The last major remnant of Saddam Hussein’s nuclear program – a huge stockpile of concentrated natural uranium – reached a Canadian port Saturday to complete a secret U.S. operation that included a two-week airlift from Baghdad and a ship voyage crossing two oceans.
The removal of 550 metric tons of “yellowcake” – the seed material for higher-grade nuclear enrichment – was a significant step toward closing the books on Saddam’s nuclear legacy. It also brought relief to U.S. and Iraqi authorities who had worried the cache would reach insurgents or smugglers crossing to Iran to aid its nuclear ambitions.
What’s now left is the final and complicated push to clean up the remaining radioactive debris at the former Tuwaitha nuclear complex about 12 miles south of Baghdad – using teams that include Iraqi experts recently trained in the Chernobyl fallout zone in Ukraine.
Newest information coming in indicates this may be older yellow cake. But to my way of thinking this, AGAIN, points to clear intent and possession on Saddam Hussein’s part insofar as he wasn’t simply mouthing the words but putting words into actions.
BZ
Yes, but it’s not like we found Miss Havisham’s wedding cake from Dickens, right? It COULD have been BIG trouble had it not been stopped when it was..?
Thanks for linking to me…I just think this story is SO important.
And thanks so much for blogrolling me…I’m doing the same. we Z’s have to stick together!
I read about this on another blog today and some were saying this was left over from Desert Storm. D’uh…..did I miss something? So what! This proves that Bush NEVER LIED like the left would want us to believe.
Thanks for stopping in at my place. I just put up a new post on an interview Franklin Graham had with Obama when I caught your comment, which I agreed with completely.
That’s one down, now where is all the gas he used on his own people? … Oh … I forgot…. that’s not WMD either.
/sarc
the have found tons of yellowcake, equipment needed to process it, some chemical weapons, lots of chemicals to make chemical weapons, and some bio weapons components. they also know a hell of a lot of stuff left the country bound for syria right before we went in. you have accept that Saddam had used some nasty shit in the past in his war with Iran and his war against his own Shiite and kurdish communities. so he was a known quantity.
also, there are other plusses to our being there, the biggest being we now have a military presence on both sides of Iran. though that does not seem to causing much concern in Iran’s government, probably because they watch TV and know how fractured Americans and American government is right now. there’s no doubt we look weak as hell to them thanks to the likes of Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and a host of others. all the whining is probably going to force us to act, having the opposite effect of what the whiners want. whining does make diplomacy considerably harder, as the other side sees the weakness, and seeks to exploit it.
The AP article said, “Sadaams nuclear weapon program”. NOT anything other than that. WE all know what Sadaam and his ilk were like. Only a fool would think he had no intentions of using it for WMD’s.
I posted on this over at Dee’s blog and mine.
There is also evidence Sadaam was moving their WMD’s out of Iraq prior to the attack. He was moving them to Syria.
There has to be a good reason Bush hasn’t said anything about that, but instead has said the intel report that he had WMD’s was wrong and he had to go by the info. he had at the time. That is the part I don’t get. From all the research I have done via other sources I have found that indeed there were WMD’s before we went in.
abfreedom is correct.. Where IS the gas he used on his people??? What did Sadaam do, “change his ways” all of a sudden? The libs act as if he was not a threat to anyone and would never plan on attacking us via terrorists.
Honestly, I don’t care about this stupid argument. Whether or not the WMD’s were there right before we went in, or whether or not the intel was right. Going into Iraq was a risky thing to do, but the right thing to do to downsize the terrorists and to establish democracy over there. Yes the terrorists are stepping up things in Afghanistan, but we will wipe their slate clean over there too.
Everyone who wants to believe “Bush Lied People Died” will believe what they will. They will believe it until the poor misunderstood Muzzies nuke them to Kingdom Come.
The libs think the only thing that is a WMD is a nuke sitting on top of a missile with 1 second left to lift off.
If it was from before the first gulf war it was banned by the truce. If it was from after the first gulf war they werent supposed to have it either. Either way this stuff wasnt supposed to be there.
