Story from 7 hours ago on CNN:

http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/me...aq.explosives/

NBC News says its crew was embedded with soldiers at time
Tuesday, October 26, 2004 Posted: 0701 GMT (1501 HKT)

Officials fear the missing explosives could be used in bombings like those occurring regularly in Iraq.

(CNN) -- The mystery surrounding the disappearance of 380 tons of powerful explosives from a storage depot in Iraq has taken a new twist, after a network embedded with the U.S. military during the invasion of Iraq reported that the material had already vanished by the time American troops arrived.

NBC News reported that on April 10, 2003, its crew was embedded with the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division when troops arrived at the Al Qaqaa storage facility south of Baghdad.

While the troops found large stockpiles of conventional explosives, they did not find HMX or RDX, the types of powerful explosives that reportedly went missing, according to NBC.

The International Atomic Energy Agency revealed Monday that it had been told two weeks ago by the Iraqi government that 380 tons of HMX and RDX disappeared from Al Qaqaa after Saddam Hussein's government fell.

In a letter to the IAEA dated October 10, Iraq's director of planning, Mohammed Abbas, said the material disappeared sometime after Saddam's regime fell in April 2003, which he attributed to "the theft and looting of the governmental installations due to lack of security."

Baghdad fell on April 9, 2003. According to NBC, troops from the 101st Airborne arrived the next day to find that the material was already gone.

Prior to the Iraq war, the high-grade explosives at Al Qaqaa had been under the control of IAEA inspectors because the material could be used as a component in a nuclear weapon, IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said. IAEA and other U.N. inspectors left the country in March 2003 before the fighting began on March 19.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Monday that five days after the IAEA received the letter from the Iraqi government, the agency alerted U.S. officials in Vienna, who in turn told National Security Director Condoleezza Rice. She then alerted Bush, McClellan said.

Once U.S. officials were alerted, the multinational force in Iraq and the Iraq Survey Group, charged with hunting for weapons in Iraq, were both ordered to investigate what was missing and the possible circumstances, according to State Department spokesman Adam Ereli.

"We, from the very beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom, did everything we could to secure arms caches throughout the country," Ereli said. "But given the number of arms and the number of caches and the extent of militarization of Iraq, it was impossible to provide 100 percent security for 100 percent of the sites, quite frankly."

The news of the missing explosives followed an IAEA report earlier this month that said high-end, dual-use machinery that could be used in a nuclear weapons program was missing from Iraq's nuclear facilities. (Full story)

"Our immediate concern is that if the explosives did fall into the wrong hands, they could be used to commit terrorist acts and some of the bombings that we've seen," the IAEA's Fleming said.

She described Al Qaqaa as "massive" and said it is one of the most well-known storage sites. Besides the explosives, it also held large caches of artillery.

Fleming said the IAEA, which is based in Vienna, Austria, did not know whether some of the explosives may have been used in past attacks.

The IAEA said that before the war it inspected the Al Qaqaa facility multiple times and verified that the material was present in January 2003. The agency said the material was mentioned in reports to the U.N. Security Council that were made public.

Ereli said coalition forces searched 32 bunkers and 87 other buildings at the Al Qaqaa facility after the war for weapons of mass destruction. The troops found none, but did see indications of looting, he said. Bush declared an end to major combat operations in Iraq on May 1, 2003.

"Some explosive material at the time was discovered, although none of it carried IAEA seals, and this discovery was reported to coalition forces for removal of the material," Ereli said.

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AGAIN...for the clueless and hopelessly naive.

This is a political season. All someone from an agency like IAEA has to do to get a story on the front page of the New York Times is to host a press conference or send a press release to the NY Times with allegations that Bush bungled the handling of issues in Iraq.

THAT IS WHAT WAS DONE HERE. This isn't a new story.

NBC REPORTERS WERE ON THE SCENE AND HAVE VERIFIED THAT THE EXPLOSIVES WERE MISSING WHEN TROOPS ARRIVED.

