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Son of a VET
Master Chief Petty Officer
Joined: 07 Aug 2004
Posts: 791
Location: TN
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 Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2004 12:14 am Post subject: Russians ‘may have taken Iraq explosives’ |
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| Quote: | Russians ‘may have taken Iraq explosives’
By Demetri Sevastopulo and Guy Dinmore in Washington and James Harding in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Published: October 28 2004 00:45 | Last updated: October 28 2004 00:45
The campaign controversy over high explosives missing in Iraq intensified on Wednesday as President George W. Bush accused John Kerry of making “wild charges”, while a senior Pentagon official claimed that Russian troops might have been involved in removing the munitions.
Mr Kerry told a rally in Iowa on Wednesday that Mr Bush had allowed 350 tonnes of explosives to fall into the hands of the insurgents, even as his campaign conceded that the former regime of Saddam Hussein might have removed them before the invasion.
The Pentagon is investigating what happened to the explosives, which the International Atomic Energy Agency said this week had disappeared from a former Iraqi weapons depot. Mr Bush said the explosives might have been removed before US troops arrived at the al-Qaqaa site.
While the candidates sparred over the issue, a senior Pentagon official alleged that “Russian units” might have transported the explosives and other weapons out of Iraq into Syria.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Shaw said: “For nearly nine months my office has been aware of an elaborate scheme set up by Saddam Hussein to finance and disguise his weapons purchases through his international suppliers, principally the Russians and French.
“That network included a major effort employing various Russian units on the eve of hostilities to both orchestrate the collection of munitions and assure their transport out of Iraq via Syria.”
The Russian embassy in Washington rejected the claims as “nonsense”, saying there were no Russian military in Iraq at the time.
Mr Shaw, who heads the Pentagon's international armament and technology trade directorate, has not provided evidence to back up his assertions, and the Pentagon distanced itself from his remarks.
“I am unaware of anyparticular information on that point,” said Larry Di Rita, Pentagon spokesman. “I would be careful about information that has been asserted because I don't know how accurate it might be.”
The issue has dominated the presidential campaign since the IAEA raised the problem at the United Nations Security Council on Monday. Mr Kerry has charged that the disappearance marked “one of the greatest blunders of this administration, and the incredible incompetence of this president”.
The Democrats' charge that the munitions ended up in the hands of insurgents is based on the official explanation of the Iraqi government, which says that the explosives disappeared during looting after US forces seized Baghdad
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http://news.ft.com/cms/s/a4bc50c6-2870-11d9-9308-00000e2511c8.html
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sleeplessinseattle
LCDR
Joined: 10 Sep 2004
Posts: 430
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| Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2004 12:33 am Post subject: |
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"Mr Kerry told a rally in Iowa on Wednesday that Mr Bush had allowed 350 tonnes of explosives to fall into the hands of the insurgents, even as his campaign conceded that the former regime of Saddam Hussein might have removed them before the invasion."
Kerry ultimately takes all sides to every issue and stands for NOTHING. What an idiot.
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chemical_boy
Lt.Jg.
Joined: 19 Aug 2004
Posts: 108
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| Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2004 12:47 am Post subject: |
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Its hard to believe the Financial Times endorsed kerry 
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www.moorewatch.com
Watching Michael Moores every Move |
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PC
PO3
Joined: 29 Aug 2004
Posts: 257
Location: Southern California
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| Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2004 3:28 am Post subject: One For me One For You |
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Maybe those Ruskies slipped in a few WMDs, along with the 380 tons of conventional explosives.
Question for the IAEA geeks:
How many tons of those explosives (used only for construction purposes, of course) does it take to equal WMD?
I mean, if I take 380 tons of this super duper explosive stuff and ignite it in midtown Manhattan, might it do some mass destruction?
But of course, the odds of some 400 terrorists pulling up to 42nd street and Broadway and unloading 380 tons of this s@#t, undetected, is about the same as those terrorists transporting it out of a war zone.
Yeah, I can just see it. The terrorists, dressed in their head wrapped rags, pull up to Times Square in 40 semis, unload 380 tons, take out a mile long fuse, light it, shout "Haka, Haka Mohammed" and run like hell.
A@#hole Dan Rather, on his way to work, would trip over the fuse and not even notice. |
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LewWaters
Admin
Joined: 18 May 2004
Posts: 4042
Location: Washington State
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