What's amazing is the Bush spin folks are out "justifying" that the missing explosives aren't really all that big a deal, since hundreds of thousands of tons of *ordinance and weapons* have been destroyed.
Again, a case of Apples and Oranges.
380 tons of these explosives equals many thousands of tons of *ordinance* --- the raw materials were stolen, not finished products. These raw materials can be used to make far more weapons than the base weight of 380 tons implies.
I'm just saddened that the press doesn't pick up on this stuff and fire it into the throats of spin doctors -- from both sides.
Lets look at what 380 tons of high explosive could do. I'm sure I've totally underestimated the destructive potential...
380 US tons = 760,000 pounds
By the way... how exactly does almost a MILLION pounds of explosives suddenly go missing? Especially when the IAEA had documented the location of these materials [ironically so had Iraq in the CACFD document in Dec 2002] and the location was well known to US intelligence and defense planners.
Even if the raw materials were only used for "simple" terrorist class weapons:
- Thats 760,000 jet airliners brought down by a small 1 pound piece of high explosive. (Like Pan AM 103)
- Thats 760,000 city buses ripped apart by a small 1 pound piece of high explosive. Maybe only 1/2 a pound is needed to create abject terror, giving you a yield of 760,000 buses. Maybe with a timer you don't even need suicide bombers - just delivery people to shove a deadly package under a seat with duct tape.
- Thats 76,000 trains ripped apart and derailed by a 10 pound piece of high explosive in a suit case
- Thats 1,500,000 postal workers, FedEX / UPS / DHL drivers killed (and/or their recipients and anyone around them) with a half pound piece of high explosive in a a courier envelope
Not being an explosives expert I can't tell you what 500 pounds of the stuff in a car, driven into a parking garage, would do to the building above.
I must say, the Bush spin makes me feel safer! |
