(This is my first diary, please help me update/correct. I checked for diaries similar to this and couldn't find any.)
As more media reports come out, especially those of then-embedded reporters, it's clear the Bush Administration is flat out lying about not having any knowledge or control of the al QaQaa disappearance.
An al QaQaa timeline based on recent news reports and some of my thoughts after the jump. (And special thanks to members of the Rapid Response Network at http://www.rapidresponsenetwork.org for their hard work on this).
Here is the basic fact (if you walk away with nothing else, know this):
- Sometime between April 18, 2003 (nine days after the fall of Baghdad) and October 10, 2004 (when IAEA inspectors visit al Qa Qaa) the unguarded weapons depot has been looted dry of 480 tons of high-grade explosives. Coalition forces have had the authority during this entire time to guard the depot should they have chosen to do so.
And the obvious result:
- The Bush Administration has provided aid and comfort to our enemies by allowing any and all who wished to plunder these high-grade explosives to do so at will.
(Based on what I've read, I believe the site was looted in a drip-by-drip fashion. A barrel or two here and there. Maybe a dozen or so if someone could back a truck in on a given day. It seems unlikely it was all taken at one time, given both the shear amount of material available and the proximity of Coalition Forces who -- we would hope -- would've noticed a large convoy of looted explosives.)
The Known al Qa Qaa Timeline:
- January 2003 -- Al Qa Qaa is "fully inventoried" by IAEA.[1]
- March 15, 2003 -- The IAEA confirms the now-missing explosives are accounted for and sealed in place. The Bush Administration subsequently warns UN/IAEA Inspectors to leave country before the invasion begins.[2]
- Between March 15 and 19, 2003 -- UN/IAEA Inspectors leave.[2]
- March 19, 2003 -- Invasion begins. IAEA warns US of need to secure the al Qa Qaa site.[2,3]
- 'Immediately after invasion' -- The AP reports: "At the Pentagon, an official who monitors developments in Iraq said US-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. Thereafter the site was not secured by U.S. forces, the official said, also speaking on condition of anonymity."[1]
- April 3, 2003 -- Col. Dave Perkins and 3ID battle Iraqis at the al Qa Qaa site but do not search for weapons or explosives. Perkins states area roads were broken up and routes jammed with US convoys, making it improbable that large amounts of material were being transferred all at once (ie, via truck) without being seen.[3]
- April 9, 2003 -- Baghdad falls.[2]
- April 10, 2003 -- 101st Airborne, under the command of Col. Joseph Anderson, spends 24 hours at al Qa Qaa as a pit stop on its way to Baghdad but does not inspect the cache; they were not ordered to inspect the area.[2,4] (According to the AP and Reuters, troops were not assigned to inspect for weapons or explosives. That is why none were observed -- the troops were not searching for known [or what should have been known] material -- not because the explosives weren't there on the sprawling complex.[2,3])
- April 10, 2003 -- Embedded reporter Dana Lewis, with NBC at the time and traveling with the 101st, tapes footage showing explosives material still under IAEA lock and seal throughout the complex.[5]
- April 18, 2003 -- Video footage from an embedded reporter shows barrels of explosives still under locked IAEA seals.[6]
- May 3, 2003 -- UN requests that Coalition inspectors be sent to the site.[2]
- May 8 & 11, 2003 -- Coalition Forces' site survey teams conduct site visits at al Qa Qaa; extent/thoroughness unknown.[2]
- May 27, 2003 -- Coalition Forces' site survey teams apparently conduct a search specifically for high-grade explosives at al Qa Qaa and find broken seals with some looters on site. AP reports: "It's not clear whether they did a further accounting of the materials themselves."[2]
- October 10, 2004 -- UN inspectors (IAEA) are asked by Iraqi Government authorities to inspect the site after alerting them to the disappearance at al Qa Qaa.[2]
- October 15, 2004 and later -- After confirmation, the IAEA later reports to the US and UN that the 380 tons of HMX and RDX that had been stored at al Qa Qaa are now gone.[1]
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References:
[1] 380 tons of explosives missing in Iraq, By ASSOCIATED PRESS. Oct. 25, 2004 17:45 | Updated Oct. 25, 2004 17:49. Referenced via Jerusalem Post.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1098677410357
[2] What Happened to Missing Iraq Explosives, By CHRISTOPHER CHESTER, Associated Press. Wed Oct 27, 4:47 PM ET. Referenced via Yahoo News.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20041027/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_weapons_q_a_1
[3] First U.S. Unit at Iraq Site Did Not Hunt Explosives, By Will Dunham (Reuters). Wed Oct 27, 6:42 PM ET. Referenced via Yahoo News.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=578&e=3&u=/nm/20041027/ts_nm/iraq_explos
ives_pentagon_dc
[4] 4 Iraqis Tell of Looting at Munitions Site in '03, By James Glanz and Jim Dwyer, New York Times. October 28, 2004. Referenced via New York Times website.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/28/international/middleeast/28bomb.html?oref=login&oref=login&
;pagewanted=print&position
[5] Fox News Channel. Brit Hume interview of Dana Lewis. Broadcast October 26, 2004 18:22:25. Accessed via ShadowTV.com (with transcript).
http://www.shadowtv.com/redirect/notification.jsp?vid=06e78d4352e4f47c0c1a0bf147c30ce2
[6] KSTP-tv, Minneapolis-St. Paul channel 5 ABC affiliate. Embedded reporter's footage of al Qa Qaa depicting explosives containers still under IAEA lock and seal. Footage taped April 18, 2003. Referenced via KSTP-tv website.
http://www.kstp.com/article/stories/S3723.html?cat=1