Posted on 02/23/2005 12:50:25 PM PST by Jim Robinson
Newly released documents from the Bush administration show that a former member of Saddam Hussein's inner circle has resurfaced inside the new Iraqi government, bringing charges of corruption, bribery and bid-rigging.
As a result, millions of U.S. aid dollars and billions in Iraqi government funds have disappeared in an ongoing scandal that is poised to engulf Baghdad and Washington. Worse still, a leading candidate for the top elected post in Iraq has also been implicated in the report as having taken "payoffs" in order to rig a major government cell phone contract.
According to a May 2004 U.S. Defense Department report to the inspector general, a former financier and close associate of Saddam Hussein, Nadhmi Auchi, has "engaged in unlawful activities" such as bribing "foreign governments and individuals prior to Operation Iraqi Freedom to turn opinion against the American-led mission to remove Saddam Hussein."
In addition, the report noted that Auchi arranged "for significant theft from the UN Oil-for-Food Program to smuggle weapons and dual-use technology into Iraq in violation of UN and other International Export Control Regimes."
Today, according to the official DOD report, Auchi has organized "an elaborate scheme to take over and control the post-war cellular phone system in Iraq."
According to John A. Shaw, the former deputy undersecretary for international technology security, Auchi not only helped Saddam prior to the war but also worked closely with the French bank BNP Paribas after combat ended, in order to acquire contracts inside Iraq.
"Auchi is the single largest principle shareholder in BNP Paribas," stated Shaw during an exclusive interview.
BNP Parabas has been linked to the U.N. Oil-for-Food scandal, with potentially billions of dollars missing, or misused by Saddam though the French bank.
Shaw was very clear that Auchi, a kingmaker in present-day Iraq, used his powers against the U.S.
"From the outset Auchi kept out U.S. companies and U.S. technology," said Shaw of the bidding process for the Iraqi cell contracts.
"There is a gold rush out there [Iraq]. The opportunity is there. There is so much money floating around that the Iraqi minister of communications went to London, passed $20 million to Auchi to have him start the process."
Shaw was not the only official to notice millions of dollars being passed out like so much candy at a party. The May 2004 Defense report supports Shaw's allegations of corruption.
"Bribes amounting to between $18 and $21 million were allegedly allocated among six people," noted the May 2004 report.
"It was reported by the CPA [Coalition Provisional Authority] Baghdad in late April [2004] that financial controls in the MOC [Ministry of Communications] were 'few to non-existent.' In that context, all the records of the cellular tender appear to have disappeared."
The May 2004 report also implicated leading Iraqi Governing Council member Ibrahim al-Jafferi. According to the report, "there remain numerous allegations of payoffs and kickbacks from the winning consortia to a variety of decision makers" including Ibrahim al-Jafferi.
The report noted, "a second source reported a payment of $3 million made to al-Jafferi, and a matching amount to Haider al-Abadi [the Iraqi minister of communications]."
Ibrahim al-Jafferi is currently the leading spokesman for the Islamic Daawa Party and a potential candidate for the Iraqi prime minister job. He is the preferred candidate on the Shia list that won the election.
The implication of al-Jafferi's involvement in the rigged cellular bidding may put a quick end to his rapid rise to power and dash hopes inside Washington for a smooth change inside Iraq to self-governance.
The May 2004 report was followed more recently by a January 2005 audit report released by the office of the Special Inspector General for Iraqi Reconstruction.
The January 2005 report noted that hundreds of millions of U.S. aid dollars were missing and "the CPA provided less than adequate controls for approximately $8.8 billion" in U.S. funds provided for Iraq.
The May 2004 DOD report also noted that Iraqi communications contracts have been awarded to French and Chinese companies that either were implicated in the ongoing Oil-for-Food scandal or provided Saddam's Iraq with weapons in violation of the U.N. sanctions imposed by the world body.
The May 2004 report noted that a principle supplier of Iraqi communications hardware for the current cellular contract is "Huawei, a Chinese company that operated in Iraq under Saddam Hussein."
Huawei supplied Saddam with a secure air defense network. The Chinese-built air defense system, NATO code-named "Tiger Song," was sold to Iraq in violation of a U.N. embargo on arms exports.
The U.S. bombed the Chinese fiber optic network prior to and during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Huawei also supplied a sophisticated fiber optic command and control network to the Taliban in Afghanistan prior to the U.S. invasion.
Another major supplier of equipment for the Iraqi cellular system is French-based Alcatel. The French communications company has already been linked to BNP Paribas. Alcatel profited from U.S. and Iraqi money supplied to rebuild the war-torn country.
"The winners in the Iraqi cellular license tender were Saddam's most senior financiers, their Egyptian and Iraqi supporters, the bank BNP Paribas, European cellular corporations - particularly Alcatel and Chinese telecom interests such as Huawei," states the May 2004 Defense Department report.
"If the French had provided a couple of divisions to take Baghdad they could not have gotten more," concluded John Shaw with disgust.
Charles Smith will be on:
The Jerry Hughes Show on Friday, 2/25/05, at 3 p.m. Eastern time. Show information at http://www.cilamerica.com.
The Charlie Smith Show on the American Freedom Network on Monday, 2/28/05, at 11 a.m. Eastern time. Show information at http://www.americanewsnet.com.
"Auchi is the single largest principle shareholder in BNP Paribas,"
Wasn't there a recent article stating a large ownership interest in Paribas by Power Corp, Desmarais or other Canadians?
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2005/1/17/133225.shtml
"...BNP Paribas
Top among these is the European-based BNP Paribas bank, which the U.N. chose to administer the program and which reportedly received nearly $1 billion for its efforts. Congressional investigators reviewing the bank's actions have discovered broken rules, missing documents and improper transfers by BNP Paribas, which up until now has been assumed to be a French bank.
In fact, BNP Paribas is actually controlled by Power Corporation, an appropriately named Canadian company that has a shocking track record of 'business' relationships with the worst gangsters and tyrannical regimes in the world.
BNP Paribas also has one other distinguishing feature: a direct corporate and familial relationship with the persons running the government of Canada for the last 20 years.
The truth about BNP Paribas and Power Corp. sheds a new light on Canada's seemingly bizarre anti-American foreign policy in the Middle East, in China and elsewhere.
BNP Paribas bank is part of a holding company, Pargesa Holding, which is jointly owned and controlled by the Frère and Desmarais families. Paul Desmarais Sr. is the chairman of the group, while Albert Frère is the vice-chairman. Gerald Frère, Albert's son, is one of three general managers who oversee day-to-day operations, and Paul Desmarais Jr. is also an officer.
Pargesa, and thus Power Corporation and the Canadian Desmarais family, holds a controlling significant stake in TotalFina Elf, the Belgian-French petroleum multinational corporation formed from the merger of Total and Petrofina.
BNP Paribas and TotalFina may have blood-stained corporate histories, but the intimate and intricate connections of Power Corp. to Canada's governing elite raise the truly disturbing questions.
Power Corporation CEO Andre Desmarais is the son-in-law of former Prime Minister Jean Chretien, who went out of his way to oppose U.S. intervention in Iraq, where the family's business interests with the Saddam regime would be jeopardized.
Current Canadian PM Paul Martin is a former Power Corporation employee who made his fortune when he bought Canada Steamship Lines from Power Corp. aided by loans from Power Corp. To this day both CSL and Power are reported to have mutual equity interests in each other.
The most senior foreign affairs/international trade adviser to current Canadian PM Paul Martin is Maurice Strong, former CEO of Power Corp. and a longtime U.N. and Kofi Annan adviser. ..."
Yesterday, Chirac thought it clever to speak French to President Bush. Today, we find out Chirac, Saddam, Annan and the Red Chinese all speak the same corrupt language.
Who's looks clever now?
Newsmax is to investigative reporting what the NY Times editorial board is to reason....
I'm not quite sure whether this article is about corruption before the USA went into Iraq or whether it's ongoing. Is the corruption ongoing or just the investigation? What's going to engulf Washington and Baghdad? The Bushies and/or Clintonistas?
NewsMax needs an editor.
ping
The last two wars, Afghanistan and Iraq, show just how good French and Chinese military equipment stand up to the U.S. military.
Holtz
JeffersonRepublic.com
Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!
My mother-in-law used to say, "The truth always comes out in the wash."
And we're seeing that now. Seems like every body who was against President Bush had their dirty little fingers in back room money deals. The crooks!
Yep, that was the thread! :-)
There was but I don't have a link to it yet... there is one problem with the article though- it brings out Shaw who is himself caught up in an unethical deal involving a cell phone company and some bidding via Alaskan natives and when he got called on it he allegedly said he was going crate" Iran Contra 2." He's a guy who was rather forcefully let go from the Pentagon. The pentagon says he was let go because his job was phased out while he claimed he overstepped his authority on that missing explosives/alQaqaa deal and got fired. That's the story, anyway.
...and you know that "W" has even more and better (worse) dirt on all of the Eurowennies...so they better start making real nice for the rest of the trip!
