Hot pictures from a new find by U.S. troops in Iraq of a significant weapons find you haven't seen in the U.S. media.

Don't you just hate it when you're trying to get all the facts on an important story and somebody in the know stonewalls you? It is especially irritating when the story is sure to have a major impact, for example, in the selection of the next President of the United States. It's too late now that the votes have all been cast but we have to be true to our profession and craft. We MUST know the truth and pass the facts on to our audiences.

Get ready for a story Americans have not seen on the 6 o'clock news or on the front pages of our newspapers and we have to wonder why. Many of us have, of course, heard of the possibility that the missing 380 tons of weapons (although there have been reports the total could actually be significantly lower) were hustled out of Iraq by the Russians just days before the U.S. entered Iraq.

For me, it immediately raised the question of why the Russians would do that, and made me wonder if our "friends" have something to hide.

Well, our ever-productive troops have recently found some new buried treasures that the U.S. media apparently doesn't want to report on, and that should bother those of us who have ink flowing in our veins.
Several Iraqi jets, advanced Russian MiG-25 Foxbats, have been found buried in the sand after an informant tipped off U.S. Air Force troops. Take a look at the photos, courtesy of Air Force Master Sergeant T. Collins. Photo 1 shows the double rear rudders poking through the sand dune as the digging began. Photo 2 shows the troops using large excavating equipment to unearth the jet fighter. Photo 3 shows us the nose end of the buried jet as well. And Photo 4 shows us the whole nine yards; actually, the jet is 23 yards long, as the formerly buried jet fighter is towed away for further examination by American forces.

The discovery of the buried Iraqi jet fighters illustrates the problem faced by U.S. inspection teams searching Iraq for weapons of mass destruction. Remember that Iraq is a bit larger in size than California, and the massive deserts south and west of Baghdad were used by Saddam Hussein to hide weapons during the first Gulf war. Imagine burying these jets or large weapons caches in the Mojave Desert, Joshua Tree, or under the dunes of Imperial County near the Arizona border, and expecting somebody who just arrived to know exactly where to look and find the buried weapons. Yes, military jets ARE weapons, strategic weapons that carry other weapons called "fire power."

U.S. intelligence sources have already uncovered several mass-grave burial sites in the open deserts with an estimated 10,000 dead hidden there. In addition, Iraq previously hid SCUD missiles, chemical weapons and biological warheads by burying them under the desert sand. U.N. inspection teams found the weapons in the early 1990s after detailed information of the exact locations was obtained.

While there are rumors of Iraqi chemical and biological weapons being shipped to nearby Syria, significant numbers of weapons may very well still remain inside Iraq buried under the vast desert wastelands.

We have seen some critics of the Bush administration claim that the inability of U.S. forces to uncover weapons of mass destruction is proof that the President misled the nation into the war with Iraq. It's too bad that some of the media has joined that chorus and then isn't as quick to report this story of the newly-discovered buried jets.

However, the critics may now have to fall silent as word quietly leaks from Iraq that major discoveries have already been made and are now being documented completely.

The pictures show Russian-made Iraqi MiG being dug out of a massive sand dune near the Al Taqqadum airfield by U.S. Air Force recovery teams. The MiG was one of over two dozen Iraqi jets buried in the sand, like hidden treasure, waiting to be recovered at a later date. Contrary to what some in the major media have reported, not all the jets found were from the Gulf War era.

I can see the doubt in your eyes as you read this. Why didn't we find them before now?

The Russian-made MiG-25 Foxbats being recovered by U.S. Air Force troops in the photos are advanced reconnaissance versions never before seen in the West and are equipped with sophisticated electronic warfare devices. U.S. Air Force recovery teams had to use large earth-moving equipment to uncover the MiGs, which are over 70 feet long and weigh nearly 25 tons.

The Foxbat is known to be one of Iraq's top jet fighters. The advanced electronic reconnaissance version found by the U.S. Air Force is currently in service with the Russian Air Force. These MiGs are capable of flying at speeds of over 2,000 miles an hour, or three times the speed of sound, and at altitudes of over 75,000 feet. That's about 14 miles up for you non-math majors.

The recovery of the advanced MiG fighters is considered to be an intelligence coup by the U.S. Air Force. The Foxbat may also be equipped with advanced Russian- and French-made electronics that were sold to Iraq during the 1990s IN VIOLATION of a United Nations ban on arms sales to Baghdad. Image that! OUR friends selling weapons to Saddam??

The buried aircraft at Al Taqqadum were covered in camouflage netting, sealed and, in many cases, had their wings removed before being buried more than 10 feet beneath the Iraqi desert.

Like I always say, X Marks the Spot!!

By the way, as some of you know, I have a Staff Sergeant Son in the Air Force, but I have to tell you that he was NOT a part of this mission. Nevertheless, I can't help but be proud of all of our troops and the work they are doing. As a father, I have to say, "Go Air Force!!"