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[ErasureAcer]

ahahahaha. this story is already dead in the water.

The soldier said he moved the munitions on April 13...5 days before the KSTP crew walked in and found the hdx/mdx high explosives(as David Kay said that's what they found...and what this story is about...those high explosive munitions).

The soldier probably found some shit to move...however they weren't the high explosives! That is a fact regarding timetables and Kay's analysis.

So the question still remains...what happened to the high explosives?

 

[Chesapeake Silt]

The press is really getting after it in this press conference. Something is a little off about this whole situation.

 

[N Coward Parody]

I'm just surprised the Democrats came out swinging with an October Surprise. That's usually left to the machinations of the incumbent party.

Where's the Republican's incineration? And what's going on with that anti-Kerry documentary airing in swing states?



*Noel Coward Parody

 

[Incognito]

These crackpots don't know what the fuck they're talking about.

 

[teiresias]

Did the fatigues guy just say he saw no seals, when the video - filmed after he supposably moved these explosives - clearly shows the seals?

 

[Nerevar]

and just like that .... HAOHMARU disappears.

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

Funny thing about the IAEA (which is run by the U.N.)...they knew about this 3 weeks ago and released the report this week. They are trying to embarrass the Bush administration and influence the election.

Well, I didn't see the Bush administration rushing to bring it up, either.

Where's the Republican's incineration? And what's going on with that anti-Kerry documentary airing in swing states?

Already aired. However, it was a lot more benign than expected. Whether this was the real plan all along or whether this was due to the massive complaints and boycotts of Sinclair advertisers pressuring them into the change depends on who you talk to. It ended up being a combination of footage from the anti-Kerry documentary, footage of a pro-Kerry documentary, and new footage of people talking about what was in the other footage. Some people think it overall looked positive for Kerry.

 

[Shinobi]

I'm sorry I couldn't help it.

:lol Priceless.

 

[Fjord]

Yikes what happened to these boards, can't wait till the election is over. Why is this news story a partisan issue? Its a military issue, get a grip.

 

[OG_Original Gamer]

Powell know, thats why he decided to kick rocks. He know the administration he is still a part of is full of BS. If Bush is re-elected he won't be back, he's been at odds with the idea of attacking Iraq from jump street.

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

Why is this news story a partisan issue?

It makes the war look quite poorly planned. Which makes those who chose to start the war look quite poor. Which is a dangerous thing several days before we decide whether to re-hire them.

 

[Kettch]

Funny thing about the IAEA (which is run by the U.N.)...they knew about this 3 weeks ago and released the report this week. They are trying to embarrass the Bush administration and influence the election.

Have you followed this story at all?

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...p/20041025/ap_on_re_mi_ea/nuclear_agency_iraq

McClellan said the IAEA informed U.S. mission in Vienna on Oct. 15 about the missing explosives at Al-Qaqaa. He said national security adviser Condoleeza Rice was notified "days after that," and she then informed President Bush.

ElBaradei told the council the agency had been trying to give the U.S.-led multinational force and Iraq'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 Monday in The New York Times, ElBaradei 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 377 tons of explosives.

 

[Phoenix]

Yikes what happened to these boards, can't wait till the election is over. Why is this news story a partisan issue? Its a military issue, get a grip.

Mostly because of the huge amount of controversy when the administration 'reduced' the amount of forces sent to Iraq, Bush's 'catastrophic success' comments, etc.

 

[Keio]

DoD Photos Not From HMX Bunkers

According to the IAEA Action Report on the facility, the HMX was being stored in only nine bunkers at the site. All of the HMX bunkers were sealed by the IAEA after verification, using metal seals on the front entrance doors.

DoD released on Oct. 28, 2004, imagery showing two trucks parked outside one of the 56 bunkers of the Al Qa Qaa Explosive Storage Complex approximately 20 miles south of Baghdad, Iraq, on March 17, 2003. According to the release: "It is not believed that all 56 bunkers contained High Melting Explosive also known as HMX. A large, tractor-trailer (yellow arrow) is loaded with white containers with a smaller truck parked behind it. The International Atomic Energy Association inspectors identified bunkers in this complex as containing High Melting Explosive."

However, a comparison of features in the DoD-released imagery with available commercial satellite imagery, combined with the use of an IAEA map showing the location of bunkers used to store the HMX explosives, reveals that the trucks pictured on the DoD image are not at any of the nine bunkers indentified by the IAEA as containing the missing explosive stockpiles.

http://globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/iraq/al_qa_qaa-imagery4.htm

There is no way to whitewash this story if this is the best DoD can do.

Facts:

1) There was about 350 tons of military grade high explosive stored at Al Qa Qaa and more at other sites.
2) At least Al Qa Qaa had not been looted when the American forces stormed through on their march toward Baghdad.
3) At least most of the sites were not secured properly.
4) Most of the explosives that Saddam Hussein had - 2/3 of the number of conventional exposives that the United States have - have been lost.
5) At least tens of tons - probably hundreds of tons - of explosives have ended up in the wrong - e.g. insurgent/terrorist hands.
6) The information was given to the Bush Administration in secret but it also ended up in NYT hands. ElBaradei didn't "leak it" with political aims.

I think there is no way to escape the fact that this was another problem caused by inadequate planning - perhaps because there were too few troops rushed to war too soon?