Lovely Di RitaWere told

Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Lovely Di Rita?

We’re told that the folks in the <$NoAd$>Department of the Army don’t think the al Qaqaa debacle is such a ‘who cares’ situation as Don Rumsfeld’s spokesman Larry Di Rita seems to think it is.

But they’re not supposed to say so. At least not publicly.

To provide guidance on what they are supposed to say about the “missing explosives in Iraq”, Di Rita, a political appointee sent out these “talking points” yesterday to folks in the Pentagon.

Recent stories in the media report that the Iraqi government has notified the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that several hundred tons of explosives are missing from the former Al-Qaqaa military facility in Iraq, about 30 miles south of Baghdad. Following are talking points on the issue.

# Since Operation Iraqi Freedom began in March 2003, Coalition forces have discovered that Saddam’s regime stored weapons in countless locations, including schools, mosques and hospitals. Citizens were forced to hide weapons in their homes and neighborhoods. Many Iraqis have bravely stepped forward with information leading to more weapons.

# Weapons searches have been successful in Iraq. The Duelfer Report states that since mid-September, Coalition forces have reviewed and cleared more than 10,000 caches of weapons and destroyed more than 240,000 tons. Another 162,000 tons of munitions are awaiting destruction.

# Some weapons were stored at the Al-Qaqaa Complex. Coalition forces were present in the vicinity at various times during and after major combat operations. The forces searched 32 bunkers and 87 other buildings at the facility, but found no indicators of WMD. While some explosive material was discovered, none of it carried IAEA seals.

# Although some believe the Al-Qaqaa facility may have been looted, there is no way to verify this. Another explanation is that regime loyalists or others emptied the facility prior to Coalition forces arriving in Baghdad in April.

# The material does not pose any nuclear proliferation risk.

# During the 1990s, the IAEA reportedly destroyed or rendered harmless all “single use” (i.e., uniquely usable in the context of a nuclear program) equipment and material in Iraq.

# The material in question is “dual-use” equipment (which could have conventional applications), high explosives that are somewhat more powerful than TNT. This dual-use equipment was generally permitted to remain in Iraq.

# Explosives of the nature reported missing from Al-Qaqaa are available around the world. It would be nearly impossible to verify that these materials ever left Iraq or are being used for any specific purpose.

# The Administration takes the report of missing munitions very seriously. The Iraqi Survey Group is evaluating this recent report by the Iraqi government.

It’s good to see he’s on the case.

Latest Editors' Blog
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: