Originally posted by Elfie
Fact is, no one yet knows when those explosives disappeared. Fact, moving 360 tons of HE wont go unnoticed in a war zone.
Heard today on the news there are two roads leading to that dump and both were being heavily used by our forces.
that would make it pretty difficult to move 360 tons unnoticed
Another point that was made was the amount of organization it would take to accomplish such a feat.
And the insurgents Didn't start becoming organized until mid summer.
And on yet another point there seems to be a new rumor about that the reports that 360 tons was a gross exaggeration and the amount really missing was more like 3 Tons
Which to me would seem far more likely then 360 tons
Add to that another report I just saw that showed the last time the place was even REALLY inspected prior to the claims of the missing explosives was in Jan 2003 and the amount of explosives according to its own report was not 360 Tons but 219 And while these bunkers were sealed there was a disclaimer at the bottom of the document that stated that the seals were not exactly foolproof
As quoted from the actual report of the IAEA
"Of note was that the sealing on the bunkers was only partially effective because each bunkar had ventilation shafts on the sides of the buildings. these shafts were not sealed and could provide removal routes for the HMX while leaving the door locked"
IAEA inspection report There was another brief visit to the site in March 2003 but the explosives were not inspected because the seals were still on the doors
If we are to assume they were still inside the bunkers when the inspectors were last there but only looked at the seals in March and follow the timeline the only time the explosives could have been taken was the time between when the inspectors left in march and the time the first US forces arrived.
the first US forces in the area was elements of the 3rd infantry division who first entered the compound on April 3rd
the 101st occupied the area through the 11th
now the next force to visit the site was the 75th Exploitation Task force which was there on May 7th, 11th, and 27th which is the day they confirmed the explosives were missing.
Now one could say "AHA! we have a period of a month between April 11th and May 11th when it wasn't guarded"
BUT there are only two roads leading to the facility and both were being heavily used by our forces "at all times"
So if we assume nobody touched the stuff between the Jan ispections (which was the last time the stuff was actually seen) and the march observations that the seals were still in place
the only two times it could have been taken was
Between March and April 3rd when the 3rd Inf div arrived Which was the only time they could have moved the stuff more or less at will
Orrrr
Between April 11th and May 11th with our troops around and the only two roads leading two the area being chuck full of our supply trucks pretty much 24/7
Now. Which is the more likely scenario?
