Rush doing a bad job spinning the missing explosives debacle...

[Taco John]

Wow...

"It's not a big deal unless the explosives fell into the wrong hands."


That's a quote. He's definitely spinning hardcore on this one... Should be a good day for radio.

[BIG_DADDY]

You know you want Rush's penis.

[Taco John]

You looking for more odd porn, BD?

[MadProphetMargin]

Wow...

"It's not a big deal unless the explosives fell into the wrong hands."


That's a quote. He's definitely spinning hardcore on this one... Should be a good day for radio.

Classic.

[Laz]

im still waiting for Rush to report to prison


i mean he says that druggies should be put in jail and throw away the key



:hmmm: i guess it's "different" for him

[Taco John]

Now Rush's spin is that this story isn't important because the article doesn't say "when" the weapons were stolen... Just that they were. Apparently the fact that the explosives were stolen isn't as important as "when" they were stolen.

It's definitely short-sighted spin, and I think Rush knows it... But what else is he going to say?

[MadProphetMargin]

Now Rush's spin is that this story isn't important because the article doesn't say "when" the weapons were stolen... Just that they were. Apparently the fact that the explosives were stolen isn't as important as "when" they were stolen.



ROFL

[Hel'n]

There is no way to spin this as good news...

If I were Bush I'd be having a fit with my military brass and advisers...

[Duck Dog]

:rolleyes:

What is the fixation you liberals have with Rush? No wonder he has such high ratings, he attracts all the liberals. I lean to the right and wouldn't listen to him.

Before this thread is done, I predict at least 3 posters will have blamed Bush for the missing munitions.

[MadProphetMargin]

Before this thread is done, I predict at least 3 posters will have blamed Bush for the missing munitions.


FIRST!

[Taco John]

SECOND!

[Taco John]

Absolutely. Bush runs a thoughtless war. This and Abu Ghraib are symbols to the type of war that Bush operates. Little control. Little thought.

I wonder if he put some of those Iraqis that greeted us a liberators in charge of guarding the munitions dump?

[DanT]

It's a very old story that lots of weapons were available for the taking from large and unguarded weapons caches throughout Iraq. Here, for example, is the beginning of an article from October, 2003, that appeared in the International Herald Tribune:

http://rasa.iht.com/articles/114153.html

Unguarded weapons include missile in mint condition

AL MUSAYYIB, Iraq It weighs more than half a ton, so carting it away could present a few logistical problems for the average looter. But the fact remains that there is a very nice 4.5-meter-long missile, in mint condition, there for the taking, at one of Saddam Hussein's defense factories a few kilometers west of here.
.
The missile, along with a dozen ready-to-fire 107-mm antitank rounds just a few meters away, is part of a problem that the U.S. military has only begun to grapple with: As much as one million tons of ammunition is scattered around Iraq, much of it unguarded - like the armaments at this site - simply because the United States does not have the manpower to keep watch.

Naturally, those unguarded weapons have been used to kill American soldiers, as these opening paragraphs of a USA Today story from September, 2003, report:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2003-09-29-cover-small-arms_x.htm

Small weapons prove the real threat in Iraq
By John Diamond, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — U.S. forces haven't found Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction, but they're literally stumbling over a much more immediate threat: weapons of individual destruction.

By Karel Prinsloo, AP

These are the mines, booby traps, rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launchers and Soviet-made automatic rifles that are killing and wounding American soldiers almost daily.

Pentagon reports on the 86 U.S. battle fatalities since May 1, when President Bush declared an end to major combat, show almost all involved light arms or remote-controlled IEDs — "improvised explosive devices," made of patched-together hand grenades or plastic explosives — that regularly destroy Humvees and kill or maim their occupants.

In strategic sections of Iraq, just about every school, hospital or Baath Party building that U.S. forces come across is stacked high with ammunition, according to Gen. John Abizaid, overall commander of U.S. forces in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East. The number of sites is a logistical nightmare for the coalition, which can't remove the arms fast enough and lacks manpower to guard all the caches.

Abizaid's military command estimates it will take five years to destroy all the explosives already confiscated. Meanwhile, unguarded sites become ready-made supply houses for guerrilla fighters.

"There is more ammunition in Iraq than any place I've ever been in my life, and it is all not securable," Abizaid told senators in a Sept. 24 hearing. "I wish I could tell you that we had it all under control, but we don't."

