Weapons Remain Unaccounted for in Iraq

From the deserts of the south and west to the outskirts of Baghdad, Iraq is awash in weapons sites - some large, others small; some guarded, others not. Even after the U.S. military secured some 400,000 tons of munitions, as many as 250,000 tons remain unaccounted for. Attention has focused on the al-Qaqaa site south of Baghdad, where 377 tons of explosives are believed to have gone missing - becoming a heated issue in the final days of the U.S. presidential campaign. But with the names of other sites popping up everywhere - al-Mahaweel, Baqouba, Ukhaider, Qaim - experts say the al-Qaqaa stash is only a tiny fraction of what's buried in the sands of Iraq."There is something truly absurd about focusing on 377 tons,'' said Anthony Cordesman, a defense analyst and Iraq expert with the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. He contends Iraq's prewar stockpiles ``were probably in excess of 650,000 tons.'' Underscoring the depth of Iraq's militarization before the March 2003 invasion, the Pentagon says U.S.-led forces have destroyed 240,000 tons of munitions and have secured another 160,000 tons that is awaiting destruction. Through mid-September, coalition forces inspected and cleared more than 10,000 caches of weapons, U.S. arms hunter Charles Duelfer said in a recent report. But up to 250,000 tons remains unaccounted for, according to military estimates, much of it in small stashes scattered around the country. [more]

• See the Eyewitness 5 Video [here] and [here]
• Video Shows G.I.'s at Weapon Cache [more]
  
• 2nd Site With U.N.-Sealed Arms Was Looted, Inspectors Report [more]
• Giuliani suggests troops were responsible for weapons stockpiles [more]
• Armed group claims to have obtained explosives missing from Iraqi depot; threatens to use against foreign troops [more]