Seized Bars: Iraq's "Gold" Mostly Copper

WASHINGTON -- Gold-colored bars seized by US forces in Iraq appear to be melted-down shell casings made mostly of copper, rather than gold, the White House said in a report obtained yesterday.

The US military announced the discovery of truckloads of the gold-colored bars in May.

(snip)

In a report to Congress detailing US reconstruction efforts, the White House budget office said 1,100 gold-colored bars were recovered in Iraq and that samples were taken to Kuwait for testing.

The report said the bars were 64 percent copper and 34 percent zinc.

more…
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/214/nation/Iraq_s_gold_mostly_copper+.shtml

at what point during th etrip to kuwait were the bars switched and the gold taken to the bush cabal's personal stash?

know that story stinks. melted down shell casings my
ass.

right. Hussein melted down shell casings and kept them
in a vault. yeah right.

They can't do any goddamned thing right, can they?

which was, imo, to continue to build an image of Saddam, The Bastard.

Gold is untraceable. It's God's money.

Would you believe it? Bush captured Iraq's top brass and didn't even know it until now.





(64-Copper/34-Zinc is a metal alloy known as brass)

--typo on edit

Funny. :D

Saddam used to have it, now it's Bremer's

"Uh, Mr. Bremer, you still want us to re-smelt this stuff and ship it to Zurich in your name?"

What a buncha MAROONS!

For manufacture into Admin replacement balls as the old ones wear out (from all the friction/abrasion).

Well worth cleaning the tea off the monitor. Thanks. :-)

:puke:

of metal, brass, etc.. in the typical "gold bar" shape, narrow at the top so you can pick up the one on top of it, rounded edges... that stuff is F'n heavy and any edge will cut the crap out of you. when i was a jeweler i got a big bag of brass wedding bands as practice blanks with an engraving machine. i polished these up and they looked like GOLD! so we would drop them on the floor by the display cases and watch the customers "steal" them, then we'd go up and stand around looking for something on the floor...i know that was cruel and unusual, but we were young and bored. The Iraqi's would have been recycling EVERYTHING. especially 'base' metals. .. collecting that stuff is a major part of the homeless income even here. One of the really serious tragedies in civil war in places like Africa/Congo.. is that that 'ALL' the copper wire and brass,aluminum is looted out of every building, the water pipe too. this makes reconstruction nearly imposable. the buildings basically need to be rebuilt, there is no phone, water, power.. no way to even survive, more less communicate or plug in a computer. we must strive to not fall into fall into nihilism and nay saying...

Hmm-m-m-m??

Cartridge brass is 70/30 while Yellow Brass 274 is 63/37.

Brass gets harder as the copper content increases, but it loses ductility with the increase of zinc.

Since the Iraqi brass was listed at 64/34 it's more likely that this was standard industrial grade brass, and not intended for munitions.

Any idiot should be able to discern brass from gold in a couple of seconds; no assayer's mark, specific gravity, hardness, streak test, and chemical suceptiblity.

Geez.

There bloody well better be an investigation into this!!!!
:mad:

All that glisters is not gold . . .

Sexed up this story, no doubt!


----------------------------------------------------------

http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/05/23/sprj.nilaw.gold/index.html


Central Command: Suspected gold shipment recovered
U.S.: Bars could be worth $500 million

Friday, May 23, 2003 Posted: 11:09 AM EDT (1509 GMT)


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. troops seized what is believed to be a massive gold shipment Friday during a routine traffic stop near the Iraqi border with Syria, U.S. Central Command announced.

Soldiers with the Army's 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment found about 2,000 bars -- each weighing 40 pounds -- while searching a Mercedes truck driven by two men.

The bars have not yet been tested to determine their contents, Central Command said, adding that they could be worth as much as $500 million, depending on their purity and karat weight.

The men said they were paid $350 to pick the truck up in Baghdad and drive it to an unnamed person in the Iraqi town of Qaim near the Syrian border, along a known smuggling route. They said they were told the bars were bronze, the Central Command statement said.

The bars are now in custody of the 3rd Cavalry.

Coalition forces have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars believed to have been taken by members of Saddam Hussein's regime before the start of the war.

This is absurd. Who's writing this turkey? I want my money back.... :eyes:

*

That seems strange. Who is captain of this ship?

Don

I think it has less copper, more tin or zinc.

Either way, brass does not resemble gold, especially if it is riding around in the back of a truck. Gold does not tarnish or discolor. Brass does.

The men who said they were told they were transporting bronze were telling the truth if this metal was 64% copper & 34% zinc, because they were transporting brass.

The question is, if this was indeed brass or bronze, who flew off the handle and estimated its value at gold $ rates?

Why are we hearing two months later that it was not gold? Too much delay. Were they embarrassed they mistook brass for gold, so let the story die until we had forgotten?

Edit: I agree with Gman: Lying bastards.

Something is up. Maybe they knew it was brass when they "captured" it, but needed to show us an accomplishment, so called it gold.

Bronze is red to reddish brown. An untrained eye could conceivably confuse brass with gold. However, as you and others have pointed out, brass (and bronze) discolor easily, and their weight for the same volume is just a fraction that of gold.

But how many frontline soldiers would know that?

That's gold and money that no one will be able to track now.


Probably funnel it to GOP Senatorial and Congressional candidates.

Bush campaign raises $200 million during supposedly quiet time at pig ranch. Yes, he had campaign donor visitors, but by some LUCKY STRIKE, Mr. Bush has succeeded well beyond even his campaign funding expectations....

Bush, eat this :puke:

scrap, ingot moods and a furnace? Inquiring minds should not jump to conclusions...:think:

and THAT's why Bush II sought revenge... hmmmmm

follow the money, anyone?

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/916608/posts

What a cesspool.




To: 12B

Two occupants of the truck, who were taken into custody, told the soldiers they had been told the bars were bronze, according to the command statement.

Yeah, right. Hey, Achmed -- how's about you guys smuggle a truckload of bronze over to Syria.

I think we can pretty much count on the fact that these guys are getting the full treatment. They'll break, and they'll say who they're working for. For sure these fellas weren't just grabbed off the street.

8 posted on 05/23/2003 8:39 AM PDT by r9etb
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...

To: 12B

This just confirms for us that there are some real turds that escaped during the war and ended up in Syria. This was an attempt on tehir part to make thier lives easier post the fall of Saddam's regime. I hope the special forcesa are able to quietly enter Syria and take out whoever ordered the poor truck drivers to make the trip.

13 posted on 05/23/2003 8:47 AM PDT by irish guard
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