BlogWood: MT Archives

Duck and cover

One of the many infuriating things about the Iraq situation is the fact that Bush’s bumbling and mismanagement are quite likely making us more vulnerable to attack. Aside from the obvious arguments that we are breeding hatred (and new terrorist recruits) with our misguided occupation policies, the total lack of planning for post invasion anything has led to situations like this:

Iraq's nuclear facilities remain unguarded, and radioactive materials are being taken out of the country, the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog agency reported after reviewing satellite images and equipment that has turned up in European scrapyards.

The International Atomic Energy Agency sent a letter to U.S. officials three weeks ago informing them of the findings. The information was also sent to the U.N. Security Council in a letter from its director, Mohamed ElBaradei, that was circulated Thursday.

The IAEA is waiting for a reply from the United States, which is leading the coalition administering Iraq, officials said.

The United Sattes has virtually cut off information-sharing with the IAEA since invading Iraq in March 2002 on the premise that the country was hiding weapons of mass destruction.

No such weapons have been found, and arms control officials now worry the war and its chaotic aftermath may have increased chances that terrorists could get their hands on materials used for unconventional weapons or that civilians may be unknowingly exposed to radioactive materials.

So, it seems that the US does not have enough troops to guard Iraq’s nuclear facilities, but it wont ask the IAEA for help. Even after being officially notified of this dangerous state of affairs, Bush’s CPA team simply ignores the problem and assumes no responsibility for the horrors they may have unleashed. How, exactly, is this making us safer? But wait... there’s more:

According to ElBaradei's letter, satellite imagery shows "extensive removal of equipment and in some instances, removal of entire buildings," in Iraq.

In addition, "large quanitities of scrap, some of it contaminated, have been transfered out of Iraq from sites" previously monitored by the IAEA.

In January, the IAEA confirmed that Iraq was the likely source of radioactive material known as yellowcake that was found in a shipment of scrap metal at Rotterdam harbor.

Yellowcake, or uranium oxide, could be used to build a nuclear weapon, although it would take tons of the substance refined with sophisticated technology to harvest enough uranium for a single bomb.

The yellowcake in the shipment was natural uranium ore which probably came from a known mine in Iraq that was active before the 1991 Gulf War.
......

The IAEA has been unable to investigate, monitor or protect Iraqi nuclear materials since the U.S. invaded the country in March 2003. The United States has refused to allow the IAEA or other U.N. weapons inspectors into the country, claiming that the coalition has taken over responsibility for illict weapons searches.

So far those searches have come up empty-handed and the CIA's first chief weapons hunter has said he no longer believes Iraq had weapons just prior to the invasion.

So, if Al Qaeda takes out an American city with a dirty bomb this summer, will Dubya say that no one could have possibly foreseen an attack against America with nukes? Probably. Right before he cancels the election.