Missing high-explosives ("nuke-stuff")

This is an update to the More missing 'nuke-stuff' story. In summary, the Iraqi's had 400 tons of ultra-high explosives that the weapons inspectors knew about. These explosives can be used in nuclear bombs, or as conventional explosives, and are extremely highly explosive. Unfortunately the stuff went missing after the invasion, over a year and a half ago, and just now we're learning that this stuff was missing.

At first the story was "during the invasion, our troops looked but didn't find anything under U.N. seal". Now a different story is emerging. Negligence.

Spokesman for military unit at Al-Qaqaa says there was no search for explosives Wednesday October 27, 2004
By KIMBERLY HEFLING
Associated Press Writer

First, this establishes that the explosives were there at the time of the invasion:

The explosives at Al-Qaqaa had been housed in storage bunkers at the facility. U.N. nuclear inspectors placed fresh seals over the bunker doors in January 2003. The inspectors visited Al-Qaqaa for the last time on March 15, 2003 and reported that the seals were not broken therefore, the weapons were still there at the time. The team then pulled out of the country in advance of the invasion.

The invasion happened a little later in March, 2003

Next, what happened when U.S. troops arrived on the scene? And, remember, they were in the middle of an invasion actively fighting with hostile troops.

When troops from the 101st Airborne Division's 2nd Brigade arrived at the Al-Qaqaa installation south of Baghdad a day or so after other coalition troops seized the capital 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.

The soldiers "secured the area they were in and looked in a limited amount of bunkers to ensure chemical weapons were not present in their area," Wellman wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press. "Bombs were found but not chemical weapons in that immediate area."

"Orders were not given from higher to search or to secure the facility or to search for HE type munitions, as they (high-explosive weapons) were everywhere in Iraq," he wrote.

The 101st Airborne was at least the second military unit to arrive at Al-Qaqaa after the U.S.-led invasion began. Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told The Washington Post that the 3rd Infantry Division reached the site around April 3, fought with Iraq forces and occupied the site. It left after two days for Baghdad, the Post reported Wednesday.

This material was specifically mentioned to U.S. forces by the IAEA as something to guard carefully. How could it be there was no orders to find and secure this material? Why, negligence, that's how.

Criminal negligence.

And the people responsible? It was U.S. troops, so ultimately it is the Commander In Chief who is responsible, yes?

And what is he responsible for? As he and his cronies has warned, Iraq had materials which if given to "the terrorists" could cause great harm in the world. This explosive is one such example. Of course most countries in the world have materials of this sort, because every country is charged with defending its own borders against attack, etc. By invading Iraq and disbanding its military, the U.S.A. took on the role of defending Iraq. Who knows where this explosive material went, and that's the problem. It could well have gone to "the terrorists" who may be planning some heinous act with this stuff. It was U.S. responsibility to control this, and we failed. Our President failed us.