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To: Mao II who wrote (63509)	10/28/2004 12:56:38 PM
From: Karen Lawrence	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 89467

It's been debunked by voices in his head. In fact: IAEA defends missing explosives report A report on the amount of conventional explosives missing from an Iraqi storage site did not overstate the stockpile's size as a US media report suggests, the UN nuclear watchdog says. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had said that 342 tonnes of high explosives had disappeared from a site near Baghdad. Iraq told the IAEA the explosives at the sprawling Al Qaqaa military facility had gone missing through theft and looting due to lack of security after the US-led invasion. But ABC News (America) reports that confidential IAEA documents show that on January 14, 2003, UN inspectors found just over three tons of one type of explosive, RDX. That inspection was conducted before the war began. "The bulk of the RDX was stored at another site that was under Al Qaqaa's jurisdiction," IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said. She says that the report seen by ABC only covers the Al Qaqaa site itself. The second site, Al Mahaweel, is roughly 45 kilometres from Al Qaqaa. "They (Iraq) considered that site part of Al Qaqaa and that's how it was always declared," she said. "IAEA inspectors inventoried that site on January 15, 2003," the day after the Al Qaqaa inspection reported by ABC. RDX is one of three types of explosive at the Al Qaqaa site that arms experts say could potentially be used to make a detonator for a nuclear bomb, blow up an airplane or building, or in numerous other military and civilian applications. However, Ms Fleming says it is possible that the Iraqi report on missing explosives overstated the amount of RDX by 10 tons because it did not take account of an earlier Iraqi statement that that amount had been used for civilian purposes. The IAEA has yet to verify the Iraqi statements because it has been barred from most of Iraq since the war. It has watched from afar as the former nuclear sites it once monitored have been stripped by looters. -- Reuters Print Email abc.net.au

To: Mao II who wrote (63509)	10/28/2004 1:12:19 PM
From: mistermj	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 89467

More Explosives story DEBUNKING and poor IAEA methods Discrepancy Found in Explosives Amounts Documents Show Iraqis May Be Overstating Amount of Missing Material - 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 3 tons of RDX was 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 start of 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 abcnews.go.com

To: Mao II who wrote (63509)	10/28/2004 1:14:31 PM
From: mistermj	Respond to of 89467

Serious questions about missing explosives story. Russians ‘may have taken Iraq explosives’ By Demetri Sevastopulo and Guy Dinmore in Washington and James Harding in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Published: October 28 2004 00:45 \| Last updated: October 28 2004 00:45 The controversy over Iraq’s missing explosives intensified on Wednesday as the Bush administration rejected charges of incompetence and a senior Pentagon official claimed the munitions may have been removed by Russians before the US-led invasion. Breaking his silence over an issue that has dominated headlines since Monday, President George W. Bush accused John Kerry, his Democratic challenger, of making “wild charges” over the 350 tonnes of explosives and weapons. The Pentagon is still investigating their disappearance. But Scott McClellan, White House press secretary, said there was a “very real possibility” the munitions were taken by the Saddam Hussein regime before US troops arrived at the munitions facility at al-Qaqaa, south of Baghdad. At a rally in Iowa on Wednesday, however, Mr Kerry claimed that Mr Bush had allowed the explosives to fall into the hands of Iraqi rebels. Later, his campaign conceded that the Hussein regime might have removed the munitions before the invasion. But in a further development, John Shaw, a deputy under-secretary of defence, suggested that “Russian units” had transported the explosives out of the country. In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Shaw said: “For nearly nine months my office has been aware of an elaborate scheme set up by Saddam Hussein to finance and disguise his weapons purchases through his international suppliers, principally the Russians and French. That network included. . . employing various Russian units on the eve of hostilities to orchestrate the collection of munitions and assure their transport out of Iraq via Syria.” The Russian embassy in Washington rejected the claims as “nonsense”, saying there were no Russian military in the country at the time. Mr Shaw, who heads the Pentagon’s international armament and technology trade directorate, has not provided evidence for his claims and the Pentagon distanced itself from his remarks. “I am unaware of any particular information on that point,” said Larry Di Rita, Pentagon spokesman. The issue has dominated the presidential campaign since the International Atomic Energy Agency raised it at the UN Security Council on Monday. The Iraqi government says the explosives disappeared during looting after US forces seized Baghdad. But Colonel Dave Perkins, who commanded the first troops into al-Qaqaa, yesterday said it was “highly improbable” someone could have removed the munitions after US forces had taken control of the area. The US has in the past raised concerns about Russian activities in Iraq before the invasion. During the war, Mr Bush called Vladimir Putin, Russian president, to voice concerns that Russian companies at least one state-owned had provided Iraq with anti-tank guided missiles, satellite jamming devices and night-vision goggles. Russia denied the charges and promised an investigation. news.ft.com