After focusing intensely on Iraq's alleged chemical, biological and nuclear weapons programs, the Pentagon is only now coming to grips with the scale of the small arms problem in Iraq. Guerrilla fighters' easy access to arms and explosives poses the most immediate threat to coalition troops and to the objective of establishing stability in Iraq.

[MadProphetMargin]

Absolutely. Bush runs a thoughtless war. This and Abu Ghraib are symbols to the type of war that Bush operates. Little control. Little thought.



Not to mention a reactive, "make it up as you go along" strategy.

[KingPriest2]

Absolutely. Bush runs a thoughtless war. This and Abu Ghraib are symbols to the type of war that Bush operates. Little control. Little thought.

I wonder if he put some of those Iraqis that greeted us a liberators in charge of guarding the munitions dump?


Thoughtless war? HA What about a thoughtless vote?

[the Talking Can]

actually, the article makes it clear that these weapons were stolen after the invasion...these and many other caches have been left ungaurded, supplying the insurgency for free....great ****ing plan

[penchief]

THIRD!

If this were Clinton's failure conservatives on this board would be converging on Hope, Arkansas with excavation machinery or advocating a search of his Harlem office.

In fact, Bush isn't the teflon president, he is the "completely invisible when the shit hits the fan" president.

[Laz]

:rolleyes:

What is the fixation you liberals have with Rush?

he's a loud mouthed, blowhard,hypocritical POS


he's symbolic for most of the republican party ... whats not to hate?!?!?

[jettio]

Even though the Second Amendment has never been interpreted by the Supreme Court to really define it beyond what an individual supposes its meaning to be,

I would have to say that B*sh has an expansive view of the second amendment. Not only would he seem to favor less restrictions on gun ownership rights here in the United States, he is even gung ho about not restricting the arming of folks in countries we occupy, even the bastards that f*ckin' hate us.

I would have to say that B*sh might get the NRA's support this year.

[Hel'n]

FOURTH!

[Michael Michigan]

NBCNEWS: Huge Cache of Explosives Vanished From Site in Iraq -- At Least 18 Months Ago

[KCWolfman]

NBCNEWS: Huge Cache of Explosives Vanished From Site in Iraq -- At Least 18 Months Ago
I wonder why it is news this week?

[KCFalcon59]

NBCNEWS: Huge Cache of Explosives Vanished From Site in Iraq -- At Least 18 Months Ago

NBCNEWS: HUGE CACHE OF EXPLOSIVES VANISHED FROM SITE IN IRAQ -- AT LEAST 18 MONTHS AGO -- BEFORE TROOPS ARRIVED

The NYTIMES urgently reported on Monda (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/25/international/middleeast/25bomb.html?ex=1099368000&en=9ce7b708a2986170&ei=5065&partner=MYWAY)y how the Iraqi interim government has warned the United States and international nuclear inspectors 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."

In an election week rush:

**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

But tonight, NBCNEWS reported, once: 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.

It is not clear why the NYTIMES failed to report the cache had been missing for 18 months -- and was reportedly missing before troops even arrived.

"The U.S. Army was at the sight one day after the liberation and the weapons were already gone," a top Republican blasted from Washington late Monday.

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.

[Michael Michigan]

Now Rush's spin is that this story isn't important because the article doesn't say "when" the weapons were stolen... Just that they were. Apparently the fact that the explosives were stolen isn't as important as "when" they were stolen.

It's definitely short-sighted spin, and I think Rush knows it... But what else is he going to say?




XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX MON OCT 25 2004 22:45:05 ET XXXXX

NBCNEWS: HUGE CACHE OF EXPLOSIVES VANISHED FROM SITE IN IRAQ -- AT LEAST 18 MONTHS AGO -- BEFORE TROOPS ARRIVED

The NYTIMES urgently reported on Monday in an apprent October Surprise: The Iraqi interim government has warned the United States and international nuclear inspectors 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.

In an election week rush:

**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

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.

The TIMES left the impression the weapons site had been looted of its explosives recently, and since Iraq has been under US control.

The TIMES reported: "The huge facility, called Al Qaqaa, was supposed to be under American military control but is now a no man's land, still picked over by looters as recently as Sunday."

[In a fresh Page One story set for Tuesday on the matter, the TIMES once again omits any reference to troops not finding any explosives at the site when they arrived in April of 2003. Attempts to reach managing editor Jill Abramson late Monday were unsuccessful.]

"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.

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.

Dem vp hopeful John Edwards blasted Bush for not securing the 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."

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?"

