Head Spokesman For 101rst Airborne Says There Was NOT A Weapon's Search

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&ncid=718&e=5&u=/ap/20041026/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_weapons

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The first U.S. military unit to reach the Al-Qaqaa military installation after the invasion of Iraq (news - web sites) did not have orders to search for the nearly 400 tons of explosives that Iraqi officials say were stolen from the site sometime following the fall of Baghdad, the unit spokesman said Tuesday.

When the troops from the 101st Airborne Division's 2nd Brigade arrived at the Al-Qaqaa base a day or so after Baghdad's fall on April 9, 2003, there were already looters throughout the facility, Lt. Col. Fred Wellman, deputy public affairs officer for the unit, told The Associated Press.

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This pretty much destroys Bush's argument today (based on Drudge's attempted spin.)

I suggest we hound CNN and MSNBC all day long tomorrow to ensure this is reported loudly and clearly.

Sigh.

They reached the site on April 10, 2003.

The US Army 3rd ID under Col. John Peabody reached the site a week earlier, on April 3, 2003. And they DID search and they DID find explosives.

However, the Drudge lie was based on the 101st supposedly searching and finding NO explosives. This directly rebuts that. You can't expect these Bush shills at CNN to grasp more than one fact at a time, can ya? :)

Let's first get them to admit error in the Drudge line they were pushing on their scroll all day today.

Revised. Per the following article, it now appears to me that the explosives probably disappeared between 4/3 and 5/27.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/27/politics/27bomb.html?oref=login&oref=login&pagewanted=print&position=

1) Early March, IAEA verifies that explosives are still there.

2) April 3, the 3 ID races through on the way to Baghdad. Clears area of combatants, and moves on.

3) April 10, the 101 shows up. Loads up with ammo and moves on.

4) May 27, Task Force 75 arrives, inspects Al Qaqaa, finds explosives gone.

So who knows when they were removed between early March and the end of May. Bottom line is that this documented prior WMD site was not even secured until nearly one month after 'Mission Accomplished', and almost 2 months after the fall of Baghdad.

With an adequate force, follow up support units could have secured the area after the 3 ID and immediately began destroying captured munitions.

Incompetence.

3rd ID arrived April 3, 2003.

101st AB arrived April 10, 2003.

And yep IF there'd been adequate boots on the ground as per Shinseki, it all could and SHOULD have been secured.

enough so that people will think that the weapons were gone...

I want to SCREAM!!!!!!!

ISN'T IT THE MEDIAS FUCKING RESPONSIBILITY TO WADE THROUGH THE BULL SHIT!!!!!!!! THAT IS YOUR FUCKING JOB, AAAAGGGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This should be all over the news tomorrow