See paragraph 11

UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL BRIEFING BY

MOHAMMED ELBARADEI
DIRECTOR GENERAL, INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY

INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY

January 9, 2003

Other Dual Use Items

The relocation and consumption of some dual use materials has been among the questions raised in connection with Iraq's backlog of semi-annual declarations. The high explosive "HMX" is a prime example of such material. The removal of Agency seals on the HMX and the declared relocation and consumption of some of the HMX must be explained and documented by Iraq before the Agency can reach a conclusion with regard to the use of such material. The Iraqi declarations indicate that out, of the 228 tonnes of HMX available in Iraq at the end of 1998, 196 remained at the facility where the HMX was previously under IAEA seal. Iraq also declared that it had blended the remaining 32 tonnes with sulphur and turned them into 45.6 tonnes of "industrial explosive" provided mainly to cement plants for mining. The material balance, current stock, whereabouts and final use of such material are currently being investigated.

According to ELBARADEI , looks like the HMX was missing before January 9, 2003

But.. but... but...

The new Kerry ad says Bush lost it. This report must be a fabrication of the vast right wing conspiracy. What does Dan Rather have to sayon the topic?

More evidence the HMX was gone before US troops arrived.

UN INspectors Found Nothing At Al-Qaqaa ON March 8, 2003 Copyright 2003 Valley Daily Bulletin  Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (Ontario, CA) April 4, 2003 Friday LENGTH: 813 words Troops encounter unknown chemical items As the military advances closer to Baghdad, signs of Iraqichemical preparedness are multiplying, although there is still no conclusive evidence Saddam Hussein's regime possesses weapons of mass destruction. On Friday, troops at a training facility in the westernIraqi desert came across a bottle labeled "tabun" a nerve gas and chemical weapon Iraq is banned from possessing. Closer to Baghdad, troops at Iraq's largest militaryindustrial complex found nerve agent antidotes, documents describing chemical warfare and a white powder that appeared to be used for explosives. U.N. weapons inspectors went repeatedly to the vast al QaQaa complex most recently on March 8 but found nothing during spot visits to the buildings at the site 25 miles south of Baghdad. Col. John Peabody, engineer brigade commander of the 3rdInfantry Division, said troops found thousands of 2-by-5-inch boxes, each containing three vials of white powder, together with documents written in Arabic that dealt with how to engage in chemical warfare.

Reminds me of US troops finding barrels of yellowcake at the Iraqi nuke facility after the invasion.  I went on DU and pointed out Saddam had yellowcake, which is only useful if you want to refine it further and get uranaium, and that is forbidden by the UN.  So why did he have yellowcake?

Their reply?  Yellowcake wasn't covered as a restricted material, it was perfectly fine for Saddam to have it.

Their tune changed when Joseph Wilson said that Bush lied about Saddam importing yellowcake from Niger.  Sudden;y the issue of yellowcake becomes the sole justification for the war.  Saddam imported none, and therefore was innocent and unjustly invaded.

But what about, you know, the yellowcake we actually found in Iraq?  BFD, oh and by the way, you're banned.

Then you can imagine the shitstorm when US troops didnt guard the facility sufficiently and there was a scandal similar to this explosives one, when ignorant villagers hauled the stuff off and used the barrels to contain water.

"How could Bush leave this dangerous stuff unguarded?  Dont you know you can make nukes and dirty bombs from it?!?!?"

They're like 2nd graders playing soccer, all crowding around the ball back and forth on the field, no teamwork or cooperation, just a frenzied furball kicking at every opportunity.  You'd think the guys running the media would be smarter and at least be consistent, but they aren't.