Nuke component unearthed in Baghdad back yard

CNN ^ | 25 June 2003 | From David Ensor

[July 4th]

WASHINGTON (CNN) --The CIA has in its hands the critical parts of a key piece of Iraqi nuclear technology -- parts needed to develop a bomb program -- that were dug up in a back yard in Baghdad, CNN has learned.

[Dog]

Move along people it seems the WMD naysayers have found the thread to discount this find today..

[Alberta's Child]

It's a smoking bong in disguise.

This may explain the whole "Baghdad Bob" phenomenon.

[Reagan Man]

They make a steak dinner better.

[finnman69]

U.S.: Nuclear components in Iraq

Pre-Gulf War plans, parts found hidden in residential backyard

WASHINGTON, June 25 — U.S. intelligence officials have found decade-old plans and equipment for a nuclear weapons program in Iraq, indicating that former President Saddam Hussein might have been able to restart the weapons programs he built before the first Gulf War, U.S. officials told NBC News on Wednesday.

THREE U.S. OFFICIALS told NBC’s Andrea Mitchell that an Iraqi scientist who was part of what Saddam called his “nuclear mujahadeen” had led the intelligence officials to a barrel in a garden, where they found plans for a centrifuge and components of a uranium enrichment system.
The officials cautioned against reading too much into the discovery, which was first reported by CNN, stressing that it was not a “smoking gun” or evidence that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. They said the plans dated back to the end of the first Gulf War, when Saddam was already widely known to be seeking such weapons, and came as no great surprise.
But the officials asserted that the discovery did prove that Saddam was hiding nuclear components from U.N. inspectors and could have rebuilt a weapons program once they left.
Richard Butler, the United Nations’ former chief weapons inspector, told MSNBC TV’s Lester Holt that he was “absolutely unsurprised” by the report. “We have known of [Saddam’s previous plans] for a decade.”

President Bush claimed before the U.S. invasion of Iraq in March that Iraq already was harboring weapons of mass destruction and has promised that they would eventually be found.
But Butler said that the discovery of components of a uranium enrichment system suggested that Iraq was far from production of actual weapons. The need for an enrichment system established that “Iraq does not have adequate sources of natural uranium,” he said. “... It has to be, above all, enriched to get weapons grade.”
“This all adds up and makes sense,” Butler said.

[Dog]

Is this the white haired guy they found the papers in his house??

[plain talk]

Because everyone's been dumned down by liberalism and lawyers run amuck, there will never be a smoking gun that Johnnie Cochran couldn't acquit Saddam of.

[Brad’s Gramma]

You DO know the truth about this, don't you? Bush, Cheney, etal took a red eye to Iraq and planted this stuff themselves.

I'm surprised you can't see that!

/dripping w/sarcasm

[Porterville]

"Okay, I admit it, I'm a worthless idiot"

[mewzilla]

Click here to see what those dumb clucks at the IAEA thought about Iraq's nuke program.

[witnesstothefall]

This could finally be significant evidence of WMD program being kept secret. Here's an interesting link about Iraq and centrifuges:

http://www.isis-online.org/publications/expcontrol/albright2.html

[Dog]

CNN just showed a clip of the scientist....he buried the stuff in a barrel..

[Wolfstar]

And chemical precursors, and those strange trucks that are "really" for blowing up balloons (or some such nonsense), and gas masks issued to Iraqi soldiers, and... Oh, but the Left will NEVER believe Dubya and Blair had a valid reason for going into Iraq, no matter what proof we wave in front of their noses.

On the other hand, do we really expect the likes of this fool to have the brainpower to get it?

[gov_bean_ counter]

If people are talking, Saddam is dead.

[Aaron0617]

DUmmies are saying that....

yeah..yeah. There is a 300+ post thread over there saying the planes from 9/11 were remote controlled, c'mon.

[Carolina]

THREE U.S. OFFICIALS told NBC’s Andrea Mitchell that an Iraqi scientist who was part of what Saddam called his “nuclear mujahadeen” had led the intelligence officials to a barrel in a garden, where they found plans for a centrifuge and components of a uranium enrichment system.

So, CNN is reporting centrifuges and NBC is reporting plans? Can someone clarify for those of us TVless people?

[mewzilla]

Not sure. CNN's used his name, but I didn't recognize it. But the scientist is now out of Iraq, so I guess he feels safe enough to sing his heart out.

[Paleo Conservative]

But U.S. says this is "not a smoking gun"...

Duh, it's a centrifuge, not a gun.

A gun only smokes after it has been fired. We want to find WMD before they are used and there is a "smoking gun." As usual leftist murder the English language and use nonsense metaphors.

[Robert A Cook PE]

Oh yeah, right.

It was accidently hidden in his backyard.

Just like the chemical laboratory truck trailers were accidently sanitized with bleach before being abandoned and stripped.

Liberals take as a matter of religious faith -deeper than most of the Christians they so desperately hate - any lies needed to further their socialist agenda.

Equally, they ignore any truths that are inconvenient at the current time: such as the false evidence, lies and coverups of Clinton's "evidence" that the Monica's "aspirin factory" was hiding a terror camp.

He falsified that data completely so that he could tomahawk the factory the day Monica was testifying, (but the media is ignoring that!) and the lies and false evidence were so "incredible" that Clinton COULDN'T EVEN TELL THE JCS he was bombing the plant before hand!

[ContentiousObjector]

Iraq had a weapons program, it's the worst kept secret in history.

It isn't being called a smoking gun, because it isn't. Remnants of the Iraqi weapons program are all over the place. And calling a gas centrifuge that you could find in any cow college and even some high schools a 'smoking gun' would look pretty damn stupid.

[TheBigB]

"No wonder we couldn't find anything...it was all hidden! --Hans "Ignorance is" Blix