U.S. Army Digs Up Weapons Cache in Iraq

[superconnected]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051221/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_weapons_caches
ZUWAD KHALAF, Iraq - U.S. soldiers in the northern Iraqi desert dug up more than 1,000 aging rockets and missiles wrapped in plastic, some of which were buried as recently as two weeks ago, Army officials said Tuesday.

Commanders in the 101st Airborne Division said an Iraqi tipped them off to the buried weapons, perhaps an indication that residents in this largely Sunni Arab region about 150 miles north of Baghdad are beginning to warm up to coalition forces.

"The tide is turning," said 2nd Lt. Patrick Vardaro, 23, of Norwood, Mass., a platoon leader in the division's 187th Infantry Regiment. "It's better to work with Americans than against us."

As the sun set, soldiers from the 101st continued to uncover more, following zigzagging tire tracks across the desert floor and using metal detectors to locate weapons including mines, mortars and machine gun rounds.

[superconnected]

1. why would iraq just bury their missle cache in the desert?

Why would they have some buried only 2 weeks ago and have such an ecletic assortment.

Why are the weapons to be destroyed tomorrow morning.

Bush is going to call these his weapons of mass destruction, I'm sure of it.

[twaddler01]

2. I can hear it now

:puke:

[saigon68]

22. THIS STORY IS BULLSHIT propaganda

Especially the "quotes" from the troops.

BARF

[Miss Chybil]

4. How can the tide be turning when people are stockpiling weapons

to use against us? Because somebody ratted them out, (which, thank goodness, he/she did), does not mean the tide is turning. I'd be afraid the water was about to get deeper.

[Inland]

5. They were saving them for the civil war to come.

Just guessing.

[BikeWriter]

20. These had to have been looted from armorys by looters.

[Atman]

3. How do they know they were only buried two weeks ago?

Is carbon dating that accurate? Did the Iraqis date the plastic with a permanent Sharpie marker? If they knew it was two weeks ago because of surviellance, then they also know where the stuff came from. This story is as stinky as the rest of BushCo's press releases. I expect that to get those poll numbers back up, BushCo might actually find the hidden cache of WMD before the 2006 election.

[Up2Late]

11. I never trust writers who leave out important details like that...,

...or it could be that, this embedded reporter is being selectively censored?

If they can't say how they know that, then why include it? They hope people will assume the rest.

My guess is satellite photos, but it's just a guess.

[DoYouEverWonder]

25. Maybe they wrapped them in old newspapers?

I hear the NYT's from last month, with Judith Miller's last article, makes a great rocket wrapper.

[DancingBear]

31. "How do they know they were only buried two weeks ago?"

A talking snake in a garden told them.

What's all this carbon dating talk about???

Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition...

[TrogL]

36. Because they buried them

[Danieljay]

6. those aren't the weapons we went looking for....

http://www.peacecandy.com/gwbush/remindus/

Remember?

[twaddler01]

8. Very nice link

:thumbsup:

[MadisonProgressive]

7. This is completely made up - BOGUS!

Bush needs something to show the people that we are making 'real' progress. I will never believe anything coming out of this administration any longer. It may very well be true, and in that case it's great news, but you'll have to forgive me for being just a tad suspicious.

[joefree1]

9. Yea, less bombs to kill our brave soldiers

But not WMDs. From the article:

"In our eyes, every one of these rockets represents one less" bomb, Vardaro said.

[Zodiak]

26. hey joe

Thanks for making that picture in your sig line. I blew it up, printed it full-page, and hung it outside of my office door.

It captures my attitude.

[Vogon_Glory]

32. I Agree.

Whatever we all think about Generalissimo Gee Dubya's trumped-up reasons for invading Iraq, I'm delighted with the thought that these uncovered munitions won't be used to kill or maim American troops.

[0007]

10. This like of propaganda is so yesterday, only the simpleton

would bite.

[wtmusic]

12. Should have been a "mass grave" -- they're slipping

some measly conventional weapons? They think that's going to dig Junior out of his hole?

[daleo]

13. Or, it was one person looking for a reward

"Commanders in the 101st Airborne Division said an Iraqi tipped them off to the buried weapons, perhaps an indication that residents in this largely Sunni Arab region about 150 miles north of Baghdad are beginning to warm up to coalition forces."

Assuming any of this is even true, of course.

[superconnected]

16. if the weapons were for a civil war

he just sold out his side.

[superconnected]

14. Everything is wrong with this.

It says some iraq tipped them off. They're taking it as the sunnis are warming to the US forces...

Sorry but the general population knowing where over a thousand missles are buried and just tipping off the americans because he likes them is beyond belief to me. In the US we would be arrested and investigated for knowing something like that.

And the weapons getting destroyed tomorrow moring is also VERY fishy.

I don't trust any of this. I think Cheney ordered the weapons there for our failure in chief. Remember congress has gone cold on bush and americans are saying leave iraq now. The only people benefitting from this news would be the white house.

From what I've seen on the news, the insurgents aren't going to bury their weapons and not be around. They're still fighting us.

[Up2Late]

15. Sounds more like they are stockpiling weapons for the coming Civil war.

But hey, that's just me Thinking again.

[superconnected]

17. where do poor people get weapons like missles, when they plan on fighting

a civil war.

I'm not buying it. It sounds like america planting "wmds" to me.

[olddad56]

18. Maybe they are the imaginary type of weapons.....

That they pretend to dig up and then destroy. Oh, but that would involve lies and deceit. Nah, it must have really happened.

[elvisbear]

19. Tomorrow's headline will probably read.......

"Commanders in the 101st Airborne Division said an Iraqi waved to them instead of giving them the finger, perhaps an indication that residents in this largely Sunni Arab region about 150 miles north of Baghdad are beginning to warm up to coalition forces."
:sarcasm:

I take it every gesture or action by anybody could be taken as a positive sign(no matter how small or unrelated it is).

[rooboy]

21. Who wants to bet the reporter never left their hotel in the Green Zone? nt

[jamesinca]

23. So these were the WMD we were looking for?

Probably not! They were most likely the ones taken from the munitions depot at the beginning of this whole fiasco, those munitions depots that the US did not secure, but got on tape as having been inspected by UN inspectors. I think it was on 60 minutes.

[Massachusetts]

24. "The tide is turning,"

I love OUR troops, but please...enough already YAWN!

[Canuckistanian]

27. "The tide is turning"

"We're turning that corner"
"The Insurgents are in their last throes"
"Victory is on the march"
"I did not have sex with that White House correspondent"
Ooops, said too much.

[leftchick]

28. It appears as though the Lincoln Group is still providing propaganda

with our tax dollars. :puke:

[formercia]

29. It wold have been easier to initially guard the depots

and prevent them from being looted in the first place. This is what they call progress?

[yellowcanine]

30. Hallelujah! I see the light at the end of the tunnel! Oh shit.

:nuke:

[HuffleClaw]

33. "1,000 aging rockets...

...and missiles wrapped in plastic, some of which were buried as recently as two weeks ago"

a contradiction in the FIRST line of the story? they need new propagandists.

[superconnected]

34. they can be aging and burined 2 weeks ago.

the US gov probably collected old weapons when they created this weapons cache.

[Jed Dilligan]

35. Yes, Sunnis will have to work with the US now

against the new Iraqi government, when it allies with Iran and decides to exterminate every non-Shiite in Iraq.