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| Discrepancy Found in Explosives Amounts |
| Friday, October 29, 2004 |
Discrepancy Found in Explosives Amounts
Documents Show Iraqis May Be Overstating Amount of
Missing Material
Oct. 27, 2004 - Iraqi officials may be overstating the
amount of explosives reported to have disappeared from
a weapons depot, documents obtained by ABC News show.
The Iraqi interim government has told the United
States and international weapons inspectors that 377
tons of conventional explosives are missing from the
Al-Qaqaa installation, which was supposed to be under
U.S. military control.
But International Atomic Energy Agency documents
obtained by ABC News and first reported on "World News
Tonight with Peter Jennings" indicate the amount of
missing explosives may be substantially less than the
Iraqis reported.
The information on which the Iraqi Science Ministry
based an Oct. 10 memo in which it reported that 377
tons of RDX explosives were missing -- presumably
stolen due to a lack of security -- was based on
"declaration" from July 15, 2002. At that time, the
Iraqis said there were 141 tons of RDX explosives at
the facility.
But the confidential IAEA documents obtained by ABC
News show that on Jan. 14, 2003, the agency's
inspectors recorded that just over three tons of RDX
were stored at the facility -- a considerable
discrepancy from what the Iraqis reported.
The IAEA documents could mean that 138 tons of
explosives were removed from the facility long before
the United States launched "Operation Iraqi Freedom"
in March 2003.
The missing explosives have become an issue in the
presidential campaign. Sen. John Kerry has pointed to
the disappearance as evidence of the Bush
administration's poor handling of the war. The Bush
camp has responded that more than a thousand times
that amount of explosives or munitions have been
recovered or destroyed in Iraq.
Another Concern
The IAEA documents from January 2003 found no
discrepancy in the amount of the more dangerous HMX
explosives thought to be stored at Al-Qaqaa, but they
do raise another disturbing possibility.
The documents show IAEA inspectors looked at nine
bunkers containing more than 194 tons of HMX at the
facility. Although these bunkers were still under IAEA
seal, the inspectors said the seals may be potentially
ineffective because they had ventilation slats on the
sides. These slats could be easily removed to remove
the materials inside the bunkers without breaking the
seals, the inspectors noted.
ABC News' Martha Raddatz filed this report for "World
News Tonight." Luis Martinez contributed to this
report.
Copyright © 2004 ABC News Internet Ventures
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Listen to J.R. on Talk Show America, a political conservative talk show that webcasts Mon-Fri 4-6 PM EST live on the IBC Radio Network www.ibcrn.com or 24/7 @ www.talkshowamerica.com (Recorded)
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posted by J.R. @ 12:17:00 PM   |
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| Ohio ballot scare fraudulent |
| Wednesday, October 27, 2004 |
Ohio ballot scare fraudulent
Net image of seemingly biased punch card
misinterpreted
Posted: October 26, 2004
5:49 p.m. Eastern
© 2004 WorldNetDaily.com
An Internet image purported to be a seemingly
confusing presidential ballot in Cuyahoga County,
Ohio, turns out to be either bogus or misinterpreted.
As first published in MensNewsDaily, the ballot image
appeared to suggest that voters choosing Democrat John
Kerry would simply punch the hole adjacent to his
name, but those voting for President Bush would have
to punch a hole much further up from his name on the
card.
A community outreach specialist with Cuyahoga County
told WND each ballot for president will have the hole
for each candidate directly across from the name and
that voters will not have to punch holes in places
that seem counterintuitive.
"We've been getting several calls about this image on
the Net, and it's wrong information," said Kimberly
Bartlett of the county's elections board. "These
arrows do line up �? with the correct punch hole."
Though it was first described as a "butterfly ballot"
�? like those used in Palm Beach County, Fla., in 2000
�? Cuyahoga County's mechanism is technically a
"punch-card ballot," Bartlett stated.
"When people go into the polling place, everything
will line up."
Bartlett said there are several versions of the
county's ballot, with each one putting a different
presidential ticket in the No. 1 spot. Ballots will
even vary within each polling place, she said.
The apparently bogus ballot image had John Kerry at
the top.
"Each candidate will have their turn to be at the top
of the page," Bartlett explained.
WorldNetDaily regrets initially reporting the
MensNewsDaily story, which turned out to be false.
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| posted by J.R. @ 1:19:00 AM |
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| Feb. 2003 UN Report: Saddam Moving Explosives From Al-Qaqaa |
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Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2004 10:33 p.m. EDT
Feb. 2003 UN Report: Saddam Moving Explosives From
Al-Qaqaa
The United Nations nuclear watchdog group first
reported that Saddam Hussein had begun moving
stockpiles of explosives from his Al-Qaqaa nuclear
weapons facility a month before the U.S. invaded Iraq.
