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From the NewsMax.com Staff
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For the story behind the story...
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Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2004 10:33 p.m. EDT
February 2003 U.N. Report: Saddam Moving Explosives From Al-Qaqaa
The United Nations nuclear watchdog group first reported that Saddam Hussein had begun moving stockpiles of explosives from his Al-Qaqaa nuclear weapons facility a month before the U.S. invaded Iraq.
The February 2003 report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), first reported Tuesday by the Fox News Channel, severely undermines claims by the New York Times, CBS News and the Kerry campaign that the Al-Qaqaa explosives went missing only after the U.S. gained control of the facility.
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Fox correspondent Bret Baier detailed the chronology of events at Al-Qaqaa for "Special Report with Brit Hume":
"In January 2003, inspectors with the International Atomic Energy Agency went to the Al-Qaqaa storage facility, tagging and sealing the large stockpile of powerful conventional explosives, HMX and RDX.
"In February 2003, IEAE chief Mohamed ElBaradei reported to the United Nations Security Council that some explosives had been removed from Al-Qaqaa - 377 tons remained.
"On March 8, 2003, IEAE inspectors made their last check of the facility before the war. The IAEA said that included a spot check on some - but not all - of the sealed explosives.
"The war started March 19. After the Army's 3rd Division moved through here on their way to Baghdad, the first U.S. troops stopped in to Al-Qaqaa on April 9.
"A Reuters camera crew embedded with the scouts from the 101st Airborne Division arrived at the storage facility, did a quick search noting a number of bunkers filled with explosives - but nothing marked by the IAEA.
"On April 10, the Second Brigade of the 101st arrived there and spent the night. An NBC crew was with them. A cursory search was conducted. Again, nothing marked or tagged by the IAEA was spotted. The Second Brigade left the next day, pushing forward to Baghdad.
"U.S. weapons inspectors, the Iraq Survey Group, arrived at the site on May 27, conducting a full search of the 32 bunkers - and they did not find any of the IAEA-marked explosives."
Baier's report continued:
"If one large truck contains ten tons, U.S. commanders say it's highly unlikely that insurgents managed to take 38 truckloads worth of explosives out of the facility in that time.
"The roads were filled with convoys pushing to Baghdad, clogged with supplies and communications lines stretching all the way back to Kuwait - all being watched closely by unmanned aerial vehicles like the Jointstars and the Predators to protect the troops' rear flank and to spot unusual activity.
"Defense Secretary Rumsfeld - asked about the missing explosives in a radio interview today - said the specifics are under investigation by the Iraq Survey Group. But he chose to point out that Saddam Hussein moved many weapons and explosives before the war."
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