Posted on 10/29/2004 11:15:15 AM PDT by mrustow
In a noontime press conference today at the Pentagon, Pentagon spokesman Larry Dirita and Army Maj. Austin Pearson, an ammunition management officer who was at the Iraqi ammunition depot Al Qaqaa in spring, 2003 with the Army 3rd Infantry Division, cast doubt on the New York Times/CBS News report alleging that 377 tons of Iraqi munitions had disappeared from the site, after it had come under American control in April, 2003.
Maj. Austin estimated that his unit removed 200-250 tons of munitions, and Mr. Dirita emphasized that reports that 141 tons of RDX explosives were at the facility under IAEA seal may be mistaken, and that perhaps only three tons of RDX were at the facility.
An ABC News report by Martha Raddatz and Luis Martinez on Wednesday, first revealed the 138-ton discrepancy, which could reduce the amount of Al Qaqaa explosives in question to approximately 239 tons. The Raddatz/Martinez report also emphasized that the IAEA seals were not secure; weapons could have been removed through unsealed ventilation slats. Together with the 200-250 tons that Maj. Austin’s unit removed from Al Qaqaa, the new information could explain the disposition of virtually the entire weapons cache at Al Qaqaa.
Reporters at the news conference continued to ask Mr. Dirita and Maj. Pearson about explosives under IAEA seal, ignoring the updated reports by Dirita, Pearson, and ABC News, questions which continued to assume the truth of the most negative initial reports.
Mr. Dirita emphasized that at present, no one knows exactly what happened to the entire Al Qaqaa weapons cache.
Since the IAEA seals were insecure, those bunkers are ultimately an unknown quantity.
"There is a forum on swiftvet site where a supposed Navy Chief claims they found the person who issued an "Other than honorable" discharge to kerry."
PowerLine is now reporting this too... hold your breath. NavyChief is a prolific poster to the SVPT forums... I don't know how his other postings have turned out or how he would know this, but we can hope.
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I heard Stephanopoulos on the radio this AM... he said the channel 5 video is DEFINITIVE. That's the MSM spin for now.
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Wow! He was patient. I was wondering when he would show his true colors. So, what is he saying -- that his colleague Martha Raddatz is full of crap?
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Bottom line up front: In my informed opinion, this press conference presented a true and accurate accounting of what happened to the ammunition in question.
As many of you know, my unit did similar ammunition removal operations to those described by MAJ Pierson at the Pentagon press conference today (though not in the same area). As he was speaking, I realized he commanded the facility that we hauled both US and captured Iraqi ammunition from and to. Everything he's describing is consistent with my experience. I toured his captured ammunition holding area (CAHA) as part of our preparation for that mission. It was huge. It was later destroyed by a fire as he describes because White Phosphorous ammunition gets very volatile when left exposed to the weather. We lost several trucks to WP rounds getting mixed in with the HE and cooking off. At the CAHA, they had a special pit (two to three stories deep) to handle WP rounds that cooked off, but since the WP was mixed with the high explosives, the fire started. It happened in other CAHAs as well. In fact, if memory serves, a CAHA controlled by the USMC went up the same week Dogwood blew.
I guarantee that right now folks are digging through the records of our reports of our captured ammunition hauling operations to find all references to explosives (as opposed to ammunition). Those reports will take a while to get through, but they'll get through them. I bet every soldier in Pierson's unit is being sought out to be interviewed by investigators, too. The Major probably didn't handle a lot of the ammo himself, but his soldiers will have handled it all.
I notice from the press conference that the press weanies are looking for every excuse to discredit or diminish his unit's efforts in defense of our country.
Remember the terrorists that tried to claim THEY took the ammo? Who do they want to win this election? Who does CBS, NYT, and NBC want to win this election? Who do you believe?
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F0URM0R3 ..........no such user///
MODS already took care of him (it)....
Thanks for the reply...
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