Hundreds of vehicles and 20 tons of lead disappear from (Iraqi) government ware houses

[sabra]

Source: Azzaman

Unidentified gunmen stormed government ware houses in the southern city of Basra and stole 375 government cars and 20 tons of lead, police sources say.

The robbery is reported to be the largest and most organized in the years since the U.S. invasion of the country.

The robbers were said to by carrying forged papers which enabled them to drive away with the vehicles, the sources refusing to be named said.

The lead has disappeared from government warehouses in central Iraq.

The lead robbers are also said to have used faked papers to empty the ware house of its contents. Lead can be used in the preparations of explosive materials and bombs.

...

The government in Baghdad is still silent as security officials express grave concern since cars and lead are the main ingredients of bombings in Iraq.





Read more: http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news%5C2007-12-12%5Ckurd.htm

[sailor65]

1. The Chinese

buy the lead to make baby rattles!

[lynnertic]

17. boo.

:thumbsdown:

[dantyrant]

2. Holy crap.

Thats a pretty serious operation!

[babylonsister]

3. Rec'd. 375 government cars? 20 TONS of lead? No security?

Is this the fault of the British for leaving, or is this a story about the British leaving? Wow.

[alfredo]

4. That's a good page. News we'd never hear on the MSM.

the theft of the lead and vehicles is a worrying sign. I see where the Islamic Army of Iraq is having problems. Some neighborhoods are a bit safer, but we know that is temporary because the Sadr militia has been rearming.

[catnhatnh]

5. WOW!!! Does this story REEK, or WHAT?????

375 (three hundred and seventy five) unidentified gunmen "stormed" government warehouses with "forged papers" that allowed them to steal the vehicles????? The storming and guns didn't arouse suspicion??? I nearly weep when I realize just HOW absurd propaganda can be and yet still find a printer and people to read it....

[Lone_Star_Dem]

26. Just to be clear, it says 375 government cars were stolen

Not that there were 375 gunmen.

However, the "gunmen stormed" part doesn't fit in with the rest of the article. If anything it reads like a group was able to take all the time they needed and make as many trips as necessary under the ruse that they should be allowed access.

[TwilightGardener]

6. Something about this story smells. How long would it take to steal

375 vehicles and 20 tons of lead? I don't trust Iraqi police--they might be working in collusion with some militia here. This is ominous.

[lpbk2713]

7. Lead can also be used in handling radioactive materials.

Or for blocking X-rays (as in cargo container inspection)

[catnhatnh]

11. Yep, and it used to make a damned fine sinker for fishing....

but whether discussing fission or fishing, neither is anything that insurgents have the inclination for.Remember that the entire NATION of Iran will need multiple years and (at least) millions of dollars just to make weapons grade fissile materials...and there are NO good trout streams in Iraq.To imply that a pile of lead is some kind of nuclear strategic reserve is highly improbable.

[lynnertic]

19. whatif they could buy matl. from former Soviet states

or Pakistan.

I'm not thinking what you may think I'm thinking, I'm just sayin'.
;)

[libodem]

8. We just need to get our kids outta there now

what are the odds some of our kids will be taken out or maimed with that stolen stuff. Bush's excuse for our continued occupation is that the factions will kill each other with renewed vigor if we don't keep a damper on them. This is bullshit, with that many cars and that much lead, in the wrong hands, who can stop them? Why do we have to be in the middle of this insanity? All for the oil corporations.

[peace13]

9. I agree!

Get our people out of there while we can. Peace, Kim

[catnhatnh]

12. A. You're Right and B.You're Wrong...

We do need our troops out of harms way. But if you were building car bombs (as is implied) the last thing on earth you would do is mass produce them. Picture a building with 50 or 100 cars, with each being loaded with explosives and questionable timing/detonating devices-does that make any sense? One small mistake and half or more of every bomb-maker in Mesopotamia would be vaporized....And if you are making them one at a time, any stolen vehicle, the more non-descript the better, will do. This story stinks higher to heaven than that factory would blow...

[Maccagirl]

10. How credible is this source?

n/t

[Dark]

13. Well, fuck.

Whoever's there now is, I think, biding their time. They know we can't stay there forever (and in our right minds we'd leave in a second). They're probably gearing up for the Civil War, Part Deux

[acmavm]

14. That term 'unidentified' is puzzling. Does that mean they know who did

it but just aren't saying, or does that mean they haven't a clue? I find the latter hard to believe. I mean, that's a lot of stuff. It wasn't an in-and-out job.

[rockybelt]

15. alSadr? nt

[CoffeeCat]

16. This is bizarre....

OK, these guys stole 375 cars, which means there was a roving gang of at least 375 men
who "stormed government warehouses" took the vehicles--and they had guns.

The article initially suggests that this armed, swarm of men took over the government
warehouse--and hijacked the cars before loading up 20 tons of lead.

Then, the story says that "the robbers were said to by (sic) carrying forged papers which enabled them to drive away with the vehicles."


How can those two scenarios co-exist?

Let's assume that this 375-person, gun-wielding swarm of lead-stealing men did exist.
Obviously some witness saw this happening, because they reported the men as "armed." How
does someone see 375 armed men and live to tell about it---but fail to call for help
and report it during the several hours that it took these "armed robbers" to load 20 tons
of lead and steal 375 cars?

And also, the witnesses who reported that these men had "fake papers"---are we to assume
that they let these people drive away with lead and vehicles after they saw the storming
and the gun wielding---but ignored all of that because they had papers?

My head is spinning from the spin.

Is this part of the "event" that will catapult terrorism to the forefront of the
Presidential debate? If Bush or his minions mention this in a press conference,
we can expect bad things.

[lynnertic]

18. it's confusing unless you consider that storming and gun wielding

isn't abnormal behavior in Occupied Iraq.

[CoffeeCat]

22. ....and that showing "papers"...

...makes it ok to storm and wield. :rofl:

So, when these guys showed their "papers" did the Iraqis guarding the government
buildings say, "Ok! Have fun storming the castle!"

Did those Iraqi guards look like this?

[lynnertic]

23. After *surviving* nearly 5 years in a war zone

I wouldn't be surprised. I think the Iraqi guards did whatever they thought would best help them see the next sunrise.

[boricua79]

20. can you say bullets and shrapnel?

arming the insurgents through our ignorance.

Game on! say the insurgents.

[Javaman]

21. Victor Bout. nt

[raebrek]

24. Huh?

If they had forged papers that enabled them to drive away the vehicles then why would they need guns?
I can't get my mind around that. Why would they need to storm the place if they had forged papers?
Yes, something about this story stinks.

Raebrek!!!

[kestrel91316]

25. Iraqi thieves are selling the lead to the Chinese to put into

toys and food, would be my guess.......