Not only are the facts not ascertained, but you have yet to show a credible connection between the alleged malfeasance with the munitions and the overall war plan.
Not true, and in fact evidence to the contrary *abounds*.
First off, the big picture: Al Qa Qaa is one of the very largest facilities of its kind in Iraq, encompassing over 1,000 buildings and many military related industrial concerns as well as massive caches of weapons and components for weapons. It was (or should have been) beyond any doubt on the "A-List" of top targets to either a) totally obliterate or b) secure.
The war plan did neither. How do we know this? We certainly know the military did not obliterate it, since people walked around, entered buildings, took video, camped out there, etc. More importantly, did they secure it? Were commanders briefed on its nature? No:
1. Commanders at the scene attest to the fact that they did not have orders to secure the facility.
2. Commanders at the scene attest to the fact that they were not briefed on the nature of the facility, not even the IAEA inventoried nuclear-related items
3. The Director of Al Qa Qaa has made a statement that he requested assistance from "coalition forces", as they were moving through the area, to secure the facility. The military did not meet his request. They had "other" orders.
4. Independent media confirm that bunker after bunker contained weapons and explosives. No security remained in place, and the soldiers passing through the area broke the locks open and left the buildings unlocked.
5. The Pentagon press briefing today confirms that they can't say what percentage of what they took involved explosives. Nor can they say where the explosives ended up. Devoid of detail, we have to assume the worst.
6. "Channel 5 news" has photographic evidence of IAEA seals at Al Qa Qaa. (new today) The evidence is in videotape shot by Reporter Dean Staley and Photographer Joe Caffrey at or near the Al Qaqaa munitions facility. The video shows a cable locking a door shut. That cable is connected by a copper colored seal. A spokesperson for the International Atomic Energy Agency told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that seal appears to be one used by their inspectors.
kstp.com
7. More than one report confirms that commanders acknowledge that they had no orders to secure site.
"The first U.S. military units to reach the Al-Qaqaa military installation south of Baghdad after the invasion of Iraq did not have orders to search for some 350 tons of explosives that are now said to be missing from the site. " A special unit known as Task Force 75 finally searched the compound seven weeks later and found no sign of the explosives, which experts have said had the potential to be used either conventionally or to trigger nuclear weapons.
upn33.com
Conclusion: there is enough evidence of systemic failure in the conduct of the war to make an assumption that the war plan was *grossly* deficient.
But there is *no* evidence to support a claim that the war plan focussed on the core rationale for the war - securing dangerous weapons..
Links to all these events (and much more) are contained within the past two days on this thread. |
