Bush's Failure to Secure Explosives in Iraq Has Increased Risk to U.S. Troops, the World

Pelosi: Bush's Failure to Secure Explosives in Iraq Has Increased Risk to U.S. Troops, the World

Washington, D.C.-House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement today on the Bush Administration's failure to secure hundreds of tons of high-grade explosives in Iraq:

"President Bush's incompetence in failing to make certain that Iraqi stocks of high explosives and ammunition were secured has increased the risk to our troops in Iraq and to people around the world who might be the targets of terrorists.

"At a minimum, the Administration should have heeded warnings that it must secure these lethal explosives to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands. By failing to do that, the President and his Administration have provided access to the most dangerous kinds of raw materials --- some 380 tons of explosives from one location alone --- to the insurgents, and to terrorists in the Middle East and elsewhere.

"The chaotic security situation in Iraq today is a direct result of mistakes the President made before the invasion was launched-by not planning adequately for the aftermath of the fall of Saddam Hussein. The missing high explosives, nuclear equipment, and other materials unfortunately demonstrate that the world's security will be diminished by those mistakes for years to come."