1996 : (IRAQ : FROM THE FILES CAPTURED BY CHALABI'S FORCES DURING THE WAR : ACCORDING TO THE FILE OF SHEEHAB AHMED MOUSSA [found in April 2003 in Iraq] HE HAD BEEN A CAPTAIN IN A CHEMICAL WEAPONS UNIT DURING THE IRAN-IRAQ WAR; IN 1993 HE HAD VISITED MOSCOW, AND BY 1996 HE WAS GENERAL MANAGER OF CHEMICAL PRODUCTION AT AL QAQAA; ALSO IN 1996 HE WAS SENT BY THE MINISTRY OF MILITARY INDUSTRIALIZATION TO CHINA) Then there is Sheehab Ahmed Moussa, whose photograph shows an unsmiling man of heavy brows and pudgy cheeks. Now 54, he joined the Ba’ath party at the age of 12 and got on well in the Iraqi military, rising to serve as a captain in a chemical weapons unit in the Iran-Iraq war. Moussa passed his interrogation with flying colours. When asked: “Down to your third cousin, has anyone in your family been sent to prison or been forced to leave their job for political reasons?” he was able to answer: “No.”
He also answered “No” to the questions of whether anyone in his family, down to the third cousin, had been executed; married a non-Iraqi; lived outside Iraq; or belonged to any party other than the Ba’ath. At the end of his interrogation he signed a document agreeing to his execution if he had lied.
American officials will want to ask Moussa more questions. By 1996 he had risen to general manager of chemical production at the Al-Qaqa site in Iraq, one of those suspected of harbouring Saddam’s manufacture of chemical weapons.
He also travelled for the Iraqi regime: a document marked “top secret” reveals that in 1993, after the Gulf war and imposition of United Nations sanctions on Iraq, he visited Moscow. In 1996, the ministry of military industrialisation, the centre of Saddam’s illegal weapons programme, sent Moussa to China. ------ "‘Nazi’ files incriminate top Iraqis ," by Marie Colvin, The Sunday Times, April 20, 2003, Posted on 04/19/2003 4:07:54 PM PDT by MadIvan
2000 : (INFORMATION COLLECTION PROGRAMME, RUN BY ARAS KARIM, BEGINS WORK, ACCORDING TO FILES CAPTURED BY CHALABI) Chalabi’s discovery of the [complete archives of the Iraqi Army, Qusay's SSO, and the Amn al-Amm] files followed work by an underground network begun in 2000 and called the Information Collection Programme, run by Aras Karim. ------ "‘Nazi’ files incriminate top Iraqis ," by Marie Colvin, The Sunday Times, April 20, 2003, Posted on 04/19/2003 4:07:54 PM PDT by MadIvan
OCTOBER 2001 : (JOHN A. "JACK" STRAW IS APPOINTED BY SECDEF DONALD RUMSFELD TO HEAD THE OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL TECHNOLOGY SECURITY) He was appointed by Rumsfeld to head the newly created office of International Technology Security in October 2001. In his position, he was responsible for reforming controls over the export of sensitive technology to foreign countries.
As planning for the war in Iraq came to be a central focus at the Pentagon, Shaw, a former State Department inspector general, took an interest in conducting investigations of his own in Iraq.
At one point [* My note: When?] , he attempted to win a job as inspector general for the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority, or CPA, that oversaw Iraq, U.S. officials have said. He also signed a special memorandum with the Pentagon's inspector general allowing him to provide recommendations on investigations into technology transfers. In the end, Shaw and his investigations came to be at the center of several controversies concerning Iraq's reconstruction. ----- "Pentagon Ousts Official Under FBI Investigation [Shaw: Russians took 380 tons, friends got deals]," by T. Christian Miller, Yahoo, Dec 11, 2004
(* My note: I think Kojo Annan had something to do with the Coalition Provisional Authority? See : 1999 - FEBRUARY 26, 2004 : (COTECNA PAYS KOJO ANNAN $2,500 PER MONTH IN DEAL IN WHICH HE [AND APPARENTLY HIS FIRM "SUTTON INVESTMENTS LIMITED"] AGREED NOT TO COMPETE WITH THEIR OPERATIONS IN AFRICA) For more than five years after that [after Cotecna signed the U.N. contract with Iraq], continuing until February 26 of this year, Cotecna paid Kojo Annan $2,500 per month, from which health coverage fees were deducted, under a deal in which he agreed not to compete with their operations in Africa. These payments ended just three months after the U.N. closed out its role in oil-for-food and assigned the Cotecna contract to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad.
Documents also show that on at least several occasions during the non-compete period, while Cotecna was working for the U.N., Kojo Annan under the letterhead of his Lagos-based firm, Sutton Investments Limited, billed Cotecna for additional costs.
These included invoices totaling $1,500 for telephone expenses in October and November 1999 and March, 2000.The younger Annan on February 18, 2000 also requested expense reimbursements, "as discussed," into a Swiss account in the name of Sutton Sports Marketing, adding, "Kindly be advised that the above reference must be used for all future payments."------ "Contracts Chief Shown To Be Annan Son's Main Cotecna Tie," By Claudia Rosett , New York Sun , December 10, 2004 , Web site: http://www.nysun.com/article/6076 , http://www.defenddemocracy.org/in_the_media/in_the_media_show.htm)
2002 before UN inspectors reentered Iraq : (IRAQ REMOVES IAEA-SEALED HMX FROM ALQAQAA FACILITY - MY NOTE : IRAQIS SAID IT WAS TO USE IT TO MAKE INDUSTRIAL EXPLOSIVES) But Pentagon officials said yesterday [Oct 25, 2004] that Iraq had already admitted to breaking the IAEA seals and moving tons of the explosives from the Al Qaqaa facility, south of Baghdad, before U.N. inspectors re-entered the country in 2002. --(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...[Oct 26, 2004]----- "Pentagon responds to missing-explosives report," By Rowan Scarborough, THE WASHINGTON TIMES, Published October 26, 2004
2002 : (IRAQ : UN INSPECTORS BEGIN NEW INSPECTIONS IN IRAQ)U.N. inspectors re-entered the country in 2002. (Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...[Oct 26, 2004]----- "Pentagon responds to missing-explosives report," By Rowan Scarborough, THE WASHINGTON TIMES, Published October 26, 2004
JANUARY 2003 : (IRAQ : IAEA TAKES INVENTORY AT AL QAQAA FACILITY, PLACES FRESH SEALS ON BUNKERS) The International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors last saw the explosives in January 2003 when they took an inventory and placed fresh seals on the bunkers. ------ "Drudge now reporting in "NBCNEWS: CACHE OF EXPLOSIVES VANISHED FROM SITE IN IRAQ BEFORE TROOPS ARRIVED... " that Iraq depot story was shopped to CBS' 60 minutes before reported by NYT, " Drudge Report, Posted on 10/25/2004
FEBRUARY 2003 : (AL QAQAA HMX? : IAEA CHIEF ELBARADEI TELLS THE UN THAT IRAQ HAS INFORMED THEM THE HMX UNDER IAEA SEAL HAS BEEN TRANSFERRED FOR USE IN PRODUCTION OF INDUSTRIAL EXPLOSIVES) IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei told the United Nations that Iraq had declared that ''HMX previously under IAEA seal had been transferred for use in the production of industrial explosives.'' This apparently did not include the HMX that remained under seal at Al-Qaqaa. [* My note: Says who? Why does the Boston paper add on to Blix's statements and assume this is not the same HMX? Just because it's reporting late in an election year?] ------- "Timeline on missing explosives in Iraq," Boston.com, 10/25/2004 16:24 , Associated Press, via Posted on 10/25/2004 10:14:37 PM PDT by Jeff Blogworthy
FEBRUARY 18, 2003 : (UN OFFICIALS VISIT LATIFIYA SITE - NOTE : LATIFIYAH IS PART OF ALQAQAA WEAPONS SITE) Latifiya is part of the large Qa Qa military complex, just one of a number of sites clustered around the capital where the Iraqi Government is thought to have developed chemical, biological and nuclear weapons, the BBC's Paul Adams says. UN inspectors have visited the plant at least a dozen times, including as recently as 18 February. --------- "US Finds 'Suspect Vials', " BBC News , Friday April 4, 2003 via Posted on 10/26/2004 11:45:25 AM PDT by Irelamb
MARCH 2003 : (AL QAQAA FACILITY, IRAQ : IAEA INSPECTORS VISIT AGAIN, DO NOT INSPECT EXPLOSIVES BECAUSE THE SEALS WERE NOT BROKEN) Nuclear agency inspectors visited Al-Qaqaa for the last time but did not examine the explosives because the seals were not broken. The inspectors then pulled out of the country. ------- "Timeline on missing explosives in Iraq," Boston.com, 10/25/2004 16:24 , Associated Press, via Posted on 10/25/2004 10:14:37 PM PDT by Jeff Blogworthy
To: All : The whole idea of using seals to lock stuff up is a joke. If the inspectors simply walk by and see that the seals are unbroken it means nothing. Who says the Iraqis didn't tunnel into the bunkers and remove the stuff. Or even just forge new seals after removing the old ones. Couldn't be that tough.------------10 posted on 10/25/2004 10:33:20 PM PDT by ProudVet77
MARCH 2003 : (INVASION OF IRAQ)
APRIL 1, 2003 : (UN SEC GEN ANNAN SAYS HE HOPES UN INSPECTORS COULD SOMEDAY RETURN TO IRAQ) U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan said yesterday that he hoped U.N. inspectors could someday return to Iraq to resume their mission.‘I hope the time will come when they will be able to do that,” Annan said.
