President Bush Breaks Silence on Missing Explosives in Iraq, Accuses Senator Kerry of Making 'Wild Charges'

Strategic Insights -

As the presidential campaign heated up six days before the election, President Bush finally broke his silence on the disappearance of 380 tons of explosives in Iraq, accusing Senator John Kerry of making "wild charges" about the missing explosives and of "denigrating the actions" of troops in the field. The president's comments reflected concern in the Bush campaign that the issue could be hurting his chances of re-election. Senator Kerry quickly responded that while "our troops are doing a heroic job, the president, the commander in chief, is not doing his job."

Key Takeaways:

  • The disappearance of 380 tons of explosives in Iraq has become a major issue in the presidential campaign, with President Bush accusing Senator Kerry of making "wild charges" about the missing explosives.
  • The exact timing of the disappearance of the explosives is critical to the political arguments of each campaign, with Senator Kerry's contention that the administration did not adequately secure the country presuming that the explosives disappeared after the fall of Saddam Hussein on April 9, 2003.
  • White House officials say that Condoleezza Rice, the president's national security adviser, was told around October 15 that the explosives had vanished, and that she also informed the president.
  • Senator Kerry has accused President Bush of keeping Americans in the dark about the realities of Iraq, and has spent his day asserting that Mr. Bush had put American troops at enormous risk.
  • President Bush has sharply criticized Senator Kerry, saying that the senator would say "almost anything to get elected" and that he is making "wild charges" about the missing explosives.
  • The president has also criticized Senator Kerry's claim that the American military passed up the chance to capture Osama bin Laden in the caves of Tora Bora, Afghanistan, in fall 2001.
  • Senator Kerry's campaign has called the story "a growing scandal" and has called for a "full and honest explanation" of how it happened and what the president is going to do about it.
  • The commander of the troops that went into the Al Qaqaa facility, Col. Joseph Anderson, has said that he was never told the site was considered sensitive, or that international inspectors had visited it before the war began.

Statistics:

  • 380 tons of explosives disappeared in Iraq
  • 7,500 people packed into a basketball arena in Rochester, Minn. for a speech by Senator Kerry
  • 3 states visited by President Bush on his day-long campaign stop
  • 40 minutes of a speech by Senator Kerry nominally about the economy
  • 2,000 enthusiastic supporters in a high school gym in Sioux City
  • 80 times a day on average that American forces are attacked by terrorists and insurgents

Sources:

  • The New York Times
  • CBS News
  • Fox News
  • The International Atomic Energy Agency