| Topic: |
Politics > Politics-USA |
| User: |
"GW *AWOL* Chimpzilla" |
| Date: |
31 Oct 2004 02:15:39 PM |
| Object: |
Weapons Remain Unaccounted for in Iraq |
By WILLIAM J. KOLE, Associated Press Writer
VIENNA, Austria - From the deserts of the south and west to the outskirts of
Baghdad, Iraq (news - web sites) is awash in weapons sites - some large, others
small; some guarded, others not. Even after the U.S. military secured some
400,000 tons of munitions, as many as 250,000 tons remain unaccounted for.
Attention has focused on the al-Qaqaa site south of Baghdad, where 377 tons of
explosives are believed to have gone missing - becoming a heated issue in the
final days of the U.S. presidential campaign.
But with the names of other sites popping up everywhere - al-Mahaweel, Baqouba,
Ukhaider, Qaim - experts say the al-Qaqaa stash is only a tiny fraction of
what's buried in the sands of Iraq.
"There is something truly absurd about focusing on 377 tons," said Anthony
Cordesman, a defense analyst and Iraq expert with the Washington-based Center
for Strategic and International Studies. He contends Iraq's prewar stockpiles
"were probably in excess of 650,000 tons."
Underscoring the depth of Iraq's militarization before the March 2003 invasion,
the Pentagon (news - web sites) says U.S.-led forces have destroyed 240,000
tons of munitions and have secured another 160,000 tons that is awaiting
destruction.
Through mid-September, coalition forces inspected and cleared more than 10,000
caches of weapons, U.S. arms hunter Charles Duelfer said in a recent report.
But up to 250,000 tons remains unaccounted for, according to military
estimates, much of it in small stashes scattered around the country.
[more]
http://snipurl.com/a72n
--
"There's an old saying in Tennessee -- I know it's in Texas -- that says, fool
me once, shame on you. Fool me -- you can't get fooled again."
http://www.diymedia.net/audio/mp3/tdntb-bushwack2.mp3
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| User: "Robert" |
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| Title: Re: Weapons Remain Unaccounted for in Iraq(A QUARTER OF A MILLIONTONS) |
31 Oct 2004 02:51:14 PM |
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What's a quarter of a million tons of missing weapons between friends.
GW *AWOL* Chimpzilla wrote:
By WILLIAM J. KOLE, Associated Press Writer
VIENNA, Austria - From the deserts of the south and west to the outskirts of
Baghdad, Iraq (news - web sites) is awash in weapons sites - some large, others
small; some guarded, others not. Even after the U.S. military secured some
400,000 tons of munitions, as many as 250,000 tons remain unaccounted for.
Attention has focused on the al-Qaqaa site south of Baghdad, where 377 tons of
explosives are believed to have gone missing - becoming a heated issue in the
final days of the U.S. presidential campaign.
But with the names of other sites popping up everywhere - al-Mahaweel, Baqouba,
Ukhaider, Qaim - experts say the al-Qaqaa stash is only a tiny fraction of
what's buried in the sands of Iraq.
"There is something truly absurd about focusing on 377 tons," said Anthony
Cordesman, a defense analyst and Iraq expert with the Washington-based Center
for Strategic and International Studies. He contends Iraq's prewar stockpiles
"were probably in excess of 650,000 tons."
Underscoring the depth of Iraq's militarization before the March 2003 invasion,
the Pentagon (news - web sites) says U.S.-led forces have destroyed 240,000
tons of munitions and have secured another 160,000 tons that is awaiting
destruction.
Through mid-September, coalition forces inspected and cleared more than 10,000
caches of weapons, U.S. arms hunter Charles Duelfer said in a recent report.
But up to 250,000 tons remains unaccounted for, according to military
estimates, much of it in small stashes scattered around the country.
[more]
http://snipurl.com/a72n
.
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