iraq war.
4/18/03 Friday
Some running water has been restored in Baghdad; a few pieces have
been returned to the museum of antiquities - others are said to
already be on the world black market. Bush was in St Louis,
promoting the economic plan to reduce income taxes - some
republicans are against it. Is said that Bush II's current
popularity ratings are less than Bush I's ratings, immediately
following Gulf War I.
4/19/03 Saturday
All POW's in Iraq war are accounted for; U.S. army is guarding
banks in Baghdad; U.S. marines are in process of withdrawing from
Iraq. There have been some anti-U.S. demonstrations, in Iraq.
4/20/03 Sunday
Christians in Iraq worry that there will be an Islam theocracy to
be the new Iraqi government. Iraqi ex-scientist lead U.S.
authorities to warehouse, where weapons of mass destruction had
been burned up; also showed laboratory where "building blocks", of
possible future weapons of mass destruction, were kept. Bush is
still pushing for the $700+ billion tax cut proposal.
4/21/03 Monday
Much in news of POW's returning to U.S. - very much human interest
coverage. A few more of the Iraqi government officials are in U.S.
custody; U.S. army general is checking sections of Iraq for putting
up temporary group to govern, before an "interim" government and
new constitution can do the job. Many Iraqis still believe the
U.S. is there because of the oil.
4/22/03 Tuesday
Pundits are starting to believe there are no weapons of mass
destruction in Iraq; and that U.S. "emphasized" them, to pursade
people that the war was necessary - that this will not be very
good for U.S.-Arab relations. U.N. offered weapons inspectors for
Iraq, is not withdrawing the economic sanctions.
4/23/03 Wednesday
Some U.S. soldiers and reporters have looted, in Iraq: some
soldiers are accused of having stolen $900,000 of U.S. currency.
Some are worried about Shiites electing theocracy government; who
are having big religious festival.
4/24/03 Thursday
Deputy P.M. of Iraq, surrendered to U.S. forces - had been in
Baghdad. Shiites are reported not to be unified, are in different
factions, in Iraq; so impose not much threat of theocracy
government. N Korea seems to already have several atomic bombs.
4/25/03 Friday
Now, money for re-building Iraq, for this year, will be $20
billion. Ammo dump, for storage of found Iraq weapons, blew up,
when struck by random shooting, close to Baghdad. Question is:
will Bush recieve the $700+, $500, or $350 billion tax relief
bill. in Iraq, anti-U.S. sentiment seems to grow.
4/26/03 Saturday
U.S. military found reportedly 17, 55 gallon barrels of nerve and
blistering agent chemicals, in a compound where there were
munitions & some laboratory equipment. Chinese are reporting more
SARS; much in news of SARS, though not all that many incidents of
the disease in the world - seems to kill arnd 3% of people who come
down with the disease.
4/27/03 Sunday
SARS still is big news; scientists are looking for more effective
diagnosis, figure a year, before a vaccine will be perfected.
Chemicals, found in 55 gal drums in Iraq, proved to not be sarin,
nor mustard gas; an interim gov't is still in the process of being
assembled. Contracts to re-build Iraqi roads, are said to have
been made last fall.
4/28/03 Monday
Reports were that SARS had peaked in some Asian countries - was
not some much of a problem. Many pundits, officials, still believe
there will be significant finds of weapons of mass destruction in
Iraq. Was large meeting of ethnic leaders, and will be another one
in a month, to start an interrim government for Iraq.
4/29/03 Tuesday
U.S. army pulled out of town, W of Baghdad, where shooting into
crowd incident happened; around 75 Iraqis were reported injured, 15
killed. U.S. is to withdrawl most of the troops, stationed in
Saudi Arabia, by end of summer. N Korean nuclear issue seems to be
progressing; but U.S. is not heavily engaged in issue.
4/30/03 Wednesday
There was a 2nd incident in Iraqi town, W of Baghdad - when U.S.
army left, was a crowd of demonstrators, AK-14's were reported, 2
Iraqis were killed, some injured. Rumsfield was in Iraq, made
short speech to troops, talked of democracy for Iraq. No big Iraq
rebuilding work is started, so far. Bush signed the "Amber alert"
law into effect.
4/ 1/03 Tuesday
Coalition troops number above 100,000 in Iraq, and are increasing;
was more bombing of republican guard units and targets in Baghdad.
Then U.S. army and marines troops started advance toward Baghdad -
have gone arnd Karbala, where there was not much resistance. Many
now believe Hussein is either killed for severly injured. Two
reporters have been kicked out of Iraq - have not been giving
reports conducive to U.S. military.
