Before crashing Monday night, I was bombarded with emails informing me that NBC had reported that the explosives at al Qa Qaa were gone before the U.S. troops arrived. But last night, Tom Brokaw reported as follows:
“Last night on this broadcast we reported that the 101st Airborne never found the nearly 380 tons of HMX and RDX explosives. We did not conclude the explosives were missing or had vanished, nor did we say they missed the explosives. We simply reported that the 101st did not find them. For its part, the Bush campaign immediately pointed to our report as conclusive proof that the weapons had been removed before the Americans arrived. That is possible, but that is not what we reported.”
Just for the record.
SADDAM’S WAR-PLAN: How he foiled the U.S. And how we can still win. An interesting assessment from the Belmont Club. Just ignore the anti-Kerry stuff at the end. The analysis is worthwhile.
EMAIL OF THE DAY: “As a senior military officer, I am aghast at the incompetence associated with the Iraq planning and execution. I always thought we would win, but I also thought the President stretched his polemics, and I cannot comprehend (even recognizing the inherent political repercussions) anyone’s failure to acknowledge how these failures have stretched our troops thin, and endangered them more. I also find it unfathomable that no one has been held accountable. Perhaps it’s a factor of having been raised with “Catholic guilt,” but how can no one take responsibility for these shortfalls? My only explanation is this is all about power and not about doing what is right.” More feedback on the Letters Page.
The Dish 