The February 2003 report by the International Atomic
Energy Agency, first reported Tuesday by the Fox News
Channel, severely undermines claims by the New York
Times, CBS News and the Kerry campaign that the
Al-Qaqaa explosives went missing only after the U.S.
gained control of the facility. Fox correspondent Bret
Baier detailed the chronology of events at Al-Qaqaa
for "Special Report with Brit Hume":
* "In January 2003, inspectors with the International
Atomic Energy Agency went to the Al-Qaqaa storage
facility, tagging and sealing the large stockpile of
powerful conventional explosives, HMX and RDX.
* "In February 2003, IEAE chief Mohamed ElBaradei
reported to the United Nations Security Council that
some explosives had been removed from Al Qua Quaa -
377 tons remained.
* "On March 8, 2003, IEAE inspectors made their last
check of the facility before the war. The IAEA said
that included a spot check on some - but not all - of
the sealed explosives.
* "The war started March 19. After the Army's third
division moved through here on their way to Baghdad,
the first US troops stopped in to Al-Qaqaa on April 9.
* "A Reuters camera crew embedded with the Scouts from
the 101st Airborne Division arrived at the storage
facility, did a quick search noting a number of
bunkers filled with explosives - but nothing marked by
the IAEA.
* "On April 10, the Second Brigade of the 101st
arrived there and spent the night.. An NBC crew was
with them. A cursory search was conducted. Again,
nothing marked or tagged by the IAEA was spotted. The
Second Brigade left the next day, pushing forward to
Baghdad.
* "US weapons inspectors, the Iraq Survey Group,
arrived at the site on May 27, conducting a full
search of the 32 bunkers - and they did not find any
of the IAEA-marked explosives."
Baier's report continued:
"If one large truck contains ten tons, US commanders
say it's highly unlikely that insurgents managed to
take 38 truckloads worth of explosives out of the
facility in that time.
"The roads were filled with convoys pushing to
Baghdad, clogged with supplies and communications
lines stretching all the way back to Kuwait - all
being watched closely by unmanned aerial vehicles like
the Jointstars and the Predators to protect the troops
rear flank and to spot unusual activity.
"Defense Secretary Rumsfeld - asked about the missing
explosives in a radio interview today - said the
specifics are under investigation by the Iraq Survey
Group. But he chose to point out that Saddam Hussein
moved many weapons and explosives before the war."
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Listen to J.R. on Talk Show America, a political conservative talk show that webcasts Mon-Fri 4-6 PM EST live on the IBC Radio Network www.ibcrn.com or 24/7 @ www.talkshowamerica.com (Recorded)
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| posted by J.R. @ 1:10:00 AM |
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| 60 MINS PLANNED BUSH MISSING EXPLOSIVES STORY FOR ELECTION EVE |
| Tuesday, October 26, 2004 |
XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX TUE OCT 26 2004 11:02:38 ET
XXXXX
60 MINS PLANNED BUSH MISSING EXPLOSIVES STORY FOR
ELECTION EVE
News of missing explosives in Iraq -- first reported
in April 2003 -- was being resurrected for a 60
MINUTES election eve broadcast designed to knock the
Bush administration into a crises mode.
Jeff Fager, executive producer of the Sunday edition
of 60 MINUTES, said in a statement that "our plan was
to run the story on October 31."
Elizabeth Jensen at the LOS ANGELES TIMES details on
Tuesday how CBS NEWS and 60 MINUTES lost the story
[which repackaged previously reported information on a
large cache of explosives missing in Iraq, first
published and broadcast in 2003].
The story instead debuted in the NYT. The paper
slugged the story about missing explosives from April
2003 as "exclusive."
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 explosives were already
missing when the American troops arrived.
It is not clear who exactly shopped an election eve
repackaging of the missing explosives story.
The LA TIMES claims: The source on the story first
went to 60 MINUTES but also expressed interest in
working with the NY TIMES... "The tip was received
last Wednesday."
CBSNEWS' plan to unleash the story just 24 hours
before election day had one senior Bush official
outraged.
"Darn, I wanted to see the forged documents to show
how this was somehow covered up," the Bush source, who
asked not to be named, mocked, recalling last months
CBS airing of fraudulent Bush national guard letters.
Developing...
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| posted by J.R. @ 1:26:00 PM |
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| NBCNEWS: HUGE CACHE OF EXPLOSIVES VANISHED FROM SITE IN IRAQ -- AT LEAST 18 MONTHS AGO -- BEFORE TROOPS ARRIVED |
| Monday, October 25, 2004 |
NBCNEWS: HUGE CACHE OF EXPLOSIVES VANISHED FROM SITE
IN IRAQ -- AT LEAST 18 MONTHS AGO -- BEFORE TROOPS
ARRIVED
The NYTIMES urgently reported on Monday 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."
"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, 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 TIMES left the impression the weapons site had
been looted since Iraq has been under US control.
[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 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.
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: "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."
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| posted by J.R. @ 11:36:00 PM |
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