News & Politics - GIs witness theft of Iraq explosives

Sparrowhawk · 11-05-2004, 05:25 PM

NOW it comes out…how convenient.

Quote:

Report: GIs witnessed theft of Iraq explosives
U.S. troops at Al-Qaqaa site say they were outnumbered by looters
The Associated Press
Updated: 8:49 a.m. ET Nov. 4, 2004
LOS ANGELES - Explosives were looted from the Al-Qaqaa ammunitions site in Iraq while outnumbered U.S. soldiers assigned to guard the materials watched helplessly, soldiers told the Los Angeles Times.

About a dozen U.S. troops were guarding the sprawling facility in the weeks after the April 2003 fall of Baghdad when Iraqi looters raided the site, the newspaper quoted a group of unidentified soldiers as saying. U.S. Army reservists and National Guardsmen witnessed the looting and some soldiers sent messages to commanders in Baghdad requesting help, but received no reply, they said.

“It was complete chaos. It was looting like L.A. during the Rodney King riots,” one officer said.
The eyewitness accounts reported by the Times are the first provided by U.S. soldiers and bolster claims that the U.S. military had failed to safeguard the powerful explosives, the newspaper said.

High-grade explosives reported stolen
Iraqi officials told the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency last month that about 380 tons of high-grade explosives, a type powerful enough to detonate a nuclear weapon, had been taken from the Al-Qaqaa facility.

Soldiers who belong to two different units described how Iraqis snatched explosives from unsecured bunkers and drove off with them in pickup trucks.

The soldiers who spoke to the Times asked to remain unidentified, saying they feared retaliation from the Pentagon.
The soldiers said they could not confirm that looters took the particularly powerful explosives known as HMX and RDX. One soldier, however, said U.S. forces saw looters load trucks with bags marked “hexamine,” which is a key ingredient for HMX.

One senior noncommissioned officer said troops “were running from one side of the compound to the other side, trying to kick people out” and that at least 100 vehicles were at the site waiting for the military to leave so that they could loot the munitions.

Pentagon's accounts
The Pentagon has offered accounts that suggest the explosives were removed before the U.S.-led invasion to oust Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and not during the chaos following the fall of Baghdad.

A Pentagon statement last week said the removal of the explosives would have required dozens of heavy trucks moving along the same roads as U.S. combat divisions. The missing explosives became a campaign issue with Sen. John Kerry claiming it was further evidence of the Bush administration’s poor handling of the war.

Four soldiers who are members of the Germany-based 317th Support Center and the 258th Rear Area Operations Center, an Arizona-based Army National Guard unit, said the looting happened over several weeks in late April and early May 2003.

Asked about the soldiers’ accounts, Pentagon spokeswoman Rose-Ann Lynch told the newspaper: “We take the report of missing munitions very seriously. And we are looking into the facts and circumstances of this incident.”

© 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

And the Republicans were spouting that they were gone before we got there. What a load of BS. I'm just disgusted with Republicans nowadays... they can't seem to see beyond the propaganda fed them by the Administration.

Oil prices dropped right after the election. How convenient. Ohio was the only state with gas less than $2 a gallon. How convenient. Bush has big backers in the energy companies. How conenient. Gah.

Milt Palacio · 11-05-2004, 05:25 PM

Why didn't they shoot the looters?

The Happy Psycho · 11-05-2004, 05:51 PM

That could've stopped the looting, but imagine the headlines...'US troops open fire on unarmed civilians'. And I'm not surprised this came out after the election either.

Sparrowhawk · 11-05-2004, 06:28 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by The Happy Psycho
That could've stopped the looting, but imagine the headlines...'US troops open fire on unarmed civilians'. And I'm not surprised this came out after the election either.

Nor am I surprised that the offensive we are in now started after the election.

Sparrowhawk · 11-05-2004, 11:00 PM

I'd love to get an interpretation by the blind supporters of Bush.

Apparently Kerry was right that this Administration has done a lousy job securing Iraq.

ceilirose · 11-05-2004, 11:03 PM

One thing I've learned from this election, this Administration and being on this board is that Bush is never held accountable. It's always Kerry's fault and if that fails blame Clinton.

It's like I read on dailykos.com last week..The Bush Administration's motto is the buck doesn't stop here and it's not my fault.

Sparrowhawk · 11-06-2004, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ceilirose
One thing I've learned from this election, this Administration and being on this board is that Bush is never held accountable. It's always Kerry's fault and if that fails blame Clinton.

It's like I read on dailykos.com last week..The Bush Administration's motto is the buck doesn't stop here and it's not my fault.

Completely! This has been the most unaccountable Administration ever. Bush's plan seems to be plausible deniability. It angers me so much that his supporters can absolve him of all responsibility

*Ledi* · 11-06-2004, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Sparrowhawk
Completely! This has been the most unaccountable Administration ever. Bush's plan seems to be plausible deniability. It angers me so much that his supporters can absolve him of all responsibility

I know. I feel the exact same way. It's amazing how everyone just thinks that Bush is innocent & that it's the others' fault. Riiight.

JW77 · 11-07-2004, 02:35 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Sparrowhawk
And the Republicans were spouting that they were gone before we got there. What a load of BS. I'm just disgusted with Republicans nowadays... they can't seem to see beyond the propaganda fed them by the Administration.

When you say "they", do you mean the high-grade explosives? If so, there's still no proof that those particular explosives were there while the looting was going on.

As far as safeguarding the area, yes, they should've done a lot better. There's just no reason, in my opinion, why areas like that couldn't have been a top priority.

Quote:

Oil prices dropped right after the election. How convenient. Ohio was the only state with gas less than $2 a gallon. How convenient. Bush has big backers in the energy companies. How conenient. Gah.

Why is it a big deal that oil prices dropped? I don't understand.

Oh, and Georgia had gas prices under $2 a gallon.

Quote:

Originally posted by Milt Palacio
Why didn't they shoot the looters?

The rules of engagement were probably well defined. Most likely, no firing unless fired upon.


Fan Forum > General Discussion > News & Politics > GIs witness theft of Iraq explosives