The IAEA knowingly provided false information on this issue, and it's no surprise to me, none at all, that Bush didn't want them in Iraq. They are no friend to us. Do you even realize that the iAEA, under the leadership of Hans Blix, allowed Iraq to aquire a nuclear program in the first place?

You are so trusting of the UN...and it's related arms. I can only wonder...WHY?

Catz

__________________
I'll get nicer when you get smarter.

I wonder if Kerry will apologize for his attacks on Bush yesterday related to this subject?

Nah.

creating the story in the first place.

You know, those world leaders who support him, blah, blah, blah.

Catz

__________________
I'll get nicer when you get smarter.

I guess not. Heard on the radio while at lunch Kerry is still trying to blast Bush on this issue even after the NBC report.

attention span of the American people, who will likely not follow this story and track down where it came from, and what the REAL story is in all this mess.

The REAL story...an international atomic regulatory organization embroiled in attempting to skew the U.S. election. Were they joined by U.S. political operatives who leaked the story to the NY Times? The Drudge report suggests the story was shopped around to several media outlets: NYT, CBS-60 Minutes, LA Times. WHO SHOPPED THIS STORY, and were they connected to the Kerry campaign?

YIKES.

Catz

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I'll get nicer when you get smarter.

Those on this board and the left wing sources that perpetuated this story. What a bunch of fools. The NY Times joins CBS on the scrap heap of propoganda media sources. Next time someone mentions Fox we should ask how many times they've spread lies like them and CBS.

In terms of who it came from, apparently it was a UN document so I would say it came from the UN. Trying to get their guy in office I'm sure. Bush should ask Kerry how he would like to eat his crow and demand an apology.

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All you need to know about the energy crisis:
ANWR Exploration Republicans: 91% Supported. Democrats: 86% Opposed.
Coal-to-liquid R's: 90% YES. D's: 78% NO.
Oil Shale Exploration R's: 90% YES. D's: 86% NO.
Outer Continental Shelf Exploration R's: 81% YES. D's: 83% NO.
Increased Refinery Capacity R's: 97% YES. D's: 96% NO

SUMMARY: 91% of House Republicans have historically voted to increase the production of America’s own oil and gas. 86% of House Democrats have historically voted against.

60 minutes (CBS) was going to release this story 24 hours before the election. Obviously to try to change the outcome of the election. CBS needs to pay for this kind of Bias reporting.

This was the big October surprise from the Dems? take an old story that was nothing and make up this LIE and try to get everyone to believe it as the truth.

So this is what the DEMS want as president? Kerry? Whats worse is he is still saying this is a true story! Unbelievable

I like how you nicely 'Doctored' this CNN article, Catz - If you actually go to the link, you missed a very important part of the article:


This weapons facility had a LOWER priority than the Oil Fields - No wonder not all troops could secure it - because the troops were busy protecting Bush's wallet!!!

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Truth is by nature self-evident, as soon as you remove the cobwebs of ignorance that surround it, it shines clear. Gandhi

I didn't doctor the story. I clipped part of it and included a link to the rest so you could read it for yourself, in it's entirety.

I rarely include an entire news article on this forum UNLESS a registration is required to read the story at the link.

IN that case, I circumvent the greedy capitalist media organizations by providing their stories to you so that you don't have to register.

But, nice try. Still no cigar. And, no story, either.

Catz

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I'll get nicer when you get smarter.

Perhaps I should say that you were "Creatively selective with your cut and paste features" with this article, sounds a little more accurate.

Having said that, I am interested in your perspective on the fact that this weapons facility wasn't a high priority for Bush, in terms of necessary military protection- your thoughts?

BTW - Don't do cigars, that's Monica's department

__________________
Truth is by nature self-evident, as soon as you remove the cobwebs of ignorance that surround it, it shines clear. Gandhi