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October 29, 2004

More untended explosives...

Today's Oregonian reports on another ammo dump that was left untended by U.S. forces in Iraq.

Six months after the fall of Baghdad, a vast Iraqi weapons depot with tens of thousands of artillery rounds and other explosives remained unguarded, according to two U.S. aid workers who say they reported looting of the site to U.S. military officials.

The aid workers say they informed Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez, the highest ranking Army officer in Iraq in October 2003 but were told that the United States did not have enough troops to seal off the facility, which included more than 60 bunkers packed with munitions.

"We were outraged," said Wes Hare, city manager of La Grande, who was working in Iraq as part of a rebuilding program. A colleague who also visited the depot, Jerry Kuhaida, said it appeared that the explosives at the Ukhaider Ammunition Storage Area had found their way to insurgents targeting U.S. forces.

Now didn't General Shinseki warn that more troops would be needed to secure Iraq once Saddam was deposed? Yes, I believe he did. And didn't Rumsfeld's deputies and other Bush partisans openly mock the suggestion? Yes, I believe they did.

Has Rumsfeld or any of his deputies been held accountable? No... all still have their jobs and their President still is unable to come up with even a single mistake that he's made as President. There is only one way to describe this President's handling of the Iraqi occumpation - incompetent!

We can do much, much better than this!

Posted by Kevin at October 29, 2004 10:17 AM