[Y3a]

I found THIS:

http://newsfromrussia.com/world/2005/12/21/70212.html


I wonder how they missed these until now? YOU MEAN THEY MIGHT STILL BE HIDDEN WEAPONS IN IRAQ???


As the piles of missiles and rockets dug from the desert floor grew, smiles on U.S. Army soldiers' faces turned to scowls of serious concern.

Working on a tip from an informant, soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division on Tuesday dug up more than a thousand aging rockets and missiles wrapped in plastic, some of which had been buried as recently as two weeks ago, Army officials said.

"This is the mother load, right here," Sgt. Jeremy Galusha, 25, of Dallas, Ore., said, leaning on a shovel after uncovering more than 20 Soviet missiles.

As the sun set Tuesday, U.S. soldiers continued to uncover more, following zigzagging tire tracks across the desert floor and using metal detectors to locateweapons including mines, mortars and machine gun rounds.

But the growing piles of missiles and rockets were of primary concern for the soldiers in Iraq, where bombs made with loose ordinance by insurgents are the preferred method to target coalition forces.

"In our eyes, every one of these rockets represents one less IED," said 2nd Lt. Patrick Vardaro, 23, of Norwood, Massachusetts, a platoon leader in the division's 187th Infantry Regiment.

Vardaro would not comment on whether there were signs the caches had been used recently to make bombs, but the service records accompanying the missiles dated to 1984, suggesting they were buried by the Iraqi military under Saddam Hussein.

Still, the plastic around some of the rockets _ of Soviet, German and French origins _ appeared to be fresh and had not deteriorated as it had on some of the older munitions.

An U.S. Air Force explosive ordinance team planned to begin destroying them as early as Wednesday morning.

Commanders in the 101st said knowing that an Iraqi tipped them off to the buried weapons could mean that residents in this largely Sunni Arab region about 240 kilometers (150 miles) north of Baghdad are beginning to warm up to coalition forces.

"The tide is turning," Vardaro said. "It's better to work with Americans than against us."

Army officials would not say who had informed them of the weapons caches or whether national security forces including Iraqi Army and police had helped.

"A good Samaritan told us about it," he said, reports AP.

[ghporter]

This cache was missed because there's an awful lot of open space in Iraq, and it would be very difficult to scour every square meter of the place, particularly with people shooting at the wouldbe searchers.

There are no doubt many other similar caches; some are used by "insurgents" and others are known only to the deceased Sadam Fedayeen and other irregulars. It will be a very long time before this stuff is all cleaned up.

Funny how this hasn't been big news in the States...

[RIRedinPA]

Originally Posted by ghporter

This cache was missed because there's an awful lot of open space in Iraq, and it would be very difficult to scour every square meter of the place, particularly with people shooting at the wouldbe searchers.

There are no doubt many other similar caches; some are used by "insurgents" and others are known only to the deceased Sadam Fedayeen and other irregulars. It will be a very long time before this stuff is all cleaned up.

Funny how this hasn't been big news in the States...

I'm not exactly sure why this would be 'big news' in the states. I remember at the beginning of the war the press reported on the incredible number of weapons caches and their availability...

From CNN, 12/03

http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/...qaeda.weapons/

Christian Science Monitor, May 2003

http://www.globalpolicy.org/security...2smallarms.htm

Christian Science Monitor, October 2003

http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/1020/p...tml?mostViewed

Wired, November 2005

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.11/bomb.html

[analogika]

Wait - you mean insurgents are actually HIDING the weapons they bring into the country before using them!?

Does your Fearless Leader know this?

Call the press!

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by RIRedinPA

I'm not exactly sure why this would be 'big news' in the states. I remember at the beginning of the war the press reported on the incredible number of weapons caches and their availability...

I refer here to the incredible way the U.S. press moves from one type of "news" to another, particularly when it's related to Iraq. Apparently good things in Iraq are not "newsworthy." Neither are events that show that Coalition forces aren't a bunch of dolts and actually do have something to worry about, though the actual attacks always make news. It's the odd sort of non-logic that I was commenting on.

[OldManMac]

Don't let Troublya hear about this!

[tie]

Originally Posted by ghporter

I refer here to the incredible way the U.S. press moves from one type of "news" to another, particularly when it's related to Iraq. Apparently good things in Iraq are not "newsworthy." Neither are events that show that Coalition forces aren't a bunch of dolts and actually do have something to worry about, though the actual attacks always make news. It's the odd sort of non-logic that I was commenting on.

I don't think this is really accurate. The press always talks more about bad news than good news, it isn't something special about Iraq. And it isn't illogical either.

I think the press should spend more time reporting on Iraq, in general (good and bad news). It is incredible that we are at war, and there is so little press coverage relative to the number of people dying, the amount of money being spent. I guess people have gotten bored with the war, and news stories like the administration's incompetence at home (Katrina), the administration's ignoring the Constitution, and (on Fox News) the "War on Christmas!" have just more interest. Well, also to be fair to the news organizations, I guess it is difficult to get good information out of Iraq, since it is dangerous for reporters and the government lies.

[Pendergast]

How do we know this is not a hoax?

Is there money to be made from such information by the Press?

Is this cache really representing a threat?

Is there any proof that there are more of those around?

Have we gotten to WMDs yet?

Where is Bin Laden?

Is it possible that people in America are tired of the whole thing and the lack of results significant for themselves (i.e. threath from terrorism/WMDs), as after all, since Iraq had elections (bloody or not), does not that mean the job is done in the population's mind?