The context of that quote is that they did not find the sort of things that the 3rd Infantry troops did on April 3rd (namely chemical warfare documents and antidotes, and some sort of explosive powder)

But as we all know, Saddam had no such weapons nor the ability or plans for constructing such weapons.

So, for us to believe what you're saying, "looters" hauled off 380 cubic tons of explosive materials, and no US troops saw them doing it. Is that about it?

Think you'll do better defending the bogus CBS national guard documents.

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"Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival."
Winston Churchill

I think I get it now. You're referring to the AP(Fox link) article you posted just above. The article that I also posted Monday or Tuesday.

Ooooookay.

Well, yes. Then in that case, this story is "old" in that it started happening 18 months ago.

But it didn't cease to be an issue. It's just an issue that should have been addressed 18 months ago. But wasn't. Or even better, it should not have happened at all.

For it to truly be an "old" story, in the "recycled" sense, then it would have had to have been merely a reprinting or rehashing of that April 2003 AP article info. But it's not just a rehashing.

There is new infomation:

> As I pointed out to barney-fife, that AP article does not even address the explosives in question. So that is pretty darn new.

> This late in the game, there had still not been an accounting, as required, given as to the status, security and whereabouts of weapons and facilities under IAEA jurisdiction. Why not?

> Seriously dangerous explosives are missing, possibly due to gross negligence, poor war planning and/or incompetence. Accountability of those in charge is imperative.

> These seriously dangerous explosives are not mere grenades, bullets or TNT - that they are highly stable, easy to smuggle, and extremely destructive. One pound of that stuff brought down Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie. They are dual-use and can be used to trigger a nuclear device. These explosives should not be in the hands of terrorists or insurgents, and we need to be aware that they are missing.

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Yo, how can I get me one o' them White House press pass thingies?!

So, for us to believe what you're saying, "looters" hauled off 380 cubic tons of explosive materials, and no US troops saw them doing it. Is that about it?

__________________
"Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival."
Winston Churchill

Hey, I don't know what happened. Neither do you. The Iraqi government claims that the explosives are missing to looting and theft, due to poor security. Take it up with the Iraqi government if you've got a problem with that.

But look at what we do know:

1- The explosives were there March 8th.

2- The explosives were not there May 27th.

3- Between those 2 dates, we only know of 2 occasions on which US troops were present at Al Qaqaa - April 3rd and April 10th.

4- The unit there April 3rd stayed for 2 days.

5- The unit there April 10th stayed for 1 day.

6- Both units left the site unguarded. As yet, there is no indication it was secured and guarded at any point up to May 27th.

7- There is no definitive word yet as to whether Al Qaqaa had been looted by April 3rd or April 10th. However, the commander on the ground at Al Qaqaa April 10th reports he saw no signs of looting.

8- IAEA inspectors were in Iraq until March 18th.

9- The US invaded March 19th.

10- Saddam's regime fell April 9th.

11- Either the explosives in question were looted, or they were moved by Saddam's regime prior to the invasion.

12- If Saddam moved those explosives, it would have required a 40-truck fleet to do it all at once.

13- The window (generous version) for Saddam to move those explosives himself was from March 8th (Al Qaqaa last verified by IAEA) until April 9th (regime fell). 4-1/2 weeks.

14- The window (narrow version) for Saddam to move those explosives himself was from March 18th (inspectors left Iraq) until March 19th (invasion began). 1 day.

15- The window for looters, generously, is March 8th until May 27th. 11-1/2 weeks.

16- The window for looters, narrowly, is April 10th until May 27th. 7 weeks.

17- Al Qaqaa is a vast facility, close to Baghdad, and a known weapons site. I would expect that we had some pretty serious air and satellite coverage of that area in March and April, 2003, even prior to the invasion. I am skeptical that Saddam could have moved a 40-truck convoy of explosives out of Al Qaqaa undetected in the window of time afforded to him, in the midst of all the attention focused on him. I'm skeptical he could have achieved that by doing it piecemeal either.

18- Looters had a much larger window of opportunity, and much less attention focused on them. And they are "piecemeal" by nature.


So in answer to your question about whether it's believable that looters could have taken the explosives - yes, I think it is "believable". I find that possibility to be more credible than Saddam getting away with that, under the circumstances.

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Yo, how can I get me one o' them White House press pass thingies?!

Satellite photos reveal a large convoy of trucks leaving the facility, just prior to the invasion. Wonder what they were loaded with?

__________________
"Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival."
Winston Churchill

PROOF, LINKS, SOURCES, QUOTES???
PROOF, LINKS, SOURCES, QUOTES???
PROOF, LINKS, SOURCES, QUOTES???
PROOF, LINKS, SOURCES, QUOTES???
PROOF, LINKS, SOURCES, QUOTES???
PROOF, LINKS, SOURCES, QUOTES???
PROOF, LINKS, SOURCES, QUOTES???
PROOF, LINKS, SOURCES, QUOTES???
PROOF, LINKS, SOURCES, QUOTES???
PROOF, LINKS, SOURCES, QUOTES???
PROOF, LINKS, SOURCES, QUOTES???
PROOF, LINKS, SOURCES, QUOTES???

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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

Well, if true, that would be relevant new information.

Please provide a source, so I can check it out for myself.

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Yo, how can I get me one o' them White House press pass thingies?!

Just sitting hear watching the nightly news. They report, you decide. The photos have not yet been released, according to news reports.

__________________
"Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival."
Winston Churchill

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"The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left."
Ecclesiastes 10:2 (NIV)

title says it all, Authority Man.

__________________
"Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival."
Winston Churchill