The United Nations is focusing now on the humanitarian situation in Iraq, Annan said. The U.N. Security Council is expected to discuss the future involvement of the United Nations in Iraq and might request that it assume a larger role, he said.
“It is not excluded that the U.N. will play an important role but that is a question that the council will have to deal with,” Annan said (U.N. release, April 1, 2003 ).http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=6631&Cr=iraq&Cr1=
APRIL 2, 2003 : (COALITION TROOPS AT ALQAQAA) "As the military advances closer to Baghdad, signs of Iraqi chemical preparedness are multiplying, although there is still no conclusive evidence Saddam Hussein's regime possesses weapons of mass destruction.
On Friday, troops at a training facility in the western Iraqi desert came across a bottle labeled "tabun" -- a nerve gas and chemical weapon Iraq is banned from possessing.
Closer to Baghdad, troops at Iraq's largest military industrial complex found nerve agent antidotes, documents describing chemical warfare and a white powder that appeared to be used for explosives.
U.N. weapons inspectors went repeatedly to the vast al Qa Qaa complex -- most recently on March 8 -- but found nothing during spot visits to some of the 1,100 buildings at the site 25 miles south of Baghdad.
Col. John Peabody, engineer brigade commander of the 3rd Infantry Division, said troops found thousands of 2-by-5-inch boxes, each containing three vials of white powder, together with documents written in Arabic that dealt with how to engage in chemical warfare.
[* My note: if the troops found this chemical apparently it was not under seal]
Initial reports suggest the powder is an explosive, but tests are still being done, a [anonymous] senior U.S. official said. If confirmed, it would be consistent with what the Iraqis say is the plant's purpose, producing explosives and propellants. -------AP 4/2/2003
APRIL 2, 2003 : (JORDAN : AUTHORITIES ARREST IRAQI AGENTS IN CONNECTION WITH A PLOT TO POISON THE WATER SUPPLY THAT SERVES US TROOPS IN EASTERN JORDAN) Meanwhile, Jordanian authorities have arrested several Iraqi agents in connection with a plot to poison a water supply that serves U.S. troops in eastern Jordan, officials said yesterday. The men are suspected of trying to poison a water tank that serves U.S. troops at a military base in Khao, according to the New York Times. It is still unknown how close the Iraqi agents were to succeeding before they were captured, but no one has reported sick or injured, officials said (-- "" Alan Feuer, New York Times, April 2, 2003 http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/02/international/worldspecial/02JORD.html)
APRIL 4, 2003 : (BBC REPORT : WESTERN DESERT OF IRAQ : TRAINING SITE OR WMD FOUND BY COALITION TROOPS ; SAMPLE OF TABUN & PERHAPS OTHER COMPOUNDS) Nerve agent : In a separate development, US military spokesman Vincent Brooks said troops in the western desert had found what they suspected was a training school for nuclear, chemical and biological warfare.
One bottle found at the site was labelled "tabun" - a nerve agent that the US Government says may have been used during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.
"In that particular site, we believe that was the only sample," Brooks said.
"That's why we believe it was a training site. Our conclusion is that this was not a (weapons of mass destruction) site ... it proved to be far less than that." Photos of the site showed shelves of brown bottles with yellow labels. Brooks said troops did not understand some of the labels and were collecting the bottles for examination by experts." --------- "US Finds 'Suspect Vials', " BBC News , Friday April 4, 2003 via Posted on 10/26/2004 11:45:25 AM PDT by Irelamb
APRIL 4, 2003 Friday : (BBC REPORT ON FINDINGS AT LATIFIYA, PART OF AL QAQAA WEAPONS COMPLEX) "The US military says one sample was labelled "tabun" US troops say they have found thousands of boxes of unidentified white powder and some nerve agent antidote at an industrial site south-west of Baghdad. They also said they discovered documents in Arabic, which apparently explain how to carry out chemical warfare.
A special team has been sent to investigate the discovery at Latifiya - part of a large military complex frequently visited frequently by UN weapons inspectors before the war began.
US troops have also reportedly found a second site nearby containing vials of unidentified liquid and white powder. The Iraqi authorities have not commented on the finds so far. The regime has denied hiding chemical weapons and other weapons of mass destruction from UN inspectors.
When hostilities finish, there will be huge pressure on the US and Britain to find Saddam's alleged chemical weapons - the supposed reason for going to war - BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner says.
Investigating teams have so far only managed to reach fewer than 1% of all the suspect sites they are interested in, a British military source told the BBC.
Recent inspection
Col. John Peabody, engineer brigade commander of the 3rd Infantry Division, said the Latifiya complex was "clearly a suspicious site".
NERVE AGENTS Iraqi protective gear - found at several sites
Chemical weapons: Nerve agents
But a senior US official [* My note: WHO?] familiar with initial testing said the white powder found at Latifiya was believed to be explosives, AP reported.
Latifiya is part of the large Qa Qa military complex, just one of a number of sites clustered around the capital where the Iraqi Government is thought to have developed chemical, biological and nuclear weapons, the BBC's Paul Adams says.
UN inspectors have visited the plant at least a dozen times, including as recently as 18 February. --------- "US Finds 'Suspect Vials', " BBC News , Friday April 4, 2003 via Posted on 10/26/2004 11:45:25 AM PDT by Irelamb
To: MineralMan I guess I should have explained. It was reported on FR that HMX is stored as a white powder. As this article in April 2003 states thousand of boxes of the "White powder" was found at the A Qaqaa site. Further the site was secured and being investigated by Army engineers. In addition it names a Col Peabody as a source for what was found. I assume he would be a lot more accurate than teh NYT 13 posted on 10/26/2004 11:55:56 AM PDT by Irelamb
To: Boundless : The date of the story is 4 April 2003, 6 days before the 101st was there with their embedded reporter. The point is not the suspected nerve agent, it's that this was a contemporanious report at the time 380 pounds of HMX were allegedly being looted because the site.
To me it certainly looks like the site was being investigated. They found thousand of boxes of suspected nerve agent. Curiously however, they somehow missed 380 tons of HMX. That doesn't pass the smell test in my book. 20 posted on 10/26/2004 12:16:29 PM PDT by Irelamb
APRIL 10, 2003 : (AL QAQAA WEAPONS FACILITY, IRAQ : NO EXPLOSIVES FOUND) That explanation was bolstered last night by a report from NBC News, which said the weapons already were missing when their embedded reporter arrived at the site on April 10, 2003.