4/ 2/03 Wednesday
U.S. marines crossed Tigris river and are coming in to Baghdad from
the SE; army has crossed both rivers and is approaching Baghdad
from the SW. U.S. F18 shot down in S Iraq; U.S. army blackhawk
heliocopter, also shot down. Maternity hospital in Baghdad was
accidentally bombed. Not much resistence from republican guard, so
far, around Baghdad. Some reporters were released from Iraq
prison - had had illegal gear and were not registered.
4/ 3/03 Thursday
U.S. army took control of Baghdad airport - is securing area around
airport. Marines are still approaching Baghdad from SE. Much is in
news of "rescued" U.S. army POW in hospital in town in S Iraq -
there had been an informer, POW had broken bones, was 19 year old
girl. Missing F18 is presumed to have been shot down by U.S.
patriot missile. Friendly forces in north Iraq are slowly pushing
south.
4/ 4/03 Friday
U.S. marines are in suburbs of SE Baghdad; some excursions of army
troops have ventured into Baghdad; reporters are saying no U.S
troops have been seen in Baghdad. New videos of Hussein where
shown on Iraq TV; showed Hussein in streets, viewing bombed rubble,
talking to crowd of people; also video of regular speech - most
coalition pundits have concluded Sadaam Hussein is still living;
U.S. military says condition of Hussein does not matter.
4/ 5/03 Saturday
Marines continue towards SE section of Baghdad. U.S. army troops
took brief "tour" of Baghdad, in tanks & bradley armored vehicles.
Another tape of Hussein was shown on Iraq TV. Some MIA's were
changed to KIA's of U.S. troops. Iraq TV says there is no problem
and republican guard controls Baghdad airport. Ted Koppel is
reporting from the Baghdad airport.
4/ 6/03 Sunday
U.S. army made 2nd "excursion" into Bagdad. British are still
having some problems in their town, but have it mostly under
control. Still is bombing in Baghdad. Was a bombing accident on
Kurdish troops and U.S. special ops troops in N Iraq. U.S.
aircraft are landing in Baghdad airport - C130 transports. Iraq
military seems to be suffering losses in Baghdad - in the
thousands; Saddam Hussein seems to be still around.
4/ 7/03 Monday
More U.S. excursions into Baghdad - presidential palace fought
over and occupied by U.S. army. Two foreign reporters were killed
in rocket attack. U.S. marines are in SE Baghdad & have control of
military airport. Four 2,000 lb bombs were dropped in residential
area of Baghdad, to target Saddam Hussein - not known if Hussein
was killed - was big hole in ground where bombs landed. Bush and
Blair met in Ireland, to discuss the end of the war.
4/ 8/03 Tuesday
Third foreign reporter killed in hotel in Baghdad; several
civilians were killed in attempt on Iraq leaders - some say leaders
were not in restaurant, when bombed. F18 down, missing, & same for
an F15; U.S. "bushhog" aircraft was downed by missile. Many more
U.S. MIA's are reported, when statistics are "upgraded". U.S.
marines and army are due to meet - army from W, marines from E.
Another army division will be entering Baghdad from NW; U.S troops,
in Baghdad outskirts, are increasing in numbers. Iraq information
minister is becoming well known on TV, and is popular with people
in arab countries - tells of much that is obviously not true, is
said to have helped reporters, after U.S. tank shelling incident.
4/ 9/03 Wednesday
Noted, around 9:10am, news on TV - seemed to be people in Baghdad,
celebrating the downfall of the Iraq government - were tearing
down statue of Hussein, ransackng Basque party offices, talking to
U.S. troops in streets. Was reported that earlier, newscasters
were missing their usual "minders", who were Iraq government
escorts. Concluded the Iraq government officials, and other
government workers, had not shown up for work this am, Iraq time -
and that the Iraq government was not in existence - had escaped,
left, etc.
4/10/03 Thursday
Nobody seems to know where the Iraq government staff has gone -
merely that have probably gone home, and that top leaders may be
going to Syria, or border. The war is still active in spots in
Baghdad; two towns in northern Iraq have been taken by U.S. army
and Kurdish troops. More statues of Iraq leader have been knocked
over; banner pictures have been burned. No-one knows where the
U.S. POW's are - there are 7, and around 16 MIA's. Pundits figure
Iraq scientists, and some of the general populace, can now tell
where the chemical and biological weapons are located.
