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U.S. soldiers find cache of buried ammunition in northern Iraq
By: RYAN LENZ - Associated Press | ∞
ZUWAD KHALAF, Iraq -- U.S. soldiers in the northern Iraqi desert dug up more than 1,000 aging rockets and missiles wrapped in plastic, some of which were buried as recently as two weeks ago, Army officials said Tuesday.
Commanders in the 101st Airborne Division said an Iraqi tipped them off to the buried weapons, perhaps an indication that residents in this largely Sunni Arab region about 150 miles north of Baghdad are beginning to warm up to coalition forces.
"The tide is turning," said 2nd Lt. Patrick Vardaro, 23, of Norwood, Mass., a platoon leader in the division's 187th Infantry Regiment. "It's better to work with Americans than against us."
As the sun set, soldiers from the 101st continued to uncover more, following zigzagging tire tracks across the desert floor and using metal detectors to locate weapons including mines, mortars and machine gun rounds.
"This is the mother load, right here," Sgt. Jeremy Galusha, 25, of Dallas, Ore., said, leaning on a shovel after finding more than 20 Soviet missiles.
The weapons are of primary concern for soldiers in Iraq, where bombs made with loose ordinance by insurgents are the preferred method to target coalition forces.
"In our eyes, every one of these rockets represents one less" bomb, Vardaro said.
Vardaro would not comment on whether there were signs the caches had been used recently to make bombs. But service records accompanying the missiles dated to 1984, suggesting they were buried by the Iraqi military under Saddam Hussein.
Still, the plastic around some of the rockets -- of Soviet, German and French origins -- appeared to be fresh and had not deteriorated as it had on some of the older munitions.
A U.S. Air Force explosive ordinance team planned to begin destroying them as early as Wednesday morning.
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CJ wrote on Dec 22, 2005 2:17 PM:I think we can all get it, that there are WMD and they are buried in the desert, this country is thousands of years old and they know how to hide things, and I believe that one day they will be found out.
greg wrote on Dec 22, 2005 2:30 PM:While I'm glad to hear the military is doing a good job and unearthing weapons there is a question about the nature of the missiles. There is a great deal of difference between a small anti-tank type and a large scud type that can be used for scatering biological weapons or worse. More information on the story would be greatly appriciated.
Mike wrote on Dec 22, 2005 2:33 PM:Unfortunantly, the critics and peaceniks(sp?) will continue to hate Americans no matter what is found.
Don wrote on Dec 22, 2005 2:50 PM:Makes one wonder what other weapons are hidden in those deserts. I think Bush backed down on the WMDs to soon. The desert may hold more secrets than the book of Revelation.
Ruth D. wrote on Dec 22, 2005 2:58 PM:Another example of the wonderful work our Brave Men and Women are performing under very very difficult times. I do hope the liberal press will at least give them a break for christmas. Merry christmas to all of our Troops and God Bless them.
Sharon wrote on Dec 22, 2005 4:22 PM:What? Imagine that! Weapons found in Iraq! That ain't what the Democrats are telling the world! Merry Christmas to all our Armed Forces. We appreciate all you are doing to keep our nation and the world a safer place. May God bring each of you home safely!
Craig wrote on Dec 22, 2005 5:28 PM:Now that Iraqis have seen that the electoral process can be trusted, that America has no intention of being a permanent occupier and that Saddam has zero chance of returning to power, it is only a matter of time before someone steps forward to reveal what Saddam's forces did with the WMD's. It is unlikely that the caches in neighboring countries are still intact -- their contents almost certainly having been widely distributed -- but at least the truth will be known: the intelligence was accurate, Saddam did have at least chemical munitions and was trying to acquire nuclear capability. I hope President Bush gets the satisfaction of seeing his Iraq policy fully vindicated before leaving office in 2009.
Pam wrote on Dec 22, 2005 5:42 PM:Good article. It appears that President Bush has been right all along with his assessment of the effective job our Troops are doing.
Lou wrote on Dec 22, 2005 6:06 PM:It's great that thee is more cooperation. What is needed now is Syria"s cooperation to recover the WMDs taken there just prior to the war as indicated by satellite photos
Les wrote on Dec 22, 2005 6:27 PM:The nay sayer's can never accept this truth. We are winning the hearts of the people in Iraq.
Ruth wrote on Dec 22, 2005 6:33 PM:Newer Soviet,German and French rockets were found in Iraq.Who didn't vote for us to go Iraq,the Russians,Germans,and French.I for one think these facts are realated.
Pride wrote on Dec 22, 2005 7:07 PM:Thanks for showing the courage to print news that other agencies would avoid because of their dubious motives.
Karen wrote on Dec 22, 2005 7:08 PM:"...the plastic around some of the rockets -- of Soviet, German and French origins -- appeared to be fresh..." What wonderful allies those French are, eh?
Terence wrote on Dec 22, 2005 7:29 PM: I am glad that they found these weapons but what about all the weapons in Syria being used by the homicide bombers? I just wish the moron demondoom politicians just once would shut up and support our troops and the US policy in Iraq! 06 looks real bad for the demondoom party thank god!
Phyllis wrote on Dec 22, 2005 9:13 PM:Send this to the L.A. Times, saying that it beglongs on the front page..... for a change.
Lynn wrote on Dec 23, 2005 11:27 AM:Gee! WMDs found? Not hardly. That's like finding a sawed-off shotgun in an Okie's outhouse. Wake up America. There never were any WMDs. Just a pack of lies from the Bush administration to invade Iraq. Sure, we're better off without Saddam. But, at what cost? I think the effort would have been more wisely spend chasing Osama. Remember him? I support out troops, but, unfortunately, they have Idiots for Bosses.
Andy wrote on Dec 23, 2005 2:37 PM:Rockets? Big rockets? Or just a cache of rocket propelled grenades I wonder?
jim wrote on Dec 23, 2005 8:00 PM:Any missle can be a WMD, no matter what size. Why did the liberal news media not make this their top story?
Burrhead wrote on Dec 24, 2005 5:57 AM:Why would you think that the elitist w#ores of the lying, liberal media would publish this, when their whole agenda is to discredit this administration by their outright fabrication, distortion, and anti-military, anti-Bush, and anti-American agenda. These elitist "reporters" and "journalists" are traitors and must be held accountable for their lies and bias--by ANY means necessary.
Bob wrote on Dec 26, 2005 10:54 AM:There are no WMD's in Iraq? There are WMD's in Iraq? Neither statement is based on fact. Neither statement can be proven factual until ALL of Iraq is dug up to a depth of hundreds of feet and ALL buildings searched, including mosques. Those individuals who presume media information to be always factual, are very naive to say the least. Our government does not rely on media information for important decisions in military and intelligence matters. There are factors, etc. that the media knows nothing of and may never know. So, my question for those uninformed individuals who proclaim "no WMD's in Iraq" is: Can YOU prove it? And, the same question applies to those who say the opposite. To me it seems logical to presume the worst scenaio, "there are WMD's in Iraq", we simply have not found them, yet!
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