"NBC News was embedded with troops from the Army's 101st Airborne as they [took] over the weapons installation south of Baghdad. But they never found the 380 tons" of missing explosives, the network reported.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...[Oct 26, 2004]----- "Pentagon responds to missing-explosives report," By Rowan Scarborough, THE WASHINGTON TIMES, Published October 26, 2004
APRIL 2003 : (IAEA DIRECTOR-GENERAL ELBARADEI CLAIMS ANY DISCOVERIES MADE IN IRAQ WOULD HAVE TO BE VERIFIED BY UN INSPECTORS TO BE "CREDIBLE") IAEA Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei, clearly wary of any coalition claims, said this week that any alleged discoveries of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq would have to be verified by U.N. inspectors "to generate the required credibility." ElBaradei said the inspectors should return as soon as possible, subject to Security Council guidance, to resume their search for banned arms.- "Experts: U.S. 'Discovery' of Nuke Materials in Iraq Was Breach of U.N.-Monitored Site," Associated Press via Fox News , Thursday, April 10, 2003
APRIL 10, 2003 Thursday : (FORMER IAEA INSPECTOR KAY SAYS RECENTLY DISCOVERED TUWAITHA UNDERGROUND NUCLEAR WEAPONS SITE WAS MISSED BY UN INSPECTION TEAMS AFTER [OPERATION DESERT STORM] GULF WAR DESPITE RUMORS IT EXISTED) David Kay, a former IAEA chief nuclear inspector, said Thursday that the teams he oversaw after the 1991 Gulf War never found an underground site at Tuwaitha despite persistent rumors. "But underground facilities by definition are very hard to detect," he said. "When you inspect a place so often, you get overconfident about what you know. It would have been very easy for the inspectors to explain away any excessive radiation at Tuwaitha. The Iraqis could have hidden something clandestine in plain sight."- "Experts: U.S. 'Discovery' of Nuke Materials in Iraq Was Breach of U.N.-Monitored Site," Thursday, April 10, 2003 Associated Press via Fox News
2003 before mid April : (CHALABI AND 600 FIGHTERS OF HIS FREE IRAQI FORCES ARE AIRLIFTED TO IRAQ BUT ARE STALLED FOR 10 DAYS OUTSIDE NASIRIYA WAITING FOR US APPROVAL TO TRAVEL TO BAGHDAD; CHALABI FINALLY HEADS OUT ON HIS OWN) After being airlifted from northern Iraq by the American military, he and 600 fighters of his Free Iraqi Forces were stuck for 10 days outside Nasiriya in a flea-ridden, bombed-out airbase awaiting American approval to travel to Baghdad. In the end Chalabi bought cars in Kuwait and drove to Baghdad in a sandstorm. Halfway through the eight-hour journey, an American officer called. “We are told you are headed to Baghdad,” she said. “We request: what are your intentions?” Chalabi answered: “I’m going home.” ------ "‘Nazi’ files incriminate top Iraqis ," by Marie Colvin, The Sunday Times, April 20, 2003, Posted on 04/19/2003 4:07:54 PM PDT by MadIvan
APRIL 18, 2003 Friday : (IRAQ : GUARDS PROTECTING THE AMN AL-AMM ARCHIVES MAKE THEIR LAST STAND AS CHALABI'S FORCES OVERCOME THEM) On Friday, guards protecting the Amn al-Amm archive made a last stand, opening fire with Kalashnikovs on the men he [Chalabi] had sent to seize it. ------ "‘Nazi’ files incriminate top Iraqis ," by Marie Colvin, The Sunday Times, April 20, 2003, Posted on 04/19/2003 4:07:54 PM PDT by MadIvan
APRIL 19, 2003 : (IRAQ : ATTACK ON CHALABI'S COMPOUND - IN AL MANSOUR?) Last night [April 19, 2003] gunfire erupted again around Chalabi’s compound and one of his bodyguards was shot in the back. ------ "‘Nazi’ files incriminate top Iraqis ," by Marie Colvin, The Sunday Times, April 20, 2003, Posted on 04/19/2003 4:07:54 PM PDT by MadIvan
APRIL 20, 2003 Sunday : (CHALABI'S INC FORCES CAPTURE THE COMPLETE ARCHIVES OF THE IRAQI ARMY, QUSAY'S SSO, AND THE AMN AL-AMM - THE SSO CONDUCTED RESEARCH PROGRAMS HIDDEN FROM UN INSPECTORS- AMONG THEM A MICROBIOLOGY PROGRAM DIRECTED BY A WOMAN NAMED ASMA RASHEED) In four days since arriving in Baghdad from the southern city of Nasiriya, Chalabi’s forces have captured the complete archives of the Iraqi army, the Special Security Organisation (SSO), led by Saddam’s younger son Qusay, and the Amn al-Amm, the Iraqi equivalent of MI5.
The archives had been removed from ministries and hidden in private homes. The military files were stacked floor to ceiling on metal shelves in the former home of Raifa Chalabi, the opposition leader’s sister. The house, in the wealthy al-Mansour neighbourhood, was confiscated by the regime two years ago.
The archive’s guards were not supposed to let this treasure-trove fall into the hands of the opposition. The next-door neighbour said they had returned every day last week to try to burn the house, but he and others had driven them off. ...
Chalabi’s discovery of the files followed work by an underground network begun in 2000 and called the Information Collection Programme, run by Aras Karim. The capture of the archives is part of what Chalabi believes must be Iraq’s next step: de-Ba’athification, which he likens to the denazification of Germany after the second world war.
“This is not about revenge,” Chalabi said yesterday. “The Ba’ath party set up a post- defeat strategy, with alternative headquarters and alternative organisations.
Their task is to disturb public safety, prevent normalisation and convince the population that the Ba’ath is still here and that they are in charge. This must be stopped and the Ba’ath organisation must be uprooted.” There is ample evidence to support his statement. ------ "‘Nazi’ files incriminate top Iraqis ," by Marie Colvin, The Sunday Times, April 20, 2003, Posted on 04/19/2003 4:07:54 PM PDT by MadIvan
2003 fall : (NANA PACIFIC / GUARDIAN NET CASE : PENTAGON OFFICIAL SHAW ACCUSES US & IRAQI OFFICIALS OF ACCEPTING BRIBES IN THE AWARDING OF THREE LICENSES TO PRIVATE CELLPHONE SERVICE COMPANIES IN IRAQ - BUT SHAW IS ALSO PUSHING A COMPANY ASSOCIATED WITH HIS FRIEND, DON DEMARINO, CALLED "GUARDIAN NET" TO WIN A CONTRACT FOR WORK IN IRAQ THROUGH A MINORITY RUN COMPANY CALLED "NANA PACIFIC") [Pentagon deputy undersecretary for international technology security John A. "Jack"] Shaw first raised concerns in fall 2003 about whether U.S. and Iraqi officials were bribed in the awarding of three licenses to private companies to provide cellphone service in Iraq. The licenses were each estimated to be worth several hundred million dollars. At the same time, he began championing a company called Guardian Net, whose board included longtime friend Don DeMarino, to win a contract to provide a police and fire radio system to Iraq, according to current and former U.S. officials and documents. Shaw urged top CPA officials to award the contract to Nana Pacific, a small business run by Alaska Natives. Nana, which had no experience in the Middle East or in telecommunications networks, then planned to subcontract the work to Guardian Net, according to current and former U.S. officials and documents. Under special federal contracting guidelines designed to help small and minority businesses, firms like Nana Pacific have the ability to win contracts of any size without going through the competitive bidding process usually required to protect taxpayer dollars. The plan fell apart after Shaw ordered CPA officials to modify language in the police radio contract to allow the Nana Pacific and Guardian Net team to construct an entire cellular phone network for Iraq — creating, in effect, a fourth cellphone license, according to current and former U.S. officials and documents. Daniel Sudnick, the CPA's senior advisor to Iraq's Ministry of Communication, reported his concerns over Shaw's efforts to the Pentagon's inspector general, who later turned the investigation over to the FBI. FBI officials declined to comment Friday on the status of that investigation. ----- "Pentagon Ousts Official Under FBI Investigation [Shaw: Russians took 380 tons, friends got deals]," by T. Christian Miller, Yahoo, Dec 11, 2004
JULY 2004 or earlier : (NANA PACIFIC / GUARDIAN NET CASE : SHAW ACCUSES US & IRAQI OFFICIALS OF TAKING BRIBES) [Pentagon deputy undersecretary for international technology security John A. "Jack"] Shaw later wrote his own report on the cellular phone controversy, accusing U.S. and top Iraqi officials of taking bribes. The Pentagon's inspector general referred the report [written by Shaw accusing US and top Iraqi officials of taking bribes] to the FBI. ...One Pentagon official [later] said Shaw had repeatedly been asked to produce evidence to support his allegations, but had failed to do so. ----- "Pentagon Ousts Official Under FBI Investigation [Shaw: Russians took 380 tons, friends got deals]," by T. Christian Miller, Yahoo, Dec 11, 2004
JULY 2004 : (PENTAGON : NANA PACIFIC / GUARDIAN NET CASE : SHAW REFUSES OFFER TO BE TRANSFERRED FROM HIS POSITION TO ANOTHER POST WITHIN DoD) After the round of accusations and counteraccusations, and with the FBI investigation pending, Pentagon officials in July attempted to transfer [Pentagon deputy undersecretary for international technology security John A. "Jack"] Shaw from his position to another post within the Defense Department, according to a senior Pentagon official. Shaw refused. "He was asked to seek another position in the department," a senior official said. "At that point, if we could find a spot, we were happy to do that." ----- "Pentagon Ousts Official Under FBI Investigation [Shaw: Russians took 380 tons, friends got deals]," by T. Christian Miller, Yahoo, Dec 11, 2004
