For Immediate Release
October 25, 2004
BUSH'S FAILURE TO SECURE IRAQI EXPLOSIVES HAS MADE THE WORLD LESS SAFE
Today, the New York Times revealed that the Bush Administration failed to secure
nearly 380 tons of high-grade explosives in Iraq shortly after the United States
took control over the country, despite being informed of their exact location. The
failure to secure the explosives has led to three major concerns:
1) The weapons could end up or have already ended up in the hands of a terrorist
group;
2) The explosives might be used against our troops on the ground; and
3) The explosives could be used to carry out a deadly attack against America or our
allies.
NEW REVELATION: Failure To Secure Iraqi Explosives May Mean that Powerful Explosives
are in Hands of Terrorists
Bush Administration Remained Silent About the Disappearance of Explosives. "The
White House said President Bush's national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, was
informed within the past month that the explosives were missing. It is unclear
whether President Bush was informed. American officials have never publicly
announced the disappearance, but beginning last week they answered questions about
it posed by The New York Times and the CBS News program '60 Minutes.'"
10/25/04]
Explosives May Help Terrorists Create Chaos. "In May, an internal I.A.E.A.
memorandum warned that terrorists might be helping 'themselves to the greatest
explosives bonanza in history.'"
Explosives Could Be Used For Nuclear Weapon. "The explosives could also be used to
trigger a nuclear weapon, which was why international nuclear inspectors had kept a
watch on the material."
NEW REVELATION: Bush Administration Was Warned About Possible Looting of Explosives
But Failed To Act
Bush Administration Ignored Warnings of Leaving Explosives Unsupervised. "A European
diplomat reported that Jacques Baute, head of the I.A.E.A.'s Iraq nuclear inspection
team, warned officials at the United States mission in Vienna about the danger of
the nuclear sites and materials once under I.A.E.A. supervision, including Al Qaqaa.
But apparently, little was done. A senior Bush administration official said that
during the initial race to Baghdad, American forces 'went through the bunkers, but
saw no materials bearing the I.A.E.A. seal.' It is unclear whether they ever
returned."
Kerry called on Bush to secure Iraq from looting
"Yesterday, Kerry took issue with the Bush administration's post-war policies in
Iraq. 'I think they wasted a month,' Kerry said. 'They lost a serious amount of time
because they didn't have a plan. They have allowed looting to take place that has
done more damage to the infrastructure than any bomb.'" Journal-Bulletin, 5/23/03]
Bush / Administration Played Down Looting at the Time:
Bush Was Unconcerned About Looting. When asked in April 2003 about concerns of
looting, Bush said: "The statue comes down on Wednesday, and the headlines start to
read, 'Oh, there's disorder.' Well, no kidding... But just like the military
campaign was second-guessed, I'm sure the plan is being -- but we will be
successful."
Rumsfeld on Looting: "Stuff Happens". "'Freedom's untidy, and free people are free
to make mistakes and commit crimes and do bad things,' Rumsfeld said. ... Looting,
he added, was not uncommon for countries that experience significant social
upheaval. 'Stuff happens,' Rumsfeld said."
White House Said Looting Was Part of Liberation Process. In April 2003, asked about
looting in Iraq, White House Spokesman Ari Fleischer said: "Clearly, anything that
involves looting is not desirable. It is worth noting that what you are seeing is a
reaction to oppression. ... It's also a situation the world has seen before when
oppressed people find freedom. For a short period of time, these actions have
occurred in history. You saw it in Sierra Leone, you saw it in the Soviet Union with
the collapse of the Soviet Union. And nobody likes to see it, but I think it has to
be understood in the context of people who have been oppressed, who are reacting to
the oppression..."
White House Said Stories About Looting Were Overblown. Asked about the widespread
looting in Iraq, Fleischer said: "This is almost starting to remind me of the
stories that said our forces were bogged down, as people watched 24, 36 hours' worth
of people reacting to the oppression from which they suffered. ...but there's no
question, in the President's judgment, that what's happening is people are finding
liberation, are finding freedom."
NEW REVELATION: Explosives May Be Used Against Our Troops
Immediate Concern Is Weapons Could Be Used Against Troops. "American weapons experts
say their immediate concern is that the explosives could be used in major bombing
attacks against American or Iraqi forces: the explosives, mainly HMX and RDX, could
be used to produce bombs strong enough to shatter airplanes or tear apart
buildings."
Same Type of Explosives Have Been Used By Terrorists Before. "The bomb that brought
down Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988 used less than a pound of
the material of the type stolen from Al Qaqaa, and somewhat larger amounts were
apparently used in the bombing of a housing complex in November 2003 in Riyadh,
Saudi Arabia, and the blasts in a Moscow apartment complex in September 1999 that
killed nearly 300 people."
Bush Said He Would Do Everything To Keep U.S. Soldiers Safe.
Bush: "Look, we just need strong support for our troops. And I have a solemn duty to
say to you as squarely as I can, we will do the very best we possibly can to make
your loved one safe. That's what we owe the family members, and that's what we owe
the troops." 
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