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The October Surprise
By Jennifer King
November 3, 2004

It now appears beyond a doubt that the Al Qaqaa "Ammogate" story was the vaunted October Surprise. See BS, fresh off the Dan Rather debacle, nevertheless decided to spring another disputed story on Sunday's 60 Minutes - with precious little time for the Bush Administration to respond before the election. The New York Times scooped 60 Minutes and published the story on Monday. The Kerry campaign had their new ad up by Tuesday - blaming Bush and our troops for "failing to secure" an estimated 380 tons of explosives at the Al Qaqaa dump. Kerry also alleged that these very explosives were now being used to harm our troops (our "kids", as he derisively labels our men and women in uniform).

All of this information came our way courtesy of the United Nations and prior inspector Mohammed el Baradi of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Mr. el Baradi is a wee bit anxious over being held accountable by the Bush Administration over the numerous failures of the U.N. to secure dangerous materials in Iraq prior to the U.S.-led invasion. Mr. el Baradi would doubtless prefer a more malleable President, which is why he is shamelessly trying to influence a U.S. election a few days prior to the voting.

There can no longer be any doubt of the collusion between the print media, the networks and the Kerry campaign. My local paper, which had remained curiously quiet on both Rathergate and the Swift boat saga, eagerly reprinted the first NYT article. The story grew "legs" on TV, with Katie Couric and Matt Lauer breathlessly repeating the Times and Kerry charges. Members of the 3rd ID and the 101st came forth to assert that they had found no explosives at Al Qaqaa. Bill Gertz published an article purporting to show that Russian troops may have helped Saddam relocate his weapons cache to Syria or Lebanon before the U.S.-led invasion. The Pentagon released photos showing trucks at the Al Qaqaa location before the U.S. arrived there. In another coordinated effort, ABC News released a report by one of its reporters, embedded with the 101st, showing images of bunkers containing drums of explosives. The New York Times followed up with a cheery article, no doubt intending this to be the final nail in the coffin of Bush. My paper reprinted that one, too.

So, what is the truth of Al Qaqaa? It is somewhat amusing to note that Senator Kerry, who made such a campaign issue out of 380 tons of missing explosives, derided the war in Iraq as "unnecessary" and Saddam Hussein as no threat. His minions perfected the "Bush lied" and "Bush misled us into war" slogans chanted by dozens of moronic followers. Was Saddam Hussein a dangerous dictator with rogue weapons who posed a potential threat to his neighbors and the world - or was he just a harmless old coot with some aging weaponry kept ably in check by the dauntless U.N.?

Considering the vast implications of the breathtaking corruption beginning to be exposed in the "Oil for Fraud" program, it appears to be the former.

When did the explosives at Al Aqua disappear? The networks and the print media were anxious to have us believe that they were "looted" from an unguarded weapons site due to the hapless incompetence of George W. Bush and our troops. The military commanders dispute this, saying that they did search the site on their way to Baghdad. It should be remembered also that there were literally thousands of weapons caches in Iraq and that the troops were still engaged in their mission to liberate Iraq. Furthermore, weapons experts have testified that these particular explosives, RDX and HMX, are impossible to transport unless you have a vehicle like a grain truck. It is estimated that it would take 38-40 of these trucks to move this material. Since the U.S. military was by then on the roads and patrolling the air space, it is highly unlikely that this occurred after we were there.

However, the incident proves how hopelessly and openly partisan the MSM has become. In their desperation to unseat George W. Bush, they fully and openly colluded with the opposition candidate. Their bias has become undeniable. Their influence is waning, as evidenced by falling circulation figures released by the Tribune Corporation. The media will either have to change, or wither on the vine. They no longer have the power to lie and stage manages events like Watergate and the Viet Nam war. The people now have access to the truth, and the truth has surely set us free.

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Note -- The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, views, and/or philosophy of GOPUSA.