2004 befor Dec : (LA TIMES REPORT ON PENTAGON OFFICIAL JOHN A "JACK" SHAW : SHAW TRIED TO STEER TWO CONTRACTS IN IRAQ TO FRIENDS OR CLIENTS OF FRIENDS) [Pentagon deputy undersecretary for international technology security John A. "Jack"] Shaw, whose activities were detailed in the Los Angeles Times earlier this year [2004], was one of a few high-ranking U.S. officials who drew the scrutiny of investigators looking into how billions in taxpayer dollars were being spent in Iraq to rebuild that country. Shaw allegedly tried to steer two contracts, one involving telecommunications and a second involving dredging at an Iraqi port, to companies linked to longtime friends or clients of longtime friends. After the allegations against him surfaced last spring, Shaw responded with a report of his own, charging that one of the U.S. officials accusing him had taken bribes in a conspiracy to place Iraq's cellular phone network under the control of a former Saddam Hussein ally. ----- "Pentagon Ousts Official Under FBI Investigation [Shaw: Russians took 380 tons, friends got deals]," by T. Christian Miller, Yahoo, Dec 11, 2004
OCTOBER 10, 2004 : (IRAQI OFFICIAL MOHAMMED J ABBAS LETTER TO IAEA'S ELBARADEI REPORTS THAT SINCE APRIL 9, 2003 LOOTING AT AL QAQAA HAS RESULTED IN THE LOSS OF 377 TONS OF EXPLOSIVES) But since the disappearance [of the explosives from alQaQaa facility in Iraq] was reported Monday [Oct 25, 2004?] in The New York Times, ElBaradei said he wanted the Security Council to have the letter dated Oct. 10 that he received from Mohammed J. Abbas, a senior official at Iraq's Ministry of Science and Technology, reporting the theft of 377 tons of explosives. The letter from Abbas informed the IAEA that since April 9, 2003, looting at the Al-Qaqaa installation had resulted in the loss of 215 tons of HMX, 156 tons of RDX and six tons of PETN explosives. Diplomats said there was nothing to suggest that ElBaradei, who had irritated the Bush administration before the war by insisting there was no evidence that Saddam had revived his nuclear program, had intended to keep the report a secret until after the Nov. 2 election. -------- AP, October 25, 2004
OCTOBER 15, 2004 : (VIENNA, AUSTRIA : IAEA INFORMS US MISSION OF ALQAQAA "MISSING EXPLOSIVES") To: fidelio This excerpt describes a conspiracy between the Slimes and IAEA to blackmail/extort the Bush administration:
[the IAEA informed U.S. mission in Vienna on Oct. 15 about the missing explosives at Al-Qaqaa. He said national security adviser Condoleeza Rice was notified "days after that," and she then informed President Bush. ElBaradei told the council the agency had been trying to give the U.S.-led multinational force and Iraq's interim government "an opportunity to attempt to recover the explosives before this matter was put into the public domain. " But since the disappearance was reported Monday in The New York Times, ElBaradei said he wanted the Security Council to have the letter . . . Diplomats said there was nothing to suggest that ElBaradei, who had irritated the Bush administration before the war by insisting there was no evidence that Saddam had revived his nuclear program, had intended to keep the report a secret until after the Nov. 2 election.]818 posted on 10/25/2004 10:25:27 PM PDT by Kryptonite
OCTOBER 20, 2004 Wednesday : (AN ANONYMOUS SOURCE OFFERS ALQAQAA STORY TO CBS's 60 MINUTES, BUT SINCE CBS PLANNED TO GET THE STORY OUT ON OCTOBER 31, JUST BEFORE THE US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION- IT ENDS UP GETTING BEATEN BY THE NY TIMES) [The source behind the NYT story first went to CBSNEWS' 60 MINUTES last Wednesday [Oct 20], but the beleaguered network wasn't able to get the piece on the air as fast as the newspaper could print. Executive producer Jeff Fager hoped to break the story during a high-impact election eve broadcast of 60 MINS on October 31.] see for more info : ------ "Drudge now reporting in "NBCNEWS: CACHE OF EXPLOSIVES VANISHED FROM SITE IN IRAQ BEFORE TROOPS ARRIVED... " that Iraq depot story was shopped to CBS' 60 minutes before reported by NYT, " Drudge Report, Posted on Mon 10/25/2004
(* My note: I wonder if John A Shaw is the source of the initial NY Times/CBS 60 Minutes al QaQaa story, too? Shaw later reported that the Russians took the stuff, I wonder if he was only doing that to try to look like he was a pro-Bush conservative trying to "help" by "negating" the NY Times story with the explanation that the Russians took it before the war not Iraqis and terrorists during the war from under our nose)
OCTOBER 25, 2004 Monday : (NY TIMES BREAKS AL QAQAA "MISSING EXPLOSIVES" STORY : ) The NYTIMES urgently reported on Monday in an apprent October Surprise: The Iraqi interim government and the U.N. nuclear agency have warned the United States that nearly 380 tons of powerful conventional explosives are now missing from one of Iraq's most sensitive former military installations. ... Jumping on the TIMES exclusive, Dem presidential candidate John Kerry blasted the Bush administration for its failure to "guard those stockpiles." "This is one of the great blunders of Iraq, one of the great blunders of this administration," Kerry said.
**ABCNEWS Mentioned The Iraq Explosives Depot At Least 4 Times
**CBSNEWS Mentioned The Iraq Explosives Depot At Least 7 Times
**MSNBC Mentioned The Iraq Explosives Depot At Least 37 Times
**CNN Mentioned The Iraq Explosives Depot At Least 50 Times ------ "Drudge now reporting in "NBCNEWS: CACHE OF EXPLOSIVES VANISHED FROM SITE IN IRAQ BEFORE TROOPS ARRIVED... " that Iraq depot story was shopped to CBS' 60 minutes before reported by NYT, " Drudge Report, Posted on 10/25/2004
***
To: Jeff Blogworthy Pardon me for being a little fuzzy on this, but is the thrust of the New York Times story that after the invasion, with the country in flames, the roads locked down, and the Iraqi Army dispersed and scattered, that somehow, a few enterprising insurgents stole THREE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY TONS of explosives out from under our noses? I don't know if anyone here has been part of any major logisitical endeavor, but 380 tons of whatever item you want doesn't just get up and move itself. You need more than a pack of dudes and a pickup truck. If the stuff was there when we got there, it would be almost impossible to move it without attracting attention. If it wasn't, then who knows when it was moved? If I had to guess, I'd say 'Probably around the time the WMD was shipped out as well'. I'm so not buying this story. 14 posted on 10/25/2004 10:38:14 PM PDT by Steel Wolf
To: Steel Wolf I don't know if anyone here has been part of any major logisitical endeavor, but 380 tons of whatever item you want doesn't just get up and move itself. Until you mentioned it, I didn't really picture just how much 380 tons is. It's pretty hard to believe it would have been in any way possible to move that much freight after the invasion. 17 posted on 10/25/2004 10:47:13 PM PDT by Welsh Rabbit
To: finnman69 What is truly amazing is that the left accepts as a matter of course the fact that 380 tons of HE can mysteriously disappear but that 10 tons of Sarin, ten tons of mustard gas and a suitcase full of biocrud can not. It would take a convoy of almost 100 tractor trailers to move the HE and 4 to move the WMD. If Rove can't use this to knockout Kerry and his left wing Garmara, he ain't worth a crap. 71 posted on 10/25/2004 6:38:24 PM PDT by jwals
To: FreeAtlanta The NY Times story actually never stated that there were explosives there when the troops arrived. They do state that the troops found nothing when they arrived, but they've buried that fact under alot of speculation and spin such that they imply that Bush let the explosives get looted. You can bet that they will retract nothing. 92 posted on 10/25/2004 6:42:37 PM PDT by rocklobster11
OCTOBER 25, 2004 : (PHILADELPHIA, PA : CLINTON SPEAKS AT KERRY RALLY)
OCTOBER 25, 2004 : (PA : US MILITARY ABSENTEE BALLOTS FOR THE NOVEMBER PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS BEING DELAYED. BLOCKED BY DEMOCRATS IN PENNSYLVANIA) To: OXENinFLA; cyncooper : OFF TOPIC: Hannity is talking about Fast Eddie Rendell blocking the Military being able to vote in PA
Tonight on the radio Fast Eddie FINALLY admited that ballots were late in getting out ...THEN ... Fast Eddie says he'll overnight them (Fedx ??) to the troops100 posted on 10/25/2004 6:44:10 PM PDT by Mo1
OCTOBER 25, 2004 : (SEN DECONCINI CLAIMS "MISSING EXPLOSIVES" AT ALQAQAA WERE WMD) To: StarFan " I didn't hear Sean mention it as I hit mute until the DeConcini segment finished." Ah, then you missed DeConcini saying those explosives were weapons of mass destruction! 130 posted on 10/25/2004 6:49:57 PM PDT by bcoffey
To: bcoffey : DeConcini said that??? Pinch me as I'm surely dreaming that NBC corrected the NYSlimes and DeConcini assessment of the article clearly pointed to WMDs which we said all along.217 posted on 10/25/2004 7:08:57 PM PDT by StarFan
To: StarFan "DeConcini said that???" He said it just before Sean lowered the NBC boom on him. 229 posted on 10/25/2004 7:10:31 PM PDT by bcoffey
OCTOBER 25, 2004 (FORMER CLINTON STAFFER JOE LOCKHART COMMENTS ABOUT ALQAQAA MISSING EXPLOSIVES STORY) To: All A new FR thread has a Joe Lockhart reply (source is DU but it's still interesting reading).
