Chieftain column defended Bush by distorting AP article on Tuwaitha uranium

Summary: In a Pueblo Chieftain column, Don Bendell misrepresented reporting in a July 5 Associated Press article to claim the news service had documented that "concentrated uranium yellowcake and numerous devices to produce hundreds of nuclear bombs have just been discovered at Saddam Hussein's Tuwaitha nuclear complex." In fact, the AP article to which Bendell referred explicitly stated that the yellowcake was part of the nuclear stockpile known to have been at Tuwaitha since 1991.

In a July 20 guest column, regular Pueblo Chieftain contributor Don Bendell misrepresented reporting in a July 5 Associated Press article to claim the news service had documented that "concentrated uranium yellowcake and numerous devices to produce hundreds of nuclear bombs have just been discovered at Saddam Hussein's Tuwaitha nuclear complex." In fact, the AP article to which Bendell referred explicitly stated that the yellowcake recently removed from the site was part of the nuclear stockpile known to have been at Tuwaitha since 1991.

Bendell also stated that "liberals and many news media [have called] President Bush a liar" regarding claims of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction (WMD), and he asked, "[W]hy have we not heard any of the vociferous congressional leaders or liberal broadcasters publicly apologize to the president, who they so loudly slandered the past five years with the entire world listening, especially our enemies while we are at war?"

Contrary to Bendell's assertion that AP reported the yellowcake had "just been discovered" and his suggestion that its existence supported the administration's exaggerated prewar claims of an active Iraqi nuclear weapons program, the AP article to which he referred reported that having been secured by United Nations inspectors, the yellowcake from Tuwaitha "had been stored in aging drums and containers since before the 1991 Gulf War." The article also stated that, according to an official, "[t]here was no evidence of any yellowcake dating from after 1991." Moreover, the AP article reported that the recent removal of the yellowcake concluded a sale by the current Iraqi government to the Canadian uranium producer Cameco, a deal the AP reported "culminated more than a year of intense diplomatic and military initiatives -- kept hushed in fear of ambushes or attacks once the convoys were under way."

Although Bendell also claimed the AP article reported discovery of "more than 1.2 million pounds of concentrated uranium yellowcake and numerous devices to produce hundreds of nuclear bombs," the article itself actually noted that in addition to the yellowcake, the military earlier this year removed from the Tuwaitha site -- which it stated was "well known for decades as the centerpiece of Saddam's nuclear efforts" -- "four devices for controlled radiation exposure from the former nuclear complex. The lead-enclosed irradiation units, used to decontaminate food and other items, contain elements of high radioactivity that could potentially be used in a weapon, according to the official." The article did not mention any other "devices" associated with potential bomb making.

From Don Bendell's July 20 Pueblo Chieftain guest column, "Where is John Wayne's America? Times demand a man of character":

For years, I have listened to liberals and many news media call President Bush a liar, a scoundrel and many other vile names, stating that he lied about weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) in Iraq.

Now, however, an Associated Press report on July 6 very clearly documented that more than 1.2 million pounds of concentrated uranium yellowcake and numerous devices to produce hundreds of nuclear bombs have just been discovered at Saddam Hussein's Tuwaitha nuclear complex only 12 miles south of Baghdad.

These recently were safely removed from Iraq and shipped to Canada for storage. This is not a hoped for conservative victory, or surmised claim by a rightwing Weblog, but a major news story by the AP, which picked it up from a foreign newspaper that broke the story.

Why have you not heard about it as the lead story on any of the major news networks? Why have you not read about it on the front page of every newspaper in our nation? Also, why have we not heard any of the vociferous congressional leaders or liberal broadcasters publicly apologize to the president, who they so loudly slandered the past five years with the entire world listening, especially our enemies while we are at war? Where are John Kerry, John Murtha, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Barack Obama and all the other slanderers now? Where are the apologies from the Hollywood elite who seem to feel they have all the answers for our nation, especially when they are plugging their latest movie releases or books?

From the July 5 AP article, "Secret U.S. mission hauls uranium from Iraq":

The last major remnant of Saddam Hussein's nuclear program -- a huge stockpile of concentrated natural uranium -- reached a Canadian port Saturday to complete a secret U.S. operation that included a two-week airlift from Baghdad and a ship voyage crossing two oceans.

The removal of 550 metric tons of "yellowcake" -- the seed material for higher-grade nuclear enrichment -- was a significant step toward closing the books on Saddam's nuclear legacy. It also brought relief to U.S. and Iraqi authorities who had worried the cache would reach insurgents or smugglers crossing to Iran to aid its nuclear ambitions.

What's now left is the final and complicated push to clean up the remaining radioactive debris at the former Tuwaitha nuclear complex about 12 miles south of Baghdad -- using teams that include Iraqi experts recently trained in the Chernobyl fallout zone in Ukraine.

"Everyone is very happy to have this safely out of Iraq," said a senior U.S. official who outlined the nearly three-month operation to The Associated Press. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.

[...]

The Iraqi government sold the yellowcake to a Canadian uranium producer, Cameco Corp., in a transaction the official described as worth "tens of millions of dollars." A Cameco spokesman, Lyle Krahn, declined to discuss the price, but said the yellowcake will be processed at facilities in Ontario for use in energy-producing reactors.

"We are pleased ... that we have taken (the yellowcake) from a volatile region into a stable area to produce clean electricity," he said.

Secret mission

The deal culminated more than a year of intense diplomatic and military initiatives -- kept hushed in fear of ambushes or attacks once the convoys were under way: first carrying 3,500 barrels by road to Baghdad, then on 37 military flights to the Indian Ocean atoll of Diego Garcia and finally aboard a U.S.-flagged ship for a 8,500-mile trip to Montreal.

And, in a symbolic way, the mission linked the current attempts to stabilize Iraq with some of the high-profile claims about Saddam's weapons capabilities in the buildup to the 2003 invasion.

Accusations that Saddam had tried to purchase more yellowcake from the African nation of Niger -- and an article by a former U.S. ambassador refuting the claims -- led to a wide-ranging probe into Washington leaks that reached high into the Bush administration.

Tuwaitha and an adjacent research facility were well known for decades as the centerpiece of Saddam's nuclear efforts.

Israeli warplanes bombed a reactor project at the site in 1981. Later, U.N. inspectors documented and safeguarded the yellowcake, which had been stored in aging drums and containers since before the 1991 Gulf War. There was no evidence of any yellowcake dating from after 1991, the official said.

U.S. and Iraqi forces have guarded the 23,000-acre site -- surrounded by huge sand berms -- following a wave of looting after Saddam's fall that included villagers toting away yellowcake storage barrels for use as drinking water cisterns.

[...]

The yellowcake wasn't the only dangerous item removed from Tuwaitha.

Earlier this year, the military withdrew four devices for controlled radiation exposure from the former nuclear complex. The lead-enclosed irradiation units, used to decontaminate food and other items, contain elements of high radioactivity that could potentially be used in a weapon, according to the official. Their Ottawa-based manufacturer, MDS Nordion, took them back for free, the official said.

—E.B.
Thanks to R.M. for the tip, and keep them coming!