here are a few:
THE STRUGGLE FOR IRAQ: SECURITY; At Iraqi Depot, Missiles Galore And No Guards
By RAYMOND BONNER AND IAN FISHER; RAYMOND BONNER REPORTED FOR THIS ARTICLE FROM MUSAYYIB AND IAN FISHER FROM BAGHDAD.
Published: October 17, 2003
It weighs more than a thousand pounds, so carting it away could present a few logistical problems for the average looter. But the fact remains that there is a very nice 15-foot-long missile, in mint condition, there for the taking, at one of Saddam Hussein's defense factories a few miles west of here.
The missile, along with a dozen ready-to-fire 107-millimeter antitank rounds, just a few feet away, is part of a problem that the American military has only begun to grapple with: as much as one million tons of ammunition is scattered around Iraq, much of it unguarded -- like the armaments here -- simply because the United States does not have the personnel to keep watch.
On Thursday in Baghdad, an American brigadier general, Robert L. Davis, acknowledged the scope of the problem, saying that there are 105 large ammunition dumps as well as scores of smaller sites, not all of them guarded regularly. But General Davis, who is overseeing the cleanup, sought to give assurances that the Pentagon is working as fast as possible.
more:
http://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=F00716F93F5A0C748DDDA90994DB404482THE STRUGGLE FOR IRAQ: WEAPONS; IRAQI ARMS CACHES CITED IN ATTACKS
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By RAYMOND BONNER
Published: October 14, 2003
The two most recent suicide bombings here and virtually every other attack on American soldiers and Iraqis were carried out with explosives and matériel taken from Saddam Hussein's former weapons dumps, which are much larger than previously estimated and remain, for the most part, unguarded by American troops, allied officials said Monday.
The problem of uncounted and unguarded weapons sites is considerably greater than has previously been stated, a senior allied official said.
The American military now says that Iraq's army had nearly one million tons of weapons and ammunition, which is half again as much as the 650,000 tons that Gen. John P. Abizaid, the senior American commander in the Persian Gulf region, estimated only two weeks ago.
In separate interviews, the officials, civilian and military and from different countries, expressed concern about the potential of attackers with access to the weapons dumps to nurture violence and insecurity.
more:
http://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=F60A13FB3A5B0C778DDDA90994DB404482THE STRUGGLE FOR IRAQ: MUNITIONS; Security at Iraq Munitions Sites Is Vulnerable, U.S. Officials Say
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By ERIC SCHMITT WITH LOWELL BERGMAN
Published: September 6, 2003
American officials said today that about 50 munitions sites in Iraq containing explosives similar to those used in the recent major bombings had only light security and were poorly guarded.
An official from the United States Central Command, speaking on condition of anonymity, acknowledged today that the American-led military operation in Iraq did not have enough troops to heavily guard all 2,700 Iraqi munitions sites that have been identified.
Every ammunition dump has some level of security, the Central Command official said. But he added that increasing demands on American troops have meant that the military has had to reserve the heaviest security for munitions sites containing weapons like rocket-propelled grenades that could be used most readily against allied forces; that left other sites, with larger weapons like bombs and missiles, with less security or Iraqi guards who may be prone to bribes.
A Pentagon spokesman, Bryan G. Whitman, said tonight, ''All known Iraqi munitions sites are being secured by coalition forces.'' But Mr. Whitman said he could not address questions of security at each munition site, saying that would be a matter for the local ground commander.
more:
http://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=FA0A1FF8345C0C758CDDA00894DB404482
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