[BlackVeil]

"One military expert told the FBI that even an inert missile could pose dangers." One of these dangers is to the credulity of the general public, who might start thinking that they have not been given the full story.

[Abcdefg]

That missle was mentioned on Dallas radio stations the day of the bombing. I heard it myself and I seem to remember more explosive devices were recovered from inside the building. The government lies.

[Cicero]

It certainly took them a long time to think up this story.

I can't believe they wouldn't have said something right away if it was a dead missile. It would have corrected at least one of the dozens of discrepencies between the government's story and various news releases, and it would have been reassuring to the public.

[Yasotay]

I know some things about TOW missiles (having fired about 100 of them at Graf). It sounds like a "Blue Spear", a training round. By itself, it is NO big deal .... BUT ... it is very WEIRD that it was in a Federal Building, most 11Hs (TOW trained infantryman) I know, would consider that unsafe ....

[dts32041]

Funny the tow is approximately 50 inches long which means it 14 inches longer that three feet.

Wonder what kind of missle it really was?

If they can't get basic facts correct why should we believe them any further?

[irradiateiraq]

Government had missile in Murrah building

come on nothing to see here. who in this forum doesnt have a tow missle in their garage i keep mine right next to the weedwhacker

[Khurkris]

Doesn't everyone have one of these laying around?

[Naplm]

gotta say, when things like this are brought out, first thing I wonder is what made them finally admit it, second, who the hell thought this cover story up, things sure don't look kosher for the gvmnt.

[Poohbah]

The missile was going to be used in a sting. Since the stinging agency was Customs, the sting probably targeted some furriners.

[glorygirl]

More proof that the full story isn't being told ping.

[glorygirl]

The ramifications of this story are almost beyond comprehension.

So, after all these years, we find out there WAS GOING TO BE A STING after all. But the government"would not discuss the details of the planned sting."

Before I say anything else, please notice that NOWHERE IN THE STORY DID THE CUSTOMS SERVICE DENY THE EXISTENCE OF LIVE ORDNANCE ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE MURRAH BUILDING.

But it "would not discuss the details of the planned sting."

So, let's see. We know there have been rumors for years that various government officials whispered about a "sting gone wrong" in the immediate aftermath of the bombing.

We know that McVeigh was a soldier who wanted to very much to get into the special forces.

We know there are a lot of questions about where he was and what he did between the time he was supposedly released from the military and the time of the OKC Bombing.

We know he hated the government.

We know about the missing documents.(Too bad the AP did not detail the source of the "documents" used for this story)

With all of this, when the government releases this information, it makes the point that the "inert missile" was "several floors away" from the daycare center. I wonder if this information makes the parents of the kids killed in the daycare center feel any better, seven and a half years after the fact.

It also has the gall to suggest that "a handful... of conspiracy theorists" knew about an "inert missile" for all that time, but didn't bother to tell anyone. Right.

This is a huge insult to the people of Oklahoma, and especially to those directly impacted by the OKC Bombing. I hope a lot of phones are ringing off the hook in Washington D.C. and Oklahoma later today.

I suppose OKCSubmariner and others were threatened simply because of concerns about the existence of an "inert missile." Right.

IMO, Bush and the rest of the feds should get this story out in the open, and get past it, quickly. Whatever the truth,it can't be as bad as it could be made to look if it is revealed by someone outside the federal government.

Also, on the strength of this story alone, OKCSubmariner should be reinstated to Free Republic as quickly as possible.

[Donald Stone]

I wonder what type of group or individual would buy a missile, terrorist or bank robbers?

But its discovery prompted an evacuation that slowed rescue efforts April 19, 1995, in part because the missile had been marked as live ordinance to make it look believable to the targets of a planned law enforcement sting, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.

[Woodstock]

I recall now the police officer who tried to get this information into his police report, but the higher-ups forced him to edit it out - according to his wifes story. The officer, I do not remember his name, was murdered shortly thereafter and there are a lot of questions still about motive and suspects of the murder.

There is whole lot more to the bombing story. I am not a tinfoil hat person yet. But I believe this and flight 800 were two acts of terrorism in this country that our government just would not admit to.

[TigersEye]

...but its existence has remained mostly a secret to the public — except for a handful of conspiracy theorists and government critics.

Sounds like this AP writer is tacitly admitting that 'conspiracy theorists' and 'government critics' are more well informed and more on the ball than AP is.

[rabidralph]

Why can't news people learn to spell ordnance?

[Twodees]

But its discovery prompted an evacuation that slowed rescue efforts April 19, 1995, in part because the missile had been marked as live ordinance to make it look believable to the targets of a planned law enforcement sting, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.

What sort of sting involves showing a missle to someone? Could the BATF be involved in luring people into a deal to purchase ordnance and then busting them for conspiracy?