“In a shameless attempt to cover up its failure to secure 380 tons of highly explosive material in Iraq, the White House is desperately flailing in an effort to escape blame. Instead of distorting John Kerry’s words, the Bush campaign is now falsely and deliberately twisting the reports of journalists. It is the latest pathetic excuse from an administration that never admits a mistake, no matter how disastrous.”524 posted on 10/25/2004 8:16:18 PM PDT by bcoffey
OCTOBER 25, 2004 : (PENTAGON OFFICIALS POINT OUT THAT IRAQ HAD ALREADY ADMITTED TO BREAKING THE SEALS AND MOVING TONS OF THE EXPLOSIVES BEFORE UN INSPECTORS REENTERED THE COUNTRY IN 2002) But Pentagon officials said yesterday [Oct 25, 2004] that Iraq had already admitted to breaking the IAEA seals and moving tons of the explosives from the Al Qaqaa facility, south of Baghdad, before U.N. inspectors re-entered the country in 2002.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...[Oct 26, 2004]----- "Pentagon responds to missing-explosives report," By Rowan Scarborough, THE WASHINGTON TIMES, Published October 26, 2004
OCTOBER 25, 2004 : (AL QAQAA "SCANDAL" : UN CLAIMS INSURGENTS IN IRAQ MAY HAVE OBTAINED NEARLY 400 TONS OF "MISSING" EXPLOSIVES) Why is the U.N. nuclear agency suddenly warning now that insurgents in Iraq may have obtained nearly 400 tons of missing [HMX & RDX] explosives -- in early 2003? NBCNEWS Jim Miklaszewski quoted one official: "Recent disagreements between the administration and the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency makes this announcement appear highly political." ------ "Drudge now reporting in "NBCNEWS: CACHE OF EXPLOSIVES VANISHED FROM SITE IN IRAQ BEFORE TROOPS ARRIVED... " that Iraq depot story was shopped to CBS' 60 minutes before reported by NYT, " Drudge Report, Posted on 10/25/2004
OCTOBER 25, 2004 : (JOHN KERRY'S WEB SITE COORDINATES WELL WITH NY TIMES AL QAQAA STORY)To: DCPatriot : From today's press release from johnkerry.com:
“George W. Bush who talks tough and brags about making America safer has once again failed to deliver. After being warned about the danger of major stockpiles of explosives in Iraq, this administration failed to guard those stockpiles – where nearly 380 tons of highly explosive weapons were kept. Today we learned that these explosives are missing, unaccounted for and could be in the hands of terrorists.Kerry/Edwards/Dems have adamantly maintained that terrorists were not in Iraq before we pre-empted. Since stockpiles disappeared prior to the start of the pre-emption, the terrorists had to be there before we invaded.
“Terrorists could use this material to kill our troops and our people, blow up airplanes and level buildings.
“In May of this year, the administration was warned that terrorists may be helping themselves to ‘the greatest explosives bonanza in history.’ And now we know that our country and our troops are less safe because this president failed to do the basics. This is one of the great blunders of the Bush policy in Iraq. ..."
OCTOBER 25, 2004 : (AL QAQAA : JOHN EDWARDS ON AL QAQAA 'MISSING EXPLOSIVES' STORY) Dem vp hopeful John Edwards blasted Bush for not securing the [HMX & RDX] explosives:
"It is reckless and irresponsible to fail to protect and safeguard one of the largest weapons sites in the country. And by either ignoring these mistakes or being clueless about them, George Bush has failed. He has failed as our commander in chief; he has failed as president."------ "Drudge now reporting in "NBCNEWS: CACHE OF EXPLOSIVES VANISHED FROM SITE IN IRAQ BEFORE TROOPS ARRIVED... " that Iraq depot story was shopped to CBS' 60 minutes before reported by NYT, " Drudge Report, Posted on 10/25/2004
OCTOBER 25, 2004 : (PENTAGON STATEMENT ON NYTIMES AL QAQAA STORY) After the invasion: The Pentagon said Monday that ''coalition forces were present in the vicinity at various times during and after major combat operations. The forces searched 32 bunkers and 87 other buildings at the facility, but found no indicators of WMD (weapons of mass destruction). While some explosive material was discovered, none of it carried IAEA seals. (Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
------- "Timeline on missing explosives in Iraq," Boston.com, 10/25/2004 16:24 , Associated Press, via Posted on 10/25/2004 10:14:37 PM PDT by Jeff Blogworthy
To: Jeff Blogworthy : This confirms what Drudge is saying. The stuff wasn't there. ----5 posted on 10/25/2004 10:23:41 PM PDT by whershey
OCTOBER 25, 2004 PM : (NBCNEWS REPORT : AL QAQAA HMX & RDX EXPLOSIVES WERE MISSING BEFORE APRIL 10, 2003) But tonight, NBCNEWS reported: The 380 tons of powerful conventional explosives were already missing back in April 10, 2003 -- when U.S. troops arrived at the installation south of Baghdad! An NBCNEWS crew embedded with troops moved in to secure the Al-Qaqaa weapons facility on April 10, 2003, one day after the liberation of Iraq. According to NBCNEWS, the HMX and RDX explosives were already missing when the American troops arrived. ------ "Drudge now reporting in "NBCNEWS: CACHE OF EXPLOSIVES VANISHED FROM SITE IN IRAQ BEFORE TROOPS ARRIVED... " that Iraq depot story was shopped to CBS' 60 minutes before reported by NYT, " Drudge Report, Posted on 10/25/2004
OCTOBER 25, 2004 : (AL QAQAA : SO JOHN, "WE DID NOT GO INTO IRAQ SOON ENOUGH?") A senior Bush official e-mailed DRUDGE late Monday: "Let me get this straight, are Mr. Kerry and Mr. Edwards now saying we did not go into Iraq soon enough? We should have invaded and liberated Iraq sooner?" ------ "Drudge now reporting in "NBCNEWS: CACHE OF EXPLOSIVES VANISHED FROM SITE IN IRAQ BEFORE TROOPS ARRIVED... " that Iraq depot story was shopped to CBS' 60 minutes before reported by NYT, " Drudge Report, Posted on 10/25/2004
OCTOBER 25, 2004 : (ALQAQAA SUPRISE : WASHINGTON, DC : REPUBLICAN OFFICIAL POINTS OUT THE EXPLOSIVES WERE ALREADY GONE WHEN US FORCES ARRIVED AT AL QAQAA) "The U.S. Army was at the site one day after the liberation and the weapons were already gone," a top Republican blasted from Washington late Monday [Oct 25, 2004]. ------ "Drudge now reporting in "NBCNEWS: CACHE OF EXPLOSIVES VANISHED FROM SITE IN IRAQ BEFORE TROOPS ARRIVED... " that Iraq depot story was shopped to CBS' 60 minutes before reported by NYT, " Drudge Report, Posted on 10/25/2004
OCTOBER 26, 2004 : (WASHINGTON TIMES REPORT ON ALQAQAA STORY) The Pentagon said yesterday [Oct 25] that 380 tons of missing explosives from an Iraqi munitions facility may have been moved before U.S. troops overran the area during the invasion to overthrow Saddam Hussein. The statement came after a joint project by CBS' "60 Minutes" and the New York Times reported that the Iraqi government has told the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that the stockpile of material for plastic explosives went missing during postwar looting. The IAEA did not publicly reveal the issue of missing explosives until after the CBS-Times report.
But Pentagon officials said yesterday that Iraq had already admitted to breaking the IAEA seals and moving tons of the explosives from the Al Qaqaa facility, south of Baghdad, before U.N. inspectors re-entered the country in 2002. Officials said the rest of the explosives stockpiles may have been removed and hidden before the arrival of American troops.
That explanation was bolstered last night by a report from NBC News, which said the weapons already were missing when their embedded reporter arrived at the site on April 10, 2003.
"NBC News was embedded with troops from the Army's 101st Airborne as they [took] over the weapons installation south of Baghdad. But they never found the 380 tons" of missing explosives, the network reported.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...[Oct 26, 2004]----- "Pentagon responds to missing-explosives report," By Rowan Scarborough, THE WASHINGTON TIMES, Published October 26, 2004
OCTOBER 26? 2004 Tuesday : (NY TIMES STILL DOESN'T AKNOWLEDGE ITS ALQAQAA STORY WAS DEBUNKED BY MSNBC, PRINTS YET ANOTHER TALE) The Tuesday morning NYSlimes compounds the errors in the Monday story. No mention of the NBC debunking. This is very curious. Could this be the Slimes version of Rathergate? How can they simply go forward, refusing to report the fact that these explosives were gone before our troops arrived? And what about the complicity of the IAEC official and the U.N.? Could this be a ploy to divert attention from the "oil-for-food" scandal dogging the U.N.? 13 posted on 10/25/2004 10:37:54 PM PDT by rebel_yell2
OCTOBER 2004 : (JOHN A SHAW TELLS THE WASHINGTON TIMES' GERTZ THAT HE HAD RECEIVED FOREIGN INTEL SHOWING THAT RUSSIAN SPECIAL FORCES UNITS WERE INVOLVED IN REMOVING WMD FROM IRAQ BEFORE THE US INVASION IN MARCH 2003) In October, Mr. Shaw told The Washington Times that he had received foreign intelligence data showing that Russian special forces units were involved in an effort to remove Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction in the weeks before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq began in March 2003.-------- "Pentagon ousts official who tied Russia, Iraq arms, " Bill Gertz, The Washington Times, December 30, 2004
OCTOBER 27, 2004 Wednesday : (SHAW TELLS THE WASHINGTON TIMES ABOUT INTEL INDICATING RUSSIAN FORCES CONDUCTED DISPERSAL OPERATION BETWEEN JAN AND MARCH 2003) John A. Shaw, who told The Washington Times on Wednesday [Oct 27, 2004]that recent intelligence reports indicate Russian special forces units took part in a sophisticated dispersal operation from January 2003 to March 2003 to move key weapons out of Iraq. ------ "Photos point to removal of weapons," By Bill Gertz, THE WASHINGTON TIMES, 10/29/04, http://washingtontimes.com/national/20041028-115519-3700r.htm via 55 posted on 12/30/2004 2:38:57 PM PST by GarySpFc
OCTOBER 28, 2004 : (WASHINGTON TIMES & FINANCIAL TIMES REPEAT SHAW'S STORY ABOUT RUSSIA REMOVING IRAQI WEAPONS FROM IRAQ)----- "Pentagon Ousts Official Under FBI Investigation [Shaw: Russians took 380 tons, friends got deals]," by T. Christian Miller, Yahoo, Dec 11, 2004
OCTOBER 28, 2004 or before (INTERSECTION OF AL QAQAA "MISSING MUNITIONS" CASE & NANA PACIFIC / GUARDIAN NET CASE : SHAW, WITHOUT THE APPROVAL OF THE PENTAGON PRESS OFICE, SAYS HE BELIEVES RUSSIAN COMMANDOS REMOVED THE EXPLOSIVES FROM IRAQ DAYS BEFORE THE COALITION INVASION IN MARCH; RUMSFELD SAYS HE "CANNOT VALIDATE THAT EVEN SLIGHTLY") [Pentagon deputy undersecretary for international technology security John A. "Jack"] Shaw most recently made news late in the presidential campaign, when he inserted himself into the controversy surrounding a report that up to 380 tons of high-grade explosives had disappeared from an Iraqi storage bunker after U.S. troops had failed to secure it.
