Some of you scoffed at the notion that WMD equipment and materials might have been lost in Iraq under allied occupation. What WMDs? But the point is not that nuclear bombs have been looted – but that equipment that could be used in such efforts has been purloined. Money quote from the Guardian:
The inspectors have been virtually barred from Iraq by the US since before the war and Dr ElBaradei’s information on the missing equipment has come from satellite photography and other sources. Some of the contaminated equipment and material from Iraq is believed to have been located in Turkey, Egypt, Jordan and the Netherlands. Iran is widely suspected of conducting a clandestine bomb project and might be keen to obtain some of the sophisticated engineering equipment on the loose in Iraq.
Iran? Yes, there are caveats in this story. But given the haphazard way we have occupied Iraq, and our apparent unconcern about WMD equipment being stolen or looted (“hey, stuff happens”), this surely needs a follow-up, no?
The Dish 