4/11/03 Friday
Much in news of looting in Iraq; seems to be going on in all large
towns; U.S. military is guarding one hospital in Baghdad, but all
other hospitals are looted; Rumsfield says looting is to be
expected, others say it will drop off in a few days. Iraqis are
burning and shredding the Iraqi paper currency. U.S. military KIA
figure is arnd 104; seems to still be going up. Many U.S.
reinforcements are still in Kuwait. There are some fires in
buildings in Baghdad, after looting. Most towns in north are being
won, not having any resistence; although there is not much U.S.
military on the ground in the north.
4/12/03 Saturday
Looting still going on, being covered in news, in Iraq towns. In
Baghdad, museum of antiquities was ransacked. Marines have entered
the last of the N towns - not much resistence, after bombing of
republican guard units around towns in N. Some is said of the
underground section of Baghdad - was built for subway system, then
money ran low and government put in some bomb shelter bunkers. A
top government Iraqi scientist turned self in, and said there were
no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq - has been sent to an
undisclosed location.
4/13/03 Sunday
U.S. troops started doing some guarding of Baghdad areas; was some
organizing of Baghdad civilians into anti-looting groups. U.S.
marines took control of Tikrit, and informers led marines to find
the 7 missing POW's, in house, south of Tikrit. A Hussein relative
was picked up near the Syrian border; another Iraqi official turned
self over to authorities. U.S. authorities say if the two held top
Iraqi officials talk and tell where the weapons of mass destruction
are located, they will be given amnesty.
4/14/03 Monday
Bush, Rumsfield have warned Syria not to harbor Iraqi top leaders;
some wonder if such warnings predict a war on Syria. Most of
Baghdad's police force started on duty; U.S. army is recruiting
volunteers for a sort of Iraq national guard. A few looters have
returned some loot, in Baghdad. Have been some U.S. soldiers
killed by accidents. Tunnels under Baghdad are being searched; so
far, no top leaders or weapons of mass destructions have shown up.
Some is said of U.S. military's card deck, showing the top 52 most
wanted Iraqi leaders.
4/15/03 Tuesday
An old, 1985 terrorist leader was apprehended, in Iraq town; no
further Iraqi leaders have shown up, nor weapons of mass
destruction found. Some dispute over U.S. troops shooting into
crowd of civilians, in Iraq. There are a few statues of Iraq
leader left, in Tikrit, leader's home town. Was first meeting of
people to start new government for Iraq - some groups refused to
send reps, in protest - will be another meeting in ten days. Are
several dumps of munitions found in Baghdad. U.S troop strength is
continuing to increase, in Iraq; two aircraft carriers are being
re-called.
4/16/03 Wednesday
U.S. KIA count in Iraq is arnd 130. U.S. military stopped two bank
robberies in Baghdad. A question is starting to come up: where are
the weapons of mass destruction. The DOW is arnd 8,400; econonmic
indictors are mostly down. SARS disease is reported to be larger
than thought, in China, due to not having seen reports from
military hospitals - still not many cases in U.S.
4/17/03 Thursday
Work is being done to restore electrical power to Baghdad; some
looting is still going on. Some more talk of Iraq's loss of
"national treasures", in the looting of various museums. Appears
U.S. big airlines will not have to go bankruptcy, though are doing
very poorly. Powell says "weapons of mass destruction" was only
one of many reasons, for the Iraq war.
4/18/03 Friday
Some running water has been restored in Baghdad; a few pieces have
been returned to the museum of antiquities - others are said to
already be on the world black market. Bush was in St Louis,
promoting the economic plan to reduce income taxes - some
republicans are against it. Is said that Bush II's current
popularity ratings are less than Bush I's ratings, immediately
following Gulf War I.
4/19/03 Saturday
All POW's in Iraq war are accounted for; U.S. army is guarding
banks in Baghdad; U.S. marines are in process of withdrawing from
Iraq. There have been some anti-U.S. demonstrations, in Iraq.
4/20/03 Sunday
Christians in Iraq worry that there will be an Islam theocracy to
be the new Iraqi government. Iraqi ex-scientist lead U.S.
authorities to warehouse, where weapons of mass destruction had
been burned up; also showed laboratory where "building blocks", of
possible future weapons of mass destruction, were kept. Bush is
still pushing for the $700+ billion tax cut proposal.
4/21/03 Monday
Much in news of POW's returning to U.S. - very much human interest
coverage. A few more of the Iraqi government officials are in U.S.
custody; U.S. army general is checking sections of Iraq for putting
up temporary group to govern, before an "interim" government and
new constitution can do the job. Many Iraqis still believe the
U.S. is there because of the oil.
4/22/03 Tuesday
Pundits are starting to believe there are no weapons of mass
destruction in Iraq; and that U.S. "emphasized" them, to pursade
people that the war was necessary - that this will not be very
good for U.S.-Arab relations. U.N. offered weapons inspectors for
Iraq, is not withdrawing the economic sanctions.