Top Kerry adviser Joe Lockhart fired back Monday night: "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."

Developing...

[the Talking Can]

link (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6323933/)

The Associated Press
Updated: 7:30 p.m. ET Oct. 25, 2004

VIENNA, Austria - Several hundred tons of conventional explosives were looted from a former Iraqi military facility that once played a key role in Saddam Hussein’s efforts to build a nuclear bomb, the U.N. nuclear agency told the Security Council on Monday.

A “lack of security” resulted in the loss of 377 tons of high explosives from the sprawling Al-Qaqaa military installation about 30 miles south of Baghdad, said Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA.

The IAEA fears “that these explosives could have fallen into the wrong hands,” said Melissa Fleming, a spokeswoman for the agency.

Whereabouts a mystery
ElBaradei told the council the IAEA 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 in the media, he 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 the explosives.

The materials were lost through “the theft and looting of the governmental installations due to lack of security,” the letter said.

The letter informed the IAEA that since Sept. 4, 2003, looting at the Al-Qaqaa installation south of Baghdad had resulted in the loss of 214.67 tons of HMX, 155.68 tons of RDX and 6.39 tons of PETN explosives.

HMX and RDX can be used to demolish buildings, down jetliners, produce warheads for missiles and detonate nuclear weapons. HMX and RDX are key ingredients in plastic explosives, such as C-4 and Semtex — substances so powerful that Libyan terrorists needed just 1 pound to blow up Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, killing 170 people.

ElBaradei’s cover letter to the council said that the HMX had been under IAEA seal and that the RDX and PETN were “both subject to regular monitoring of stock levels.”

“The presence of these amounts was verified by the IAEA in January 2003,” he said.

At the Pentagon, an official who monitors developments in Iraq said U.S.-led coalition troops had searched Al-Qaqaa in the immediate aftermath of the March 2003 invasion and confirmed that the explosives, which had been under IAEA seal since 1991, were intact. The site was not secured by U.S. forces, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

[Hel'n]

NBCNEWS: HUGE CACHE OF EXPLOSIVES VANISHED FROM SITE IN IRAQ -- AT LEAST 18 MONTHS AGO -- BEFORE TROOPS ARRIVED



This is not supported by any links except Drudge were it says "DEVELOPING..."

This is smoke from a Republican talking head...

[SBK]

Absolutely. Bush runs a thoughtless war. This and Abu Ghraib are symbols to the type of war that Bush operates. Little control. Little thought.

I wonder if he put some of those Iraqis that greeted us a liberators in charge of guarding the munitions dump?

Little control? So I guess we are just carpet bombing the entire middle east then? He has shown too much control, as far as making sure we go out of our way not to hurt innocents.

Little Thought? I do suppose if he actually did think that Afghanistan and Iraq would have been won in less than a week instead? I think that the notion that Iraq should be a peaceful place is a dumb statement. Just look at history, how was Japan and Germany immediately following WW2.

I see you take a lot of guff for the statements you make around here, and it's very easy to see why. :shake:

[SBK]

This is not supported by any links except Drudge were it says "DEVELOPING..."

This is smoke from a Republican talking head...

Does that mean that all the reporting today from NYT, CBS, ABC, MSNBC, CNN are just smoke from Democrat talking heads?

[Joe Seahawk]

This is not supported by any links except Drudge were it says "DEVELOPING..."

This is smoke from a Republican talking head...


Hel'n It's From NBC Are you calling NBC a republican talking head?

[Michael Michigan]

Hel'n It's From NBC Are you calling NBC a republican talking head?

Maybe Hel'n can't read?

;)

[patteeu]

im still waiting for Rush to report to prison


i mean he says that druggies should be put in jail and throw away the key



:hmmm: i guess it's "different" for him

No he doesn't. He might have "said" that at some point in the distant past, but he doesn't "say" it now and hasn't since his addiction started as far as I'm aware.

[patteeu]

:rolleyes:

Before this thread is done, I predict at least 3 posters will have blamed Bush for the missing munitions.

FIRST!

SECOND!

THIRD!

FOURTH!

ROFL @ MPM, TJ, pen, and hel'n. Suckers!




Now Rush's spin is that this story isn't important because the article doesn't say "when" the weapons were stolen... Just that they were. Apparently the fact that the explosives were stolen isn't as important as "when" they were stolen.

It's definitely short-sighted spin, and I think Rush knows it... But what else is he going to say?

LMAO

[Cochise]

Ooops!