As Democrats highlighted the story, calling it an example of the administration's failings in Iraq, Shaw was quoted Oct. 28 by the Financial Times and the Washington Times as saying he believed that Russian commandos had spirited the explosives out of Iraq in the days before the March 2003 invasion. Conservative media outlets seized on Shaw's remarks as proof that Bush had done nothing wrong. But Rumsfeld distanced himself from Shaw's report, saying he "cannot validate that even slightly."
Shaw's remarks on the missing explosives — made without the approval of DiRita's press office — apparently were the breaking point that led to the demand for his resignation. Shaw said in his letter that he was asked to resign for having exceeded his "authority and brief."
[* My note: If it was true, he may have unwittingly given the Russians a heads up on how good our intel on their activities was and is. If not true, not such a big deal as a leak of real info would be.]
Shaw defended his decision, however, saying that he had to get the information about the Russian commandos out as quickly as possible in the heat of the campaign. "I realized I was probably the only person in the country who could disprove the story" of the missing munitions, he said.
----- "Pentagon Ousts Official Under FBI Investigation [Shaw: Russians took 380 tons, friends got deals]," by T. Christian Miller, Yahoo, Dec 11, 2004
[* My note: Is this Shaw trying to make himself look like a good little conservative? Shaw tried later to imply he was fired because he was out of turn when he 'leaked' the Russians removed the explosives from al QaQaa in Iraq- but there was some effort to sideline him much earlier as you can see by the Pentagon's effort to transfer him to another post in July 2004]]
OCTOBER 27, 2004 : (IAEA SAYS IT WARNED THE US ABOUT THE VULNERABILTY OF EXPLOSIVES STORED AT AL QAQAA DAYS AFTER THE COMPLEX WAS LOOTED) Also yesterday [Oct 27], the IAEA said it warned the United States about the vulnerability of explosives stored at Al-Qaqaa after Iraq's Tuwaitha nuclear complex was looted. "After we heard reports of looting at the Tuwaitha site in April 2003, the agency's chief Iraq inspectors alerted American officials that we were concerned about the security of the high explosives stored at Al-Qaqaa," IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming told the Associated Press. She did not say which officials were notified or exactly when.------ "Photos point to removal of weapons," By Bill Gertz, THE WASHINGTON TIMES, 10/29/04, http://washingtontimes.com/national/20041028-115519-3700r.htm
[* My note: What good, exactly, is a warning after the fact?]
OCTOBER 28, 2004 Thursday : (MORE ANONYMOUS LEAKS FROM PENTAGON TO SUPPORT SHAW) U.S. intelligence agencies have obtained satellite photographs of truck convoys that were at several weapons sites in Iraq in the weeks before U.S. military operations were launched, defense officials said yesterday [October 28]. [* My note: This part is true and has been confirmed by Rice]
The photographs indicate that Iraq was moving arms and equipment from its known weapons sites, said officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
[* My note: Actually we don't know exactly what they were moving, certainly not from just looking at satellite photos. The movements were suspicious enough]
According to one official, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, known as NGA, "documented the movement of long convoys of trucks from various areas around Baghdad to the Syrian border." [* My note: We do know the trucks left Iraq and entered Syria though I don't believe anyone specified the trucks originated only from sites around Baghdad] The official said the convoys are believed to include shipments of sensitive armaments, including equipment used in making plastic explosives and nuclear weapons. [* My note: this is not neccesarily true - it's the FIRST mention that suspected among the material was equipment for making plastic explosives- that part seems to be added to support the recent alQaQaa controversy] About 380 tons of RDX and HMX, used in making such arms, were reported missing from the Al-Qaqaa weapons facility, though the Pentagon and an embedded NBC News correspondent said the facility appeared to have been emptied by the time U.S. forces got there.
The photographs bolster the claims of Pentagon official John A. Shaw, who told The Washington Times on Wednesday that recent intelligence reports indicate Russian special forces units took part in a sophisticated dispersal operation from January 2003 to March 2003 to move key weapons out of Iraq. [* Not really- the photos were already known well before Shaw 'revealed' his info but the photos contain no proof of Russian involvement nor do they tell us what exactly was in those shipments.] In Moscow, the Russian government denied that its forces were involved in removing weapons from Iraq, dismissing the claims as "far-fetched and ridiculous." [* My note: I wouldn't call it far-fetched, just that so far we have no evidence to prove it one way or another.]
"I can state officially that the Russian Defense Ministry and its structural divisions could not have been involved in the disappearance of the explosives, because Russian servicemen were not in Iraq long before the beginning of the American-British operation in that country," Defense Ministry spokesman Col. Vyacheslav Sedov told Interfax news agency.
Bush administration officials reacted cautiously to information provided by Mr. Shaw, who said details of the Russian "spetsnaz" forces' involvement in a program of document-shredding and weapons dispersal came from two European intelligence services.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters aboard Air Force One that he was unaware of the information in The Times report. "I know that there is some new information that has come to light in the last couple of days," Mr. McClellan said, noting that another news report said the amount of high-explosive materials may have been less than 377 tons, as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) claims. Asked about foreign intelligence reports of Russian troops moving Iraq's weapons to Syria, Mr. McClellan said, "I have no information that points in that direction."
National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice said in a interview on the Laura Ingraham radio show that she also was not aware of the information about Russian troops relocating Saddam's weapons to Syria, Lebanon and possibly Iran. Defense officials said the information has been closely held within the Pentagon because Mr. Shaw, a deputy undersecretary of defense of international technology security, has been working with the Pentagon inspector general in investigating the Russian role in the weapons transfers.
[* My note: If Shaw was "asked" to take a job in another department back in June 2004 [in lieu of getting fired?], but he refused- I doubt he was working with the Pentagon inspector general after that date.]
Information in the inspector general office is not widely shared within the policy and intelligence communities. The Pentagon is still investigating the fate of the explosives and possible Russian involvement. Officials said numerous intelligence reports in the past two years indicate Saddam used trucks and aircraft to withdraw weapons from Iraq before March 2003. However, the new information indicates that Russian troops were directly involved in assisting the Iraqi military and intelligence services to secure and move the arms. Documents reviewed by one [anonymous] defense official include specific Russian military unit itineraries for the truck convoys. The arms that were taken out of the country included missile parts, nuclear-related equipment, tank and aircraft parts, and chemicals used in making poison gas weapons, the official said. Regarding the satellite photographs, [anonymous] defense officials said the photographs bolster the information obtained from the European intelligence services on the Russian arms-removal program. The Russian special forces troops were housed at a computer center near the Russian Embassy in Baghdad and left the country shortly before the U.S. invasion was launched March 20, 2003.
Harold Hough, a satellite photographic specialist, said commercial satellite images taken shortly before U.S. forces reached Baghdad revealed Russian transport aircraft at Baghdad's international airport near a warehouse. "My thought was that the Russians were eager to get something out of Iraq quickly," Mr. Hough said. "But it is quite possible that the aircraft was used to transport the Russian forces." Note, the confusion as to what transpired. .------ "Photos point to removal of weapons," By Bill Gertz, THE WASHINGTON TIMES, 10/29/04, http://washingtontimes.com/national/20041028-115519-3700r.htm via 55 posted on 12/30/2004 2:38:57 PM PST by GarySpFc (Sneakypete, De Oppresso Liber)
To: ravingnutter Yes, while I have respect for Bill Gertz the report was not as solid as he makes it out to be. The photographs are in this article. The foreign intelligence source was a general and former director of the Romanian Intelligence Service. You will note this article is dated 10/29/04 --- http://washingtontimes.com/national/20041028-115519-3700r.htm via 55 posted on 12/30/2004 2:38:57 PM PST by GarySpFc (Sneakypete, De Oppresso Liber) [* My note: Would that source be Pacepa? (sp?)]
