Saddam's Nuclear Program

One of the reasons the United Nations asked Iraq to surrender was their increasing militarization. In the windup prior to the UN Coalition's invading of Iraq, conveys were seen heading north into Syria -- one captured after the invasion held a lot of gold bars. Because the media told us that the Coalition forces didn't find any Nuclear facilities, we were led to believe that Saddam wasn't looking at developing a bomb. Explain to me then this article at the Las Vegas Sun/Associated Press:

AP Exclusive: US removes 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 article has a lot of detail about Hussein's program and what has been discovered so far. Good to see this stuff come out after so long...