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Iraq-Jordan
Nerve Gas Released by Iraq Roadside Bomb
2004-05-17
No article yet -- just a "breaking news" banner on the main Fox page.

Hope our guys were MOPPed and no civillians were present.
Posted by:Mike

#55  Completely removed from CNN?

It it that good a news item for GWB that they deny it happened?
Posted by: BigEd   2004-05-17 6:52:31 PM  

#54  The thing that's bugging me is the report I read earlier today (and I'm sorry, but I lost the link) where some reporters asked their pentagon sources about the story, and the sources were suprised that Gen. Kimmitt announced it because it was supposed to be classified.

How many other discoveries of this sort of thing in Iraq are out there, classified, or miscategorized as pesticides?

When you mix pesticides into a drum of nerve agents (or the binary components of same), does it suddenly become "acceptable dual use pesticides" for all practical legalistic purposes?

And the stuff that was found _before_ in arsenals, or in artillery rockets, bugs me too. As someone else pointed out, if it wasn't chemical agents, what was it?

I think the phrase was, was the Iraqi army preparing to shoot dishwashing detergent at the enemy?
Posted by: Phil Fraering   2004-05-17 6:36:34 PM  

#53  The rounds are color-coded in every arsenal I've ever heard of.
Posted by: Fred   2004-05-17 6:15:39 PM  

#52  Fred:
My guess is that this is only the first...

After some thought, I have to agree. I think it's extremely unlikely that they'd have just accidentally used a gas shell instead of an HE shell. OK, they're unmarked -- but don't they weigh less? Look different? Do they have to have the chemicals loaded, or are they stored pre-loaded?

Also, look at the connected story -- a mustard gas shell was used earlier. Let's say you're going through Saddam's Secret Stash #46, shell by shell. What are the odds that you'd use ONE sarin shell and ONE mustard gas shell, and no more than that. If you're pulling from one case or pallet, you'd get all the same type, no?
Posted by: Robert Crawford   2004-05-17 5:55:26 PM  

#51  No number will ever convince them. Ever.

Absolutely. Go pick up The Black Book of Communism if you don't believe it.
Posted by: Robert Crawford   2004-05-17 5:50:22 PM  

#50  My guess is that this is only the first...
Posted by: Fred   2004-05-17 5:44:20 PM  

#49  #48 was me.
Posted by: Rex Mundi   2004-05-17 5:32:59 PM  

#48  My God, how many people have to die for these people to be proven wrong? No number will ever convince them. Ever.
Posted by: Anonymous4903   2004-05-17 5:30:39 PM  

#47  Incredible. It's scarily logical - if we didn't find them in stockpiles, we'd find them being used on us. Yet they still want to deny that there are any chemical/biological weapons in Iraq. Newsflash, morons: even if the former regime didn't have any, the use of them means they're in the country!

My God, how many people have to die for these people to be proven wrong?
Posted by: The Doctor   2004-05-17 5:16:53 PM  

#46  "Two former weapons inspectors Hans Blix and David Kay said the shell was likely a stray weapon that had been scavenged by militants and did not signify that Iraq had large stockpiles of such weapons."

See, what did I say. There are no chemical weapons in Iraq.
:D

(I think I'm gonna need some valium to sleep tonight)
Posted by: Anonymous4021   2004-05-17 4:18:38 PM  

#45  CNN had the Sarin bomb listed, then it disappeared.

BBC had the Sarin bomb prominent, but had US plans for transition 1st.
Posted by: Liberalhawk   2004-05-17 3:55:28 PM  

#44  Watched part of 'We Hate America' this morning. They mentioned the Gov Council death (briefly) in their mad rush to sodomize the Abu-Gharib dead horse issue some more. No mention of the WMD (but then it might not have been known then).
Posted by: CrazyFool   2004-05-17 3:21:26 PM  

#43  Lemee See : RECAP of News Noon PDT

FOX News:
WMD: Headline
Gov Council Head Killed : 2nd
Abu-Gharib : not listed

CNN :
WMD: not listed
Gov Council Head Killed : Headline
Abu-Gharib : listed below 3rd

MSNBC:
WMD: 3rd
Gov Council Head Killed : Headline
Abu-Gharib : 2nd

ABC :
WMD: 2nd
Gov Council Head Killed : Headline
Abu-Gharib : 3rd

CBS :
WMD: listed on side
Gov Council Head Killed : Headline
Abu-Gharib : listed below headline

WMD, one of the primary reasons for the war have been found, and only Fox seems to understand the significance.

Why am I not surprised?



Posted by: BigEd   2004-05-17 3:11:20 PM  

#42  A4021 - NOW YOU ARE STEALING MY LINE (comment #34)! Check out the "Cumming soon" thread.
Posted by: Tibor   2004-05-17 2:54:11 PM  

#41  Murat, Where are you!? Explain to me how these aren't really WMD's!
Posted by: Charles   2004-05-17 2:47:29 PM  

#40  6 - 1 for abu ghurib
Posted by: Shep UK   2004-05-17 2:41:35 PM  

#39  Any bets on which gets more time on the evening news tonight? Abu Ghraib or the two chem rounds found recently?

