🚀 go-pugleaf

On Wed, 16 Jul 2003 10:53:56 -0700 (PDT), user237@yellercake.net
(Yeller Cake) wrote:

>>TUWAITHA, Iraq - Environmental group Greenpeace called on the 
>>US-led coalition governing Iraq to clean up villages surrounding
>>a nuclear site outside Baghdad that have been contaminated by
>>"frightening levels" of radioactive material.
>>
>>One canister -- the size of a small car -- contained significant
>>quantities of radioactive yellowcake and had been left open and
>>unattended for more than 20 days on a busy section of open ground 
>>near the Tuwaitha plant, Greenpeace said Tuesday.
>>
>>from:
>>http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0624-09.htm
>>
>>More:
>>https://www.greenpeace.org.au/features/features_details.html?site_id=45&news_id=1115
>>
>>Another article on Uranium all over Iraq:
>>http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0710/p07s02-woiq.html
>>
>>   -------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>Liberals tell us there is no Uranium in Iraq, and at the
>>same time GreenPeace is over there saying the place is
>>awash in Uranium.
>
>Oh my! Where did that Uranium come from?!?

The Tuwaitha nuclear research site was well known before the war and
was monitored and approved by the IEAE. This site was not a military
threat. A real good question is why on earth our troops were not
protecting this site from looting. 

We, the critics of this administration's foolhardy war policies, have
not claimed that there was no uranium in Iraq. We claim that the Bush
administration lied to the people, the congress, and the united
nations about the WMD threat posed by Iraq. The lies regarding Iraqi
nuclear weapons programs are now fully documented. You can squirm,
spin, cut and paste nonsense, and otherwise convince yourself into
thinking that your trust in the appointed-moron-puppet-leader has not
been betrayed, but you aren't fooling us, you are only fooling
yourself.

About Tuwaitha:
http://www.iaea.org/worldatom/Press/Focus/IaeaDprk/IraqUNSC14072003.pdf

1998 assessment of Iraqi nuclear programs:
"SUMMARY AND OBSERVATIONS
35. As previously recorded, there are no indications of Iraq having
retained any physical capability for the indigenous production of
weapon-usable nuclear material in amounts of any practical
significance, nor any indication Iraq has acquired or produced
weapon-usable nuclear material other than the nuclear material
verified by IAEA and removed from Iraq in accordance with paragraph 13
of resolution 687 (1991)."
http://www.iaea.org/worldatom/Programmes/ActionTeam/reports/s_1998_694.pdf

And the last pre-war report from the IAEA:

Conclusion

In conclusion, I am able to report today that, in the area of nuclear
weapons - the most lethal weapons of mass destruction - inspections in
Iraq are moving forward. Since the resumption of inspections a little
over three months ago - and particularly during the three weeks since
my last oral report to the Council - the IAEA has made important
progress in identifying what nuclear-related capabilities remain in
Iraq, and in its assessment of whether Iraq has made any efforts to
revive its past nuclear programme during the intervening four years
since inspections were brought to a halt. At this stage, the following
can be stated:

There is no indication of resumed nuclear activities in those
buildings that were identified through the use of satellite imagery as
being reconstructed or newly erected since 1998, nor any indication of
nuclear-related prohibited activities at any inspected sites. 

There is no indication that Iraq has attempted to import uranium since
1990. 

There is no indication that Iraq has attempted to import aluminium
tubes for use in centrifuge enrichment. Moreover, even had Iraq
pursued such a plan, it would have encountered practical difficulties
in manufacturing centrifuges out of the aluminium tubes in question. 

Although we are still reviewing issues related to magnets and magnet
production, there is no indication to date that Iraq imported magnets
for use in a centrifuge enrichment programme. 
As I stated above, the IAEA will continue further to scrutinize and
investigate all of the above issues.

After three months of intrusive inspections, we have to date found no
evidence or plausible indication of the revival of a nuclear weapons
programme in Iraq. We intend to continue our inspection activities,
making use of all the additional rights granted to us by resolution
1441 and all additional tools that might be available to us, including
reconnaissance platforms and all relevant technologies. We also hope
to continue to receive from States actionable information relevant to
our mandate. I should note that, in the past three weeks, possibly as
a result of ever-increasing pressure by the international community,
Iraq has been forthcoming in its co-operation, particularly with
regard to the conduct of private interviews and in making available
evidence that could contribute to the resolution of matters of IAEA
concern. I do hope that Iraq will continue to expand the scope and
accelerate the pace of its co-operation.

The detailed knowledge of Iraq's capabilities that IAEA experts have
accumulated since 1991 - combined with the extended rights provided by
resolution 1441, the active commitment by all States to help us fulfil
our mandate, and the recently increased level of Iraqi co-operation -
should enable us in the near future to provide the Security Council
with an objective and thorough assessment of Iraq's nuclear-related
capabilities. However credible this assessment may be, we will
endeavour - in view of the inherent uncertainties associated with any
verification process, and, particularly in light of Iraq's past record
of co-operation - to evaluate Iraq's capabilities on a continuous
basis as part of our long-term monitoring and verification programme,
in order to provide the international community with ongoing and real
time assurances.
http://www.iaea.org/worldatom/Press/Statements/2003/ebsp2003n006.shtml


==
Mark Roddy

"Further, the process of transformation,
even if it brings revolutionary change, is
likely to be a long one, absent some
catastrophic and catalyzing event like a
new Pearl Harbor."

-- Project for a New American Century,
-- the neocon cabal's blueprint for world empire.
http://www.newamericancentury.org