It is why we went in, it is designated WMD.
AND WHO’S DOING SOMETHING ABOUT THIS PRAVDA MEDIA WE HAVE WHICH WON’T TELL AMERICA THE TRUTH?
Or is it the WH? WHy aren’t they out there telling the truth now WITH THESE FACTS? Shouldn’t they feel vindicated??
BZ: You ask if you’re going insane. If so, no worries..you’re not alone!
z,
It’s because the 550 tons of uranium is not a new story. Its purchase and shipment to Canada is.
wordsmith..I understand that….but that yellow cake SHOULD have been a story which ended a lot of Bush bashing…and the fact that it wasn’t is a story in and of itself, don’t you think?
There have been several stories that should have ended the “Bush lied” meme. The belief is too entrenched, and only historians years from now might set the record straight.
Good Job! 🙂
Maybe I’m a minority of one, but I think the reason this information isn’t being reported as news in most quarters is because it isn’t. Again, this the SAME low grade stuff that WE left there at the end of the FIRST Gulf War (and while removing all the ENRICHED stuff he had AT THAT TIME). The fact that he would need enriched material to do anything sinister with this stuff is WHY we LEFT it there at that time, AND why Saddam’s purported attempts, years later, to do just that (but based on what turned out to be forged documents)were viewed as alarming. Again, no disrespect, but I think some folks are confusing a red herring with a smoking gun.
I agree….this is not news fellas. Anyone paying “real” attention has known about this low-grade material for a long time. Iraq still never had the facilities to develop it. Its easy to go, “I told u, they had uranium, they must have wanted to use it on us”, but that doesnt take into account a lot of other factors: 1.)It was not weapons-grade, 2.)It could have been used for energy purposes, 3.)It could have been kept as a deterrent to Iran (and Israel), 4.)We knew this stuff existed during the first gulf war, and we left it because we knew it was no threat…..and a dozen other aspects. Im not defending anyone here….just think you all need to take all that into account, just as far-left needs to take into account that it existed. Here is the bottom line….Iraq was in ruins after the 1st Gulf War, and no threat to the United States. Just because they had terrorists training in the country doesnt mean we invade….if that was the case we should invade Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, the Phillipines…..etc.
You said you will love me [url=http://www.wowgoldvip.co.uk]wow gold[/url] the whole life, but you marry her.[url=http://www.gogoer.com]]WoW Gold[/url] You said you will [url=http://www.wow-golds.net/power-leveling.asp]wow power leveling[/url],come to marry me, but this will not be carried out forever.[url=http://www.wowgold-de.com]WoW Gold[/url] I am trying my best to forget you [url=http://www.superpowerleveling.com]power leveling[/url] and do not love you anymore. [url=http://www.igsstar.com]wow leveling[/url] But I failed and I still love you. Maybe [url=http://www.powerlevelingweb.com]wow leveling[/url] she needs you more compared [url=http://www.sf10001.cn]wow leveling[/url] with me. So I tell you that [url=http://www.sf10001.cn/wow-power-leveling-us-World-Of-Warcraft-gold/]world of warcraft power leveling[/url] you should love [url=http://www.powerlevelingweb.com/wow-powerleveling.asp]world of warcraft power leveling[/url] her and take good [url=http://www.wow-powerleveling.org/wow+power+leveling.html]world of warcraft leveling[/url] care of her. You said I was so kind.[url=http://www.igsstar.com/wow-powerleveling-us/]world of warcraft leveling[/url] Yes, because I love you,[url=http://www.xowow.com/wow-powerleveling.asp]world of warcraft leveling[/url] I hope you will be happy forever.
Low grade or not it’s the original
“intensions” that need to be considered. Much of the good stuff
was flown out of Iraq to Syria under the guise of supply relief
to displaced civilians. Records also show Saddam spent millions in
the mid 90″s seeking high quality
uranium from Russia and Germany
mafia/underpaid scientists and technicians.