4/23/03 Wednesday
Some U.S. soldiers and reporters have looted, in Iraq: some
soldiers are accused of having stolen $900,000 of U.S. currency.
Some are worried about Shiites electing theocracy government; who
are having big religious festival.
4/24/03 Thursday
Deputy P.M. of Iraq, surrendered to U.S. forces - had been in
Baghdad. Shiites are reported not to be unified, are in different
factions, in Iraq; so impose not much threat of theocracy
government. N Korea seems to already have several atomic bombs.
4/25/03 Friday
Now, money for re-building Iraq, for this year, will be $20
billion. Ammo dump, for storage of found Iraq weapons, blew up,
when struck by random shooting, close to Baghdad. Question is:
will Bush recieve the $700+, $500, or $350 billion tax relief
bill. in Iraq, anti-U.S. sentiment seems to grow.
4/26/03 Saturday
U.S. military found reportedly 17, 55 gallon barrels of nerve and
blistering agent chemicals, in a compound where there were
munitions & some laboratory equipment. Chinese are reporting more
SARS; much in news of SARS, though not all that many incidents of
the disease in the world - seems to kill arnd 3% of people who come
down with the disease.
4/27/03 Sunday
SARS still is big news; scientists are looking for more effective
diagnosis, figure a year, before a vaccine will be perfected.
Chemicals, found in 55 gal drums in Iraq, proved to not be sarin,
nor mustard gas; an interim gov't is still in the process of being
assembled. Contracts to re-build Iraqi roads, are said to have
been made last fall.
4/28/03 Monday
Reports were that SARS had peaked in some Asian countries - was
not some much of a problem. Many pundits, officials, still believe
there will be significant finds of weapons of mass destruction in
Iraq. Was large meeting of ethnic leaders, and will be another one
in a month, to start an interrim government for Iraq.
4/29/03 Tuesday
U.S. army pulled out of town, W of Baghdad, where shooting into
crowd incident happened; around 75 Iraqis were reported injured, 15
killed. U.S. is to withdrawl most of the troops, stationed in
Saudi Arabia, by end of summer. N Korean nuclear issue seems to be
progressing; but U.S. is not heavily engaged in issue.
4/30/03 Wednesday
There was a 2nd incident in Iraqi town, W of Baghdad - when U.S.
army left, was a crowd of demonstrators, AK-14's were reported, 2
Iraqis were killed, some injured. Rumsfield was in Iraq, made
short speech to troops, talked of democracy for Iraq. No big Iraq
rebuilding work is started, so far. Bush signed the "Amber alert"
law into effect.
Posted on Fri, Oct. 17, 2003
Click here to find out more!
Iraqi weapons dumps make security difficult to maintain
OCCUPATION: Soldiers cannot guard all the weapons caches, and more are found every day.
BY DREW BROWN
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
BAGHDAD, Iraq - When U.S. troops invaded Iraq last March, what they found astounded them: The country was a vast munitions dump, a problem that American military planners had seriously underestimated.
The U.S. military's chief engineer in Iraq said Thursday that up to 1 million tons of bombs, artillery shells, land mines and other ammunition were scattered in storage dumps and bunkers across the country.
"We think our initial estimate of 600,000 tons is low," Brig. Gen. Larry Davis said. "We think 600,000 tons could be as much as 1 million tons. They had an inordinate amount of ammunition in this country."
http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/dulut ... 035508.htm
Click here to find out more!
Iraqi weapons dumps make security difficult to maintain
OCCUPATION: Soldiers cannot guard all the weapons caches, and more are found every day.
BY DREW BROWN
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
BAGHDAD, Iraq - When U.S. troops invaded Iraq last March, what they found astounded them: The country was a vast munitions dump, a problem that American military planners had seriously underestimated.
The U.S. military's chief engineer in Iraq said Thursday that up to 1 million tons of bombs, artillery shells, land mines and other ammunition were scattered in storage dumps and bunkers across the country.
"We think our initial estimate of 600,000 tons is low," Brig. Gen. Larry Davis said. "We think 600,000 tons could be as much as 1 million tons. They had an inordinate amount of ammunition in this country."
http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/dulut ... 035508.htm
-
Cherry Kelly
- Pirate
- Posts: 12852
- Joined: 07-29-2000 02:00 AM
- Contact:
Just so you know the TRUTH...
THE weapons in that site - were missing BEFORE the US troops got there.... story exposed by reporters who were WITH the troops when they went there.
SEE other thread regarding the exposure of the TRUTH. These were missing before we even went INTO IRAQ....
http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast ... xplosives/
THE weapons in that site - were missing BEFORE the US troops got there.... story exposed by reporters who were WITH the troops when they went there.
SEE other thread regarding the exposure of the TRUTH. These were missing before we even went INTO IRAQ....
http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast ... xplosives/
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/worl ... -iraq.htmlCherry Kelly wrote: Just so you know the TRUTH...
THE weapons in that site - were missing BEFORE the US troops got there.... story exposed by reporters who were WITH the troops when they went there.
At the Pentagon, an official who monitors developments in Iraq said U.S.-led coalition troops had searched Al-Qaqaa in the immediate aftermath of the March 2003 invasion and confirmed that the explosives, under IAEA seal since 1991, were intact. Thereafter, the site was not secured by U.S. forces, the official said, also speaking on condition of anonymity. [/b]
stop PARROTING FREEPER LIES Ms Parrot Kelly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Republican - re·pub·li·can (r-pbl-kn) - political party, which will control part of Congress 2011-2012, undermining the strength of the country - on purpose, in public, without apology or shame - simply for a campaign advantage in 2012.
Cherry Kelly wrote: Just so you know the TRUTH...
THE weapons in that site - were missing BEFORE the US troops got there.... story exposed by reporters who were WITH the troops when they went there.
SEE other thread regarding the exposure of the TRUTH. These were missing before we even went INTO IRAQ....
http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast ... xplosives/
When will you realize that lil blowmonkey is LYING to YOU? Are you as much a tool as he and kkkarl think you are/
hey PARROT KELLY!!! Guess ChimpCo didn't get the MEMO!!!
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld ... -headlines
(excerpt)
WASHINGTON — The White House acknowledged Monday that nearly 380 tons of powerful explosives were missing from a weapons facility that American forces failed to guard after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, raising fears that the munitions could be given to militants or used for attacks against troops in Iraq.
U.S. officials say the explosives — which are powerful enough to detonate a nuclear bomb — may have been looted from one of Saddam Hussein's bomb-making plants when U.S. forces worked to pacify Baghdad and other restive cities.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld ... -headlines
(excerpt)
WASHINGTON — The White House acknowledged Monday that nearly 380 tons of powerful explosives were missing from a weapons facility that American forces failed to guard after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, raising fears that the munitions could be given to militants or used for attacks against troops in Iraq.
U.S. officials say the explosives — which are powerful enough to detonate a nuclear bomb — may have been looted from one of Saddam Hussein's bomb-making plants when U.S. forces worked to pacify Baghdad and other restive cities.
Republican - re·pub·li·can (r-pbl-kn) - political party, which will control part of Congress 2011-2012, undermining the strength of the country - on purpose, in public, without apology or shame - simply for a campaign advantage in 2012.
The thread started by the Ffreeper troll?Cherry Kelly wrote:
SEE other thread regarding the exposure of the TRUTH. These were missing before we even went INTO IRAQ...
The VERY SAME guy who is a REGISTERED member of the Free Republic website.
Go look it up.
You are swimming in a muddy pond with creepy fish, when you align your self with Ffreepers.
Words to the wise FreepCatBobcat wrote: ..... don't post here anymore.
Republican - re·pub·li·can (r-pbl-kn) - political party, which will control part of Congress 2011-2012, undermining the strength of the country - on purpose, in public, without apology or shame - simply for a campaign advantage in 2012.
-
Cherry Kelly
- Pirate
- Posts: 12852
- Joined: 07-29-2000 02:00 AM
- Contact:
They just REplayed the TAPE from the newsperson who was WITH the first group who arrived at the munitions site. They found few traditional weapons the rest of the place was empty.
2003 ---
- - - - -
NOW PEOPLE -- how do you think those TONS of weapons were moved?? HUH - why gee they just carried them off? While they were being bombed... sure they did. They just loaded up those big ole trucks with all these TONS of weapons ...
The whole story is a FRAUD! The FACTS do NOT Support the story.
The UN was in charge - the IAEA was in charge - ASK THEM.
Now ask where the so called story came from -- THE UN.
2003 ---
- - - - -
NOW PEOPLE -- how do you think those TONS of weapons were moved?? HUH - why gee they just carried them off? While they were being bombed... sure they did. They just loaded up those big ole trucks with all these TONS of weapons ...
The whole story is a FRAUD! The FACTS do NOT Support the story.
The UN was in charge - the IAEA was in charge - ASK THEM.
Now ask where the so called story came from -- THE UN.