Pentagon says its unclear if explosives disappeared after Iraq site fell u

[maddezmom]

Pentagon says its unclear if explosives disappeared after Iraq site fell under US control

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A Pentagon (news - web sites) spokesman said it was unclear whether 380 tons of high explosives reported missing from a weapons facility in Iraq (news - web sites) disappeared before or after it fell under control of US forces.


The Iraqi government this month reported the disappearance of 380 tons of HMX and RDX explosives to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which had monitored the explosives before the war because they could be used as a trigger for nuclear devices.


"This is a first report. We do not know when -- if those weapons did exist at that facility -- they were last seen, and under whose control they were last in," Pentagon spokesman Larry DiRita said.


"It's very possible -- certainly it's plausible -- that it was the Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) regime that last had control of these things," he told AFP.
~snip~

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20041025/pl_afp/iraq_us_explosives&cid=1521&ncid=1480

then we have:
Tons of Explosives Missing in Iraq

~snip~
ElBaradei told the council the IAEA had been trying to give the U.S.-led multinational force and Iraq (news - web sites)'s interim government "an opportunity to attempt to recover the explosives before this matter was put into the public domain."


But since the disappearance was reported in the media, he said he wanted the Security Council to have the letter dated Oct. 10 that he received from Mohammed J. Abbas, a senior official at Iraq's Ministry of Science and Technology, reporting the theft of the explosives.


The materials were lost through "the theft and looting of the governmental installations due to lack of security," the letter said.


The letter from Abbas informed the IAEA that since Sept. 4, 2003, looting at the Al-Qaqaa installation south of Baghdad had resulted in the loss of 214.67 tons of HMX, 155.68 tons of RDX and 6.39 tons of PETN explosives.
~snip~

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&ncid=716&e=4&u=/ap/20041025/ap_on_re_mi_ea/nuclear_agency_iraq

And another:
Tons of Explosives Missing from Former Iraq Atomic Site

~snip~
The New York Times report cited White House and Pentagon (news - web sites) officials -- as well as at least one Iraqi minister -- as acknowledging that the explosives vanished from the site shortly after the U.S.-led invasion amid widespread looting.

~snip~
more: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=574&ncid=1276&e=1&u=/nm/20041025/wl_nm/iraq_explosives_dc

[mtnester]

1. BREAKING NEWS

Sneezy Dwarf admits to stealing the stockpiles of explosives....

"Dopey made me do it" he was heard to say as they were leading him away

[patrice]

2. More Confusionists.

Confusion is a fertile medium for fascism.

[Ahriman]

3. Seems a lot of things are unclear to these people

[xxqqqzme]

4. the IAEA reported

the tons of explosives were there B4 the invasion and the explosives R clearly not there now...so how is that unclear?

[maddezmom]

6. it seems we have entered the spin zone....

[Chico Man]

21. AKA Deception Lane

c/o John Stewart

[kokomo]

5. I would think moving 380 TONS would take some TIME!

We already knew where the weapons were BEFORE Bush invaded. The UN inspectors had worked as our "spies" to let BushCo know. But securing the refineries was top priority for the "oil" government. To hell with hospitals, museums, libraries, banks, Iraqi businesses.

[mom cat]

7. What crap! They DO know that the stuff "disapeared" after the UN

instectors were removed_by us_ to make way for this illegal war. And where is this stuff? Did Black Opps take it to use in the October surprise" By God , if * uses it to throw the election, we have to be ready to scream to the top of our lungs!

[Birthmark]

8. It's still their fault even if it's unclear.

After all, had they gone in immediately to secure that stockpile, it would have been crystal clear if they were taken before the US arrived. They are playing desperate games to try to exonerate their incompetence or neglect.

[sandnsea]

9. HERE Report &Map

Maybe George was looking on the wrong internet.

Item 32
http://www.iaea.org/OurWork/SV/Invo/reports/s_2003_422.pdf

Here's reports from 1996 - 2004
http://www.iaea.org/OurWork/SV/Invo/statements.html

Here's a friggin' MAP and list of all nuclear sites
http://www.iaea.org/OurWork/SV/Invo/factsheet.html

My god, they have no decency at all.

[gratuitous]

10. Now, c'mon folks . . .

We could argue all day long about who was in charge of what, and where those explosives might have been, and who should have been guarding them. But the fact of the matter is that Stupidhead is real mad about this report, too, and wants to know what happened. So let's just say it's everybody's fault, okay?

[maddezmom]

11. everybody's?

you're kidding right???

[gratuitous]

14. You're expecting something serious

From a poster whose handle is "gratuitous"? I'm beginning to understand Red Sox fans.

Kidding, kidding. Yes, the little paragraph was a take-off on a Simpsons episode when Homer forgets to pick up Bart after soccer practice, and Bart waits for an hour or two in the pouring rain, turning down rides from his buddies because he figures Homer will be there any second now.

[moggie]

12. Unclear?

When you have spy satellites watching for any movement of materiel, how can you fail to spot multiple trucks leaving a known explosives facility? :wtf:

[Beetwasher]

13. "Well, There Were All These Arab Guys Going In And Out W/ Trucks

and when we asked them what they were doing they always had a plausible reason, you know, one guy said he was a plumber, another guy said he was delivering a pizza, which was kind of odd, because, you know, most pizza guys don't drive 3 ton trucks and the nearest pizza place is a couple thousand miles from here, but hey! What am I supposed to do? Check EVERYONE or something? Yeesh, I'm busy dodging bullets ya know! Come to think of it, maybe I shoulda been a bit more hard on the guy who said he was delivering a candygram..."

[gratuitous]

16. And that Ministry of Oil building

Isn't going to guard itself, you know!

[Tight_rope]

30. ROTFLMBAO!.....That was too funny!

[steve2470]

15. "Hey Karl, what is the story with these explosives ?" n/t

[havocmom]

17. How much $$ for satellite surveillance for DOD?

They knew the stuff was there. If they didn't watch it: gross negligence at best.

Somebody figured it would take about 17 semi truck loads to haul that much explosives. How did forces on the ground and spy eyes in the sky miss this? LIHOP/MIHOP all over again?

[spinbaby]

18. So they didn't even bother to go check on it?

If they have no idea if the explosives disappeared before or after US gained control, they just admitted that they didn't so much as bother to go see if the giant stockpile of explosives was there, never mind securing it. Damned incompetents.

[dansolo]

19. They were too busy watching the WMDs

[Terry_M]

20. Tax dollars well spent!

[jukes]

22. squirmy

worms!

[Demeter]

23. They Can Run (for office) But They Can't Hide (incompetence)

this is no time for the military to fall on their collective sword for a bunch of blood traitors.

[cubsfan forever]

24. Hear, Hear! n/t

Professor 2

[Chicago Democrat]

25. This a CRAP Explanation! These items were UNDER IAEA SEAL

Prior to BUSH throwing the inspectors out!!

THE ILLEGAL WAR is to BLAME!

This is ALL BUSHS' FAULT!!

[Lorien]

26. Er, if the site was still being looted last Saturday

I'd say "after".

[Tight_rope]

27. Bullshit!....This assholes never take responsibility for anything!

[chopper]

28. the associated press disagrees...

read this yahoo link carefully...notice this paragraph...

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 were intact. Thereafter the site was not secured by U.S. forces, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

in other words, someone's full of shit.

[progressivebydesign]

29. That's total BS. The UN already gave the timetable for that!!!

Freakin' liars!