But why let that get in the way of a good story – or a good campaign commercial? (Am I repeating myself?)

From the tail end of today’s New York Times story on the explosives mystery:

Rashad M. Omar, the minister of science and technology, said that as far as he was concerned, the exact timing of the disappearance remained unknown. “How, where, when is it taken, all these questions, we don’t have answers,” Dr. Omar said.

He said a committee headed by himself was about to undertake an investigation of the disappearance, in parallel with American efforts to clear up the mystery. Dr. Omar said that he was extremely confident that the investigations would determine the facts of the case.

“The quantity was so huge,” Dr. Omar said. “Somebody must know what happened to the material. I am sure the facts will not be hidden for a long time.”