*** BREAKING NEWS *** Explosives destroyed by 101 airborne
By jmikec Posted in User Blogs — Comments (8) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
There is a press conference going on right now that is discussing the missing explosives situation. Word is that a Major will release a statement that says he was assigned to the 101 Airborne to destroy weapons at Al Qaqaa. He supervised the removal of 200 tons of explosives.
Updates below.All times central time
11:15 Press conference starts
11:17 Pentagon spokesman says more facts have come to light and the initial report was "significantly short of complete".
11:18 Some units were assigned the task of removing the materials at the site.
11:19 Major Austin Pearson of the 24th Ordinance Support Group who was in the facility during the period in question is taking the podium
11:20 Maj Pearson: I saw an NBC Report about the missing 380 tons. I then began to research. Pentagon contacted me, asked me to verify.
11:22 Received mission during first weeks of april to assist in clearing areas of responsibility. In one house alone, we cleared out over 1,000,000 rounds of AK-47 ammo.
Press conference log continued in comments.
Major Pearson still talking
Our mission was then to destroy the munitions.
We used captured enemy ammunition to destroy captured enemy ammunition.
At the time the high water mark of ammuntion (the amount went up and down) was 7,000 tons.
The Al Qaqaa ammuntion was destroyed in June, 2003, engulfed in a fire.
Pentagon spokesman talking now.
One of the things we are learning that the original declaration of 140+ tons of RDX is not accurate. It was probably a much smaller number, perhaps as low as 3 tons.
The major's unit pulled a total of 150 tons out of this facility, much of it plastic explosives.
I want to make sure we are very clear on a point: There was a question of ammunition at a particular facility. Facts we have learned since the original report have cast some doubt on the original report. That happens.
We have destroyed a number and a variety of types.
Other units that followed Maj. Pearson also removed and destroyed ordinance.
Pentagon spokesman:
We believe that part of the 250 tons destroyed included the explosives in question.
Major:
I did not see any IAEA seals at the location we went into. My mission was to go in and take out what was easily accessible.
Major:
We loaded palletized boxes. Wooden boxes.
Q:
"Is it possible to get this done without anyone knowing it?"
A:
"Sir we did it in about a day. We had just completed a major mission in bagdad. This was not that big of a deal."
Q: "Can you tell us definitively that any of the 250 tons you destroyed was part of the IAEA sealed material"
A: "I don't know."
Pentagon spokesman:
"Let me help you with that. That takes understanding facts, and we have tried finding the facts over the last week. Even the number you used isn't definitive - 300 tons. It was reported by Sadam Hussein in June or July 2002.
You want the difinitive answer. We don't know the definitive answer"
Q: "Did you see seals? Did you go into locked bunkers?"
A: "I did not see any seals. I only went into easily accessible bunkers."
The question started getting into "What was the longitude and latitude...." so my local radio station went back to regular programming.
Maj. Pearson still talking
Showing a slide with an arial photo of the area.
Multiple breaks in the walls of the area. Could drive through the breaks.
Pentagon Spokesman: US may have broken down some walls to access the area:
Pearson: Our mission was to find any exposed ammunition that would be a threat to US forces or be easily accessible. I had 9 truck systems that could each carry 33 tons. We removed ammunition and took it back to the munitions holding area Dogwood.