Iraqi Nuclear Site Is Found Looted

The Washington Post ^ | May 4, 2003 | Barton Gellman

[FairOpinion]

NEAR KUT, Iraq, May 3 -- A specially trained Defense Department team, dispatched after a month of official indecision to survey a major Iraqi radioactive waste repository, today found the site heavily looted and said it was impossible to tell whether nuclear materials were missing.

In all, seven sites associated with Iraq's nuclear program have been visited by the Pentagon's "special nuclear programs" teams since the war ended last month. None was found to be intact, though it remains unclear what materials -- if any -- had been removed.

[FairOpinion]

This article is worth reading. I don't know how much of it is true, but if it is true, this is cause for concern.

For those interested, there were a couple of interesting articles about the underground nuclear find at Al Tuwaitha, which the UN may not have known about. This article doesn't mention any of the details which were in those articles.

Here are the links to those articles:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/889087/posts

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/891411/posts

[detsaoT]

A specially trained Defense Department team, dispatched after a month of official indecision to survey a major Iraqi radioactive waste repository, today found the site heavily looted and said it was impossible to tell whether nuclear materials were missing.

I question this author's suggestion that the United States Military left such a strategic site completely unguarded since we first heard of it nearly a month ago. It just doesn't sound like our traditional modus operandi... Does anyone have any other information related to this?

FReegards,

:) ttt

[FairOpinion]

That was my first reaction too: wondering how much if any of this is true.

The liberals got hold of the word "looting" and are using it liberally ( pardon the pun).

Things may have been stolen (not the same as "looted") by the Iraqi government, when they saw they were losing and may be in Syria by now.

[gcruse]

Heavily looted and radioactive? Turn out the lights and follow the glow until you find the bodies.

[detsaoT]

ROFL! Couldn't agree more!

:) ttt

[justshutupandtakeit]

Like the movie "RepoMan"

[detsaoT]

That was my first reaction too: wondering how much if any of this is true. The liberals got hold of the word "looting" and are using it liberally ( pardon the pun). Things may have been stolen (not the same as "looted") by the Iraqi government, when they saw they were losing and may be in Syria by now.

Yeah, from where I'm sitting, it looks like the Left is essentially in Damage Control mode worldwide - every single event in Iraq at present absolutely must be altered and spun until it causes some kind of damage to the United States and its Military (and, by inference, George W. Bush) in the eyes of the Enlightened Socialists of Europe and New York.

A pox on them all. I hope that we can keep their hypocrisy and their deceit in FULL VIEW for the next year, so we can make some serious inroads in reforming this nation, and we can finally begin to fix the damage that liberal socialism has done to the world.

:) ttt

[CyberAnt]

"Al Tuwaitha"

The UN must have known about this site, because the nuclear agency had already put stickers on some of the equipment at that site.

After they found it, I never heard any more about it.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Yeah, from where I'm sitting, it looks like the Left is essentially in Damage Control mode worldwide

They are trying to belittle the visit and speech on the USS Lincoln also. That really hacks me off. Posted it here:

Drama intended in Bush's jet flight - (Barf Alert)

[detsaoT]

They are trying to belittle the visit and speech on the USS Lincoln also. That really hacks me off. Posted it here:

Yeah, I hear ya. I swear, when The Bent One staged completely phony photo-ops, none of these idiots in the press said a word. Now, when a REAL Commander-In-Chief shows up, they're beside themselves trying to come up with sardonic excuses and attempts to read some level of fakeness into it - when it was Billy Boy who was clearly the least liked of the two.

One more reason for me to hate the press, and one more reason for me NEVER TO WATCH AGAIN. And, other than the entertainment shows on Sunday evenings on Fox, I've been faithful to that promise. I have better things to do than have some Democratic Party whore/hack spout venom at me.

FReegards, friend. We are winning the war, one battle at a time. Who cares if we lose New York, anyway!

:) ttt

[FairOpinion]

As far as I know, the UN knew about the site, but didn't find some large underground area nearby, which is what the Marines found.

But the news on all that was somewhat fuzzy, and never heard full explanation/clarification.

[Smokin' Joe]

Yeah, remember the press has hated our military for a long time, since korea maybe, but definitely since Vietnam. (The friggin' press lost the war on the home front, and hollywierd helped.)

Sure was a beautiful sight to see a POTUS who could wade into a crowd of happy swabbies without being packed in between Secret Service Agents.

[John H K]

Also a NYT article today.

As best I can tell, they didn't actually find much of anything the UN didn't know about. That first article seems to have been based on some excitable combat engineers, not the nuclear specialists from this article.

Certainly no "weapons grade plutonium" at all.

[El Gato]

Sure was a beautiful sight to see a POTUS who could wade into a crowd of happy swabbies without being packed in between Secret Service Agents

The SS agenets were there, but they stayed behind/beside POTUS. One kept his hand on the small of POTUS' back at all times. They were all wearing green "flight" jackets and kaki pants, but different colored shirts. They were tyring to maintain their normal somewhat detached/somewhat fierce demeanor, but at least once one of them cracked a smile. I don't know if it was someting one of the squids said, or something that came over his earpiece. I'd bet the squids.

[Smokin' Joe]

They were pretty easy to spot, but seemed the most relaxed (not sloppy, just a little at ease) I have seen them in quite a few years. My bet is on one of the squids, too, but after the Clintons, I bet this was a real break for the Agents.

Damned sure would have been a different picture with Clinton on board, but then Clinton wouldn't have flown the plane part way or stayed the night.