Reply #15: Wait

[LizW]

Making sure I understand this -- The date as written in the letter is "9-4-2003".

That means, in European dating style, April 9, 2003, right?

I'm wondering where that date comes from. Does anyone recall when the inspectors were ordered out of Iraq before the invasion? It seems it was just a few days before, but I'm not sure. At any rate, they weren't there on April 9, 2003, so how do they know the stuff disappeared after that date? One theory: that might have been the date that our soldiers reached Al Qaqaa and reported that the stuff was there. (Although there are conflicting stories on whether that happened. The NYT story said that our guys went through the site and did NOT see anything with IAEA seals on it, but later versions of the story say that they saw the stuff but didn't guard it, and it was taken later.)

Anyway, the inclusion of this specific date in this document makes me think that SOMEONE had some proof the stuff was there on April 9, 2003.