Weapons Searchers to Return Home

The Washington Post reports that the principal group that has been searching for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, the 75th Exploitation Task Force, is winding down operations, “frustrated” at its inability to put its hands on traces of the banned weapons.
Soldiers interviewed by the Post put the blame primarily on the fact that most sites had been looted by Iraqis before they could be searched. Which seems a bit odd to me; it’s hard to see what appeal a bunch of drums containing chemicals, rocket warheads, etc. would have for looters. If this explanation is correct, shouldn’t we start to see Iraqis coming down with anthrax, etc.?
For what it’s worth, I doubt that looting is the explanation. More likely Saddam’s regime destroyed many of the weapons shortly before the war started, and moved others–most likely to Syria, as Debka claims. But regardless of the search teams’ failure to put their hands on the weapons, many individuals involved in the banned programs have been captured, and the truth will inevitably come out in due course. I think.

Notice: All comments are subject to moderation. Our comments are intended to be a forum for civil discourse bearing on the subject under discussion. Commenters who stray beyond the bounds of civility or employ what we deem gratuitous vulgarity in a comment — including, but not limited to, “s***,” “f***,” “a*******,” or one of their many variants — will be banned without further notice in the sole discretion of the site moderator.

Responses