Reply #82: Listen carefully.....and I'll explain.

[PaganPreacher]

If I get too technical, or if you feel like I've gotten you in over your head, let me know.

"Looting at the site" does not equal "stripping every bunker of all explosives." False analogy, comparable to "writing a bad check" equalling "robbing a bank."

Since the video crew was inside a bunker, calmly filming the drums, it is reasonable to conclude that that particular bunker was inside the perimeter security of the 3rd Infantry Division.

The drums of explosive material shown in the photos could still be there, or could have been destroyed by the US Army (the unit with responsibility to destroy that stockpile was present at that time).
At this time, and with the information available to us, we have no way of knowing for certain.

The least likely scenario is that it was stolen en-mass under the noses of our troops. Speaking from experience, I'll say that the likelihood of dozens of large trucks, or hundreds of pickups, passing through the perimeter to steal all of the munitions from "inside the wire" is exactly ZERO (reason why in the next paragraph).

For your scenario to work, a looong convoy of trucks would have to sneak in, load, and sneak out without being seen by our Army troops with their night vision equipment (We Own the Night -tm-), the unmanned aerial vehicles (drones), tank target imaging devices (infantry is protected by tanks, and they like to kill unidentified vehicles during combat), attack helicopters (ditto), satellites, and USAF and USMC fighter aircraft flying CAP.

Al Aq contained thousands of tons of munitions, weapons, and propellant. The photos show some drums, marked with 1.1D shipping classification labels. There is no way to determine from the photos, or from the published reports, if those drums were the drums of RDX and HMX referenced in the IAEA letter to UN, or in the NYT story. They could be drums of the material used to manufacture missile warheads, artillery shells, rifle cartridges, or SAM motors (all of which were made and stored at Al Aq).

Al Aq was a priority bombing target (USAF bombing destroyed 2 bunkers with "terrible damage" prior to the arrival of 3ID). The presence of the 3ID combat engineering brigade at Al Aq in April indicates that securing the site was a priority mission for the Army (a brigade has 3,000 to 5,000 soldiers, so asigning an entire brigade to the site speaks for itself.)Securing and destroying enemy munitions is one of the major missions of the combat engineers.

SO, my original point: that the video fails to prove that the missing RDX and HMX were still in Al Aq on 04/18/03, still stands.

The Pagan Preacher
I don't turn the other cheek.