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October 25, 2004
President Bush promised the war in Iraq would make Americans safer. But the Bush administration's failure to prepare for post-war security needs in Iraq has increased the dangers to America and to our troops on the ground in Iraq. Major security failings include:
- Hundreds of tons of conventional explosives were left unguarded. The New York Times reports this morning that "nearly 380 tons of powerful conventional explosives" are missing from one of Iraq's "most sensitive former military installations." The enormous cache of explosives is unaccounted for and may have fallen in the hands of terrorists or used in bombing attacks against U.S. and Iraqi troops. The White House has not explained why the explosives were not guarded.
- Sensitive nuclear materials and equipment were looted from Iraqi facilities. Even more troubling, an international U.N. weapons inspection team reported early this month that dangerous nuclear equipment and low-grade uranium have been looted. Prior to the administration's invasion, the U.N. had successfully accounted for and protected all of this equipment and material.
- The insurgency is growing more deadly and intense, not less. Sadly, 49 newly trained Iraqi National Guard recruits were executed this weekend by insurgents just north of Baghdad. In a separate attack, a State Department security official was also killed yesterday by a rocket attack on a U.S. military base. More than a year and half since our invasion, Iraq is less secure and growing more dangerous by the day.
Daily Talking Points is a product of the American Progress Action Fund.
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Daily Talking Points is a product of the American Progress Action Fund. |