To: Wiz : " My memory is not clear but I also thought there was also news in the first few weeks of Iraq War about Russian special force involvement in Iraq. " Yeah, There were reports posted on FR of Russian military advisors still in Iraq as we were advancing on Baghdad. Reported back then as retired military leadership...now they are presented as special forces. There also has been a report about the Russians aiding with nightvision stuff. 57 posted on 12/30/2004 5:45:48 PM PST by Domestic Church
To: Domestic Church : there was also some thought that these fleeing Russian diplomats had smuggled Saddam out - which was not true.
still, I have to believe that their are sat photos that show these convoys (russian or otherwise) taking stuff to Syria before the war. Al Douri is in Syria. why the US refuses to "out" Syria in this whole thing, I do not know, perhaps its because we aren't prepared to do anything about them.59 posted on 12/30/2004 5:52:15 PM PST by oceanview
NOVEMBER 18, 2004 : (NANA PACIFIC / GUARDIAN NET CASE : PENTAGON INSPECTOR GENERAL'S OFFICE DENIES THE LA TIMES FOIA REQUEST FOR INFO ABOUT SHAW'S EFFORTS TO ARRANGE FOR NANA PACIFIC & GUARDIAN NET TO GET IRAQ CONTRACTS DUE TO A PENDING LEGAL INVESTIGATION) As recently as Nov. 18, however, the Pentagon's inspector general denied a [LA] Times' Freedom of Information Act request on the case [concerning John A "Jack" Shaw's efforts to arrange for Nana Pacific & Guardian Net to get a police and fire radio contract in Iraq] due to a "pending law enforcement investigation" by an unnamed federal agency. ----- "Pentagon Ousts Official Under FBI Investigation [Shaw: Russians took 380 tons, friends got deals]," by T. Christian Miller, Yahoo, Dec 11, 2004
DECEMBER 10, 2004 : (JOHN A SHAW IS "DISMISSED" .... HE CLAIMS IT WAS FOR EXCEEDING HIS AUTHORITY- PENTAGON SAYS REORGANIZATION ELIMINATED HIS JOB) A Pentagon official who publicly disclosed information showing Russian involvement in moving Iraqi weapons out of that country has been dismissed. John A. Shaw, the deputy undersecretary of defense for international technology security and formerly an aide to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, was forced to leave his position Dec. 10 as the result of a "reorganization" that eliminated his job, defense officials said.
Mr. Shaw said he had been asked to resign for "exceeding his authority" in disclosing the information, a charge he called "specious." -------- "Pentagon ousts official who tied Russia, Iraq arms, " Bill Gertz, The Washington Times, December 30, 2004
[* My note: Shaw tries to imply he was fired because he was out of turn when he 'leaked' the Russians removed the explosives from al QaQaa in Iraq- but there was some effort to 'nicely' move him over rather than out much earlier as you can see by the Pentagon's effort to transfer him to another post in July 2004. Could his leak, if it has substance, have alerted the Russians to ongoing investigations? ]
DECEMBER 11?, 2004 Friday : (NANA PACIFIC / GUARDIAN NET CASE : WASHINGTON, DC : CONFIRMATION THAT PENTAGON OFFICIAL JOHN A. "JACK" SHAW HAS BEEN FIRED AFTER REFUSING TO RESIGN) A senior Defense official placed under investigation by the FBI on allegations that he tried to steer Iraqi reconstruction contracts toward friends has been removed from office, Pentagon officials confirmed Friday. John A. "Jack" Shaw, the Pentagon's deputy undersecretary for international technology security, was ordered to leave after refusing to sign a letter of resignation, the officials said. His last day was Friday. "He was asked to discontinue his service," a senior Pentagon official said. ...
...Shaw did not respond to requests for comment on his ouster. However, in e-mails and letters exchanged with Pentagon officials over his departure, Shaw portrayed himself as a whistle-blower who was being unfairly asked to resign for having highlighted problems with the cellular phone licensing process.
In a letter to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Shaw expanded on the accusations made in his previous report, charging that Defense Undersecretary Douglas J. Feith, his former law partner L. Marc Zell and Ahmad Chalabi, leader of the Iraqi National Congress party, were also involved in the conspiracy.
He also charged that Lawrence DiRita, the Pentagon's top spokesman, was organizing a "smear campaign" against him, according to an e-mail obtained by The Times. He threatened DiRita that, if forced to step down, he would unleash "Iran Contra II," a reference to the scandal that roiled the Reagan administration.
[* That last threat doesn't make him sound like a very good conservative, LOL]
"I cannot submit my resignation to you until it is clear that the well-orchestrated campaign to obstruct justice and suppress the findings of my office has been properly addressed and stopped," Shaw wrote in a letter to Rumsfeld.
DiRita dismissed Shaw's charges against Feith as "obviously ridiculous." "If Jack has information and credible evidence, he really has an obligation to produce it and deliver it to the inspector general," DiRita said. In reference to the allegations against him, DiRita said: "I certainly have not done and would not do what he's alleging." Neither Zell nor Chalabi could be reached for comment.
Shaw, 65, is a longtime government employee who served in the White House under Presidents Ford, Nixon and Reagan and was an associate deputy secretary in the Department of Commerce. [* My note: So we're supposed to believe he SKIPPED serving under Carter and Clinton? How did he manage that? WHEN was he an associate dpty sec in the Dept of Commerce? Was it around the time of Ron Brown and Riady and Huang?] ----- "Pentagon Ousts Official Under FBI Investigation [Shaw: Russians took 380 tons, friends got deals]," by T. Christian Miller, Yahoo, Dec 11, 2004
(* My note: Shaw is apparently yet another person the press played up to be a conservative but whose target is Feith, Zell, Chalabi, DeRita, Rumsfeld - and dare I say it? Perhaps even the Office of Special Plans that Rockefeller and the LaRouche faction in the Pentagon hates so much? And notice that Commerce Department connection there... remember the Chalabi papers with the head of al QaQaa andhis visits to China)
Notice that this is a report TO the Inspector General, not FROM the Inspector general, meaning it is a report that has not yet been substantiated. It appears to be the report written by Shaw himself when he was first coming under suspicion for helping his friends' cell phone company land a bid in Iraq.
There is so much money out there that Shaw apparently wanted in on it, too:
2003 fall : (NANA PACIFIC / GUARDIAN NET CASE : PENTAGON OFFICIAL SHAW ACCUSES US & IRAQI OFFICIALS OF ACCEPTING BRIBES IN THE AWARDING OF THREE LICENSES TO PRIVATE CELLPHONE SERVICE COMPANIES IN IRAQ - BUT SHAW IS ALSO PUSHING A COMPANY ASSOCIATED WITH HIS FRIEND, DON DEMARINO, CALLED "GUARDIAN NET" TO WIN A CONTRACT FOR WORK IN IRAQ THROUGH A MINORITY RUN COMPANY CALLED "NANA PACIFIC") [Pentagon deputy undersecretary for international technology security John A. "Jack"] Shaw first raised concerns in fall 2003 about whether U.S. and Iraqi officials were bribed in the awarding of three licenses to private companies to provide cellphone service in Iraq. The licenses were each estimated to be worth several hundred million dollars. At the same time, he began championing a company called Guardian Net, whose board included longtime friend Don DeMarino, to win a contract to provide a police and fire radio system to Iraq, according to current and former U.S. officials and documents.
Shaw urged top CPA officials to award the contract to Nana Pacific, a small business run by Alaska Natives. Nana, which had no experience in the Middle East or in telecommunications networks, then planned to subcontract the work to Guardian Net, according to current and former U.S. officials and documents.
Under special federal contracting guidelines designed to help small and minority businesses, firms like Nana Pacific have the ability to win contracts of any size without going through the competitive bidding process usually required to protect taxpayer dollars.
The plan fell apart after Shaw ordered CPA officials to modify language in the police radio contract to allow the Nana Pacific and Guardian Net team to construct an entire cellular phone network for Iraq — creating, in effect, a fourth cellphone license, according to current and former U.S. officials and documents.
Daniel Sudnick, the CPA's senior advisor to Iraq's Ministry of Communication, reported his concerns over Shaw's efforts to the Pentagon's inspector general, who later turned the investigation over to the FBI.
FBI officials declined to comment Friday on the status of that investigation. ----- "Pentagon Ousts Official Under FBI Investigation [Shaw: Russians took 380 tons, friends got deals]," by T. Christian Miller, Yahoo, Dec 11, 2004
Mr. Don DeMarino, National Chairman of U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce, and Founding Director and Member of the Executive Committee of U.S.-Iraq Business Alliance, and Series Program Chairman G o o g l e's cache of http://www.umaine.edu/globalfocusseries/agenda.asp
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