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| Iraq |
| U.S. May Have Found Iraqi WMD Storage Site |
| 2003-04-07 |
| U.S. biological and chemical weapons experts believe they may have found an Iraqi storage site for weapons of mass destruction (WMD). A military source said there were unconfirmed reports there could be sarin — a highly lethal nerve agent that causes death by suffocation — at the site. Iraq is believed to have used sarin against Kurdish Iraqis in the 1980s. "Our detectors have indicated something," said Maj. Ross Coffman, a public affairs officer with the U.S. 3rd Infantry. "We're talking about finding a site of possible WMD storage. This is an initial report, but it could be a smoking gun." The site was south of the central Iraqi town of Hindiyah. "It is not as if there is a cloud of gas hanging everywhere endangering soldiers lives. We're talking about a facility," Coffman added. On Saturday, a U.S. officer said that first tests of a suspicious white powder and liquid found on Friday in thousands of boxes south of Baghdad indicated it was not a chemical weapon. Over the weekend, U.S. Marines in the central Iraqi town of Aziziyah began digging up a suspected chemical weapons hiding place at a girl's school. The dig began after U.S. forces received information from an Iraqi who described himself as a former special forces member. The informant told the Marines that a team of Iraqi officials broke through the wall of the school two months ago to truck in material and buried it under new concrete — about the size of two tennis courts — in the course of three nights. |
| Posted by:Spot |
| #8 liberalhawk - that is indeed a reasonable answer, but the question remains stupid. Wars are not fought with one eye on the enemy and one looking for WMD. It's not as if we have to hightail it out of the country after the war is over. |
| Posted by: Jeff Brokaw 2003-04-07 14:41:38 |
| #7 "How do you answer something THAT stupid? " Like this: we dont expect to find anything soon. As we said all along, Iraq is a big place, and you cant find well-hidden stuff just by sniffing around - we wont find it all out till we have the chance to interview iraqi scientists and technicians, which will be much easier once we have completed the destruction of the regime. Meanwhile we may find something, but we dont want to get caught up in chasing what maybe false leads. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2003-04-07 14:08:00 |
| #6 I agree Patriot. I also think they don't want to confirm what we found, so that the enemy doesn't know what we have not found. But what boggles my mind is the number of liberal idiots ready and willing to chomp at the bait. Heard a reporter ask one of the Generals the other day, "dahhh...do you think that you will find yourself in the uncomfortable situation where the war is over before you found what you came for?" How do you answer something THAT stupid? |
| Posted by: becky 2003-04-07 13:31:33 |
| #5 Once again, as long as we don't "confirm" Iraq has WMD, the Iraqi leadership hopes to use the lack as a hammer against the Coalition. Once we confirm the crap exists, there's no reason NOT to use it. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2003-04-07 12:07:03 |
| #4 We have a lot yet to learn about WMD. Our Intel boys (& girls) must be wetting themselves. Consider what they knew beforehand and what they will find now. BTW-what about the cyanide and mustard gas dumped into the Euphrates? Seems to me to be a clear violation of the Clean Water Act! |
| Posted by: Spot 2003-04-07 10:03:26 |
| #3 Is anyone who reads rantburg surprised? What level of denial does one need to stoop, in order to desperately cling to the ridiculous notion that they will be vindicated, VINDICATED I TELL YOU! in their superior wisdom and moral self-righteousness for backing the impotent UN? It borders on pathetic watching these talking heads desperately clutch each and every straw that blows their way, simply because CENTCOM refuses to use the word, "confirmed". |
| Posted by: becky 2003-04-07 09:29:07 |
| #2 I agree Patriot. I also think they don't want to confirm what we found, so that the enemy doesn't know what we have not found. But what boggles my mind is the number of liberal idiots ready and willing to chomp at the bait. Heard a reporter ask one of the Generals the other day, "dahhh...do you think that you will find yourself in the uncomfortable situation where the war is over before you found what you came for?" How do you answer something THAT stupid? |
| Posted by: becky 4/7/2003 1:31:33 PM |
| #1 Once again, as long as we don't "confirm" Iraq has WMD, the Iraqi leadership hopes to use the lack as a hammer against the Coalition. Once we confirm the crap exists, there's no reason NOT to use it. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 4/7/2003 12:07:03 PM |