380 Tons of Non-Election Issue

I've been purposefully silent on this election cycle. A lot of it is unimportant to me, and a lot doesn't make sense. Add the fact that I can no longer completely sympathize with either party and I'm not exactly happy with either candidate and I decided to keep quiet. (That said, I'm voting for Kerry)

However, what really is pissing me off is the way Iraq is getting spun by both sides. The Kerry campaign jumped on the story of the missing explosives in Iraq like a bulldog on a sirloin. They are trumpeting how this lapse of security is an example of President Bush's bad policy and lack of planning in the Iraq War. Bullshit.

Shit happens. That is especially true when people are shooting at each other.

At this point we don't even know when the RDX/HMX disappeared. There are rumors that it was trucked out prior to the fall of Baghdad. There are even reports that the Russians helped the Iraqis move it to Syria (as well as disperse other weapons). The point is, no one knows for sure.

Keeping that in mind, I'm pretty sure that President Bush didn't say "Uh guys? Let's not worry about those explosive stockpiles." And if he didn't so that - and does anyone really think that's what happened - then the lose of these explosives is best explained by the fog of war. And unless he really was actively negligent why is this an issue?