Contaminated Scrap Missing From Iraq

Lord Poe · Post by **Lord Poe** » 2004-04-17 01:41am

Nuclear watchdog chief says materials and even buildings have disappeared

UNITED NATIONS — The chief of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency said some equipment, contaminated scrap and even buildings monitored for radioactive materials had vanished in Iraq, according to a letter circulated Wednesday.

Mohamed ElBaradei, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said in the letter to the U.N. Security Council that it was not clear whether the removal of items was the result of looting in the aftermath of last year's U.S.-led invasion of Iraq or "part of systematic efforts to rehabilitate some of the locations."

He said a review of satellite imagery of sites the agency had monitored showed "extensive removal of equipment and in some instances removal of entire buildings."

He said in the April 11 letter that the United States government had "been informed of these observations and clarifications are expected."

The Bush administration barred U.N. nuclear, biological, chemical and missile inspectors from Iraq after the invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein's government. It deployed its own teams in search of weapons of mass destruction. So far, none have been found.

ElBaradei said that visits to other countries also showed that "large quantities of scrap, some of it contaminated" had been transferred out of Iraq from sites monitored by the IAEA.

"These activities may have a significant impact on the agency's continuity of knowledge of Iraq's remaining nuclear-related capabilities and raise a concern with regards to the proliferation risk associated with dual-use material and equipment disappearing to unknown destinations," he wrote.

Stark · Post by **Stark** » 2004-04-17 03:45am

Is it some kind of coverup through obfuscation? Why would the remove so much evidence for legitimate reasons?

Post by **Vympel** » 2004-04-17 05:38am

The salvage business in the post-war chaos has been big. The people doing it are also stupid. A report last year indicated barrels used for holding nuclear material were being used to carry drinking water.

Einhander Sn0m4n · Post by **Einhander Sn0m4n** » 2004-04-17 05:44am

Entire _BUILDINGS_ Stolen?

How the fuck does one lose a whole fucking building unless it's a fucking outhouse or toolshed? Better Question: How the fuck does one go about stealing said building? Oi *headpalm*

Stark · Post by **Stark** » 2004-04-17 06:48am

Vympel wrote:The salvage business in the post-war chaos has been big. The people doing it are also stupid. A report last year indicated barrels used for holding nuclear material were being used to carry drinking water.

Is it 'salvage' or 'looting'? Who's doing it, the US Army, US corps, or locals?

Post by **Vympel** » 2004-04-17 06:56am

Stark wrote:
Is it 'salvage' or 'looting'? Who's doing it, the US Army, US corps, or locals?

More like looting. It's the locals, of course. Former Iraqi military equipment (I've seen some real tear jerkers, like a MiG-29 sitting in the middle of nowhere, stripped to the bone), vital pieces of infrastrucutre (powerplants etc), nuclear material left over from Al Tuwaitha, etc.

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2004-04-17 05:32pm

Einhander Sn0m4n wrote:Entire _BUILDINGS_ Stolen?

How the fuck does one lose a whole fucking building unless it's a fucking outhouse or toolshed? Better Question: How the fuck does one go about stealing said building? Oi *headpalm*

Things like warehouses are often all metal, and metal which you can very easily cut away. It's not the safest thing to do, but I doubt anywhere doing it gives a damn. Hauling the pile of scrap away is simply a matter of having a couple trucks handy.