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| Iraq | ||
| WikiLeaks Show WMD Hunt Continued in Iraq -- With Surprising Results | ||
| 2010-10-26 | ||
By late 2003, even the Bush White House's staunchest defenders were starting to give up on the idea that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
An initial glance at the WikiLeaks war logs doesn't reveal evidence of some massive WMD program by the Saddam Hussein regime -- the Bush administration's most (in)famous rationale for invading Iraq.
In August 2004, for instance, American forces surreptitiously purchased what they believed to be containers of liquid sulfur mustard, a toxic "blister agent" used as a chemical weapon since World War I. The troops tested the liquid, and "reported two positive results for blister." The chemical was then "triple-sealed and transported to a secure site" outside their base. Three months later, in northern Iraq, U.S. scouts went to look in on a "chemical weapons" complex. "One of the bunkers has been tampered with," they write. "The integrity of the seal [around the complex] appears intact, but it seems someone is interesting in trying to get into the bunkers." Meanwhile, the second battle of Fallujah was raging in Anbar province. In the southeastern corner of the city, American forces came across a "house with a chemical lab ... substances found are similar to ones (in lesser quantities located a previous chemical lab." The following day, there's a call in another part of the city for explosive experts to dispose of a "chemical cache." Nearly three years later, American troops were still finding WMD in the region. An armored Buffalo vehicle unearthed a cache of artillery shells "that was covered by sacks and leaves under an Iraqi Community Watch checkpoint. "The 155mm rounds are filled with an unknown liquid, and several of which are leaking a black tar-like substance." Initial tests were inconclusive. But later, "the rounds tested positive for mustard." | ||
| Posted by:tipper |
| #15 Oh the Memories ... PCORRECTNESS > "WMDS" = CBRN now CBRN(E) = [post-production/Stored NUCWEAPS + ONLY NUCWEAPS. NO POST-PRODUC/STORED DE FACTO NUCWEAPS FOUND = NO BIOWAR, NO CHEMWAR, HYBRIS, etc......@EVAR! D *** NG IT, AMERICA = AMERIKA, the OWG Mighty USSA = OWG Weak USRoAmerika Global SSR, WE ARE ABSOLUTELY CATEGORICALLY UNDENIABLY YOU-BETCHA-BOY DE FACTO ATTACKATREATING IN IRAQ, + DON'T YOUSE FERGIT WHAT WE NEVER TOLD YOU! So there. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2010-10-26 20:00 |
| #14 The problem with most chemical and biological is effective delivery systems. On paper about 2 kilos of botulinum toxin could potentially kill the world's human population. Fortunately, delivery to achieve that level of kill is practically impossible. Let's not forget that homemade, and thus much less toxic than militarized, sarin was used in the Tokyo Subway terrorist attack. So, even degraded militarized material is nothing to ignore or not be worried about. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2010-10-26 19:46 |
| #13 Later they told me it was basically homemade irritants. IEDs are defined as homemade, too. So are the suicide vests and Kassem rockets assembled in the Gaza Strip, the latter from parts made in Iran. So were the explosives my father made for the Haganah before 1948. Anything not made in a big-time factory is labelled "home made". The difference between factory-made chemical mixtures and home-made chemical mixtures is almost always only the size of the mixing bowl. I used to work for a team that designed improved toothpastes, and I worked with several sizes of those mixing bowls, not much different than the one I use to make chocolate chip cookies at home. The process isn't much different either. *shrug* Were I making something a bit tricky, I'd go with small batches anyway -- it's easier to control... and much safer if you trip along the way. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2010-10-26 18:43 |
| #12 This is no vindication, and it's no surprise that the Bush administration didn't tout this. The material was all old, the shells degraded and rusting. Chemical weapons are relatively easy to manufacture in an industrialized society, and that knowledge wasn't going away. I just wish Blair hadn't used this so much to justify Britain's participation, because it was way down the ladder in the U.S., and not the reason I supported the war in the first place. Now the American public thinks it was. |
| Posted by: Mizzou Mafia 2010-10-26 17:03 |
| #11 My platoon uncovered one of the mentioned chemical labs in Falluajh. The CBRN guys and EOD came out and hauled the stuff off. Later they told me it was basically homemade irritants. |
| Posted by: Grunt_0369 2010-10-26 16:57 |
| #10 opps, double negative.... |
| Posted by: NoMoreBS 2010-10-26 15:23 |
| #9 Remember when Saddam flew parts of his Air Force to Iran and buried other parts? Remember when early in the second war there were reports of massive convoys to Syria? Do you seriously think it unlikely that major WMD wasn't involved? The Bekaah Valley of the Syrian desert near the Nork reactor site are good guesses. |
| Posted by: NoMoreBS 2010-10-26 15:22 |
| #8 Interesting that there was no mention of the *use* of chemical weapons against Iraqi civilians. Remember that? Al-Qaeda types were blowing up chlorine gas cylinders with high explosives. I remember at the time that it was treated as serious as a heart attack, implying that the good guys were authorized to kill anyone and everyone associated with that scheme. That's in the rules. We catch you using chemical weapons and you, and everyone around you, are dead. No sense of humor about these things. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2010-10-26 14:16 |
| #7 Surprising only to those that don't read the 'Burg. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2010-10-26 11:43 |
| #6 Nothing to see, hear, remember, or think about, folks. Just move along. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2010-10-26 11:36 |
| #5 And the man in charge was called Chemical Ali. I always thought that could possibly be a clue. |
| Posted by: Grunter 2010-10-26 10:39 |
| #4 NBC - Nuclear, Biological, Chemical (specifically area denial dispersant such as mustard and sarin) are all classified as WMD weapons and are subjects of international treaties among major powers limiting their use or production. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2010-10-26 09:46 |
| #3 Ah yes, I remember the shrill cries of the donks who said we should never have invaded Iraq because there were no WMD. And yet Saddam had used them on Kurds and Iranians previously. Yup PK2 this "appears" to be news only to the MSM press; those who try to elect progressive candidates and try to suppress, cherry pick, and make up the news. In other words those who are the propaganda arm of the progressives. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2010-10-26 09:27 |
| #2 doesnt sound like any WMD'S, just some old chem labs and barrels of mustard. not much in the way of MASS destructors, mabey small weapons of almost mass destruction would be more appropriate |
| Posted by: 746 2010-10-26 09:25 |
| #1 It's only news to those who suppress information and their consumers. To those who shout that no WMD have been found, we can always store those recovered shells filled with sarin and mustard next door. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2010-10-26 09:12 |