I'm betting it's at least 3:1 in favor of Abu Ghraib.
Posted by: Robert Crawford   2004-05-17 2:26:10 PM  

#38  i'm so angry already the main UK media is saying 'oh this is nothing' 'its old' the BBC devoted about 40 seconds to the story with an incredably sneerery manner. I just want to beat the living shit out of the Baathists who run the BBC!
Posted by: Shep UK   2004-05-17 2:13:02 PM  

#37  The Islamic death cultists are showing their true colours now.
Posted by: Mark Espinola   2004-05-17 2:01:19 PM  

#36  I don't like socialists any more than you do, but I really don't want things to get to that point, even if political points can be made for conservatives; its not worth

Once again, NOT EVERY socialist opposed US intervention in Iraq. I suppose Tony Blair is too "New Labour" to count as a Socialist, but theres also Christopher Hitchens and Paul Berman.

BTW, this does seem to be big news.
Posted by: Liberalhawk   2004-05-17 1:57:09 PM  

#35  Twin Peaks and Jabba the Hut BOTH at Cannes?

Egad! The US is so WELL represented!
Posted by: BigEd   2004-05-17 1:37:39 PM  

#34  BigEd, why the long face?
http://www.drudgereport.com/ak.jpg
Posted by: Anonymous4021   2004-05-17 1:17:01 PM  

#33  Now being reported by CNN also.
Posted by: mhw   2004-05-17 1:15:00 PM  

#32  A4021 - YOU ARE STEALING MY LINE.
Posted by: BigEd   2004-05-17 1:13:07 PM  

#31  Thanks Steve.

Hey guys, any bets on how long until the story gets forgotten or lost?

Or the No, no, no... no WMDs, just more bugspray.
Posted by: Anonymous4021   2004-05-17 1:09:31 PM  

#30  BTW,Steve, where's the link to that info about it being a binary agent?

Fox story here: The round was an old "binary-type" shell in which two chemicals held in separate sections are mixed after firing to produce sarin, Kimmitt said. He said he believed that insurgents who rigged the artillery shell as a bomb didn't know it contained the nerve agent, and that the dispersal of the nerve agent from such a rigged device was very limited.
"The former regime had declared all such rounds destroyed before the 1991 Gulf War," Kimmitt said. "Two explosive ordinance team members were treated for minor exposure to nerve agent as a result of the partial detonation of the round."
The shell had no markings. It appears the binary sarin agents didn't mix, which is why there weren't serious injuries from the initial explosion, a U.S. official told Fox News.
Posted by: Steve   2004-05-17 12:35:58 PM  

#29  Storage sites? Karbala, Qom, Najaf and Fallujah. Nuke 'em clean.
Posted by: Dog Bites Trolls   2004-05-17 12:34:55 PM  

#28  Storage sites? Karbala, Qom, Najaf and Fallujah. Nuke 'em clean.
Posted by: Dog Bites Trolls   2004-05-17 12:34:35 PM  

#27  ..Just looked at what the gentleman at LGF had to say, and he's definitely got a grasp of the technology. (FULL DICLOSURE: My specialty was conventional munitions, but i did have some training in this stuff.)
One thing I'd add - the Rest Of the World does not always follow conventions on marking and labeling, and one of my concerns is that a great deal of this stuff ISN'T missing, but is sitting in the weapons dumps, waiting for us to blow it, not knowing what's in them.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski   2004-05-17 12:29:56 PM  

#26  badanov - Even if hard-core leftists were directly affected by a terrorist attack, there would still be some (probably 10%) of them who would want to "Understand the rage, and what was done to cause the terrorists to be violent. It must of been something we did."

Yeah, we were breathing.

Mark E speaks the sad truth. I think 90% of the leftys would get a dose of survival instinct. Like when we were hit on 9/11 90% of all the US had survuival instinct - for about 6-8 weeks.


Posted by: BigEd   2004-05-17 12:29:15 PM  

#25  Crazy Fool - Correctamundo!

As I said earlier, It's Raid Roach killer. Not Sarin Gas.
Posted by: BigEd   2004-05-17 12:20:07 PM  

#24  One added comment: Maybe it will take thousands of hard-core leftists being directly involved in a Islamic terrorist chemical attack in order for them to grasp the true nature real world.

I don't like socialists any more than you do, but I really don't want things to get to that point, even if political points can be made for conservatives; its not worth a human life, even if the left doesn't value human life, which they clearly don't.
Posted by: badanov   2004-05-17 12:16:52 PM  

#23  I like my ammo dumps to be bug free! That's why I store my pesticides in concrete bunkers underground.

:D
Posted by: Anonymous4021   2004-05-17 12:14:38 PM  

#22  A commenter over at LGF who really seems to know what he's talking about had this to say about how Iraqi chemical muntions work.
Posted by: Mike   2004-05-17 12:14:17 PM  

#21  Nahhh... You guys have it all wrong!

The shell was intended for a really-really big wasps nests which sometimes appear close to ammo dumps.

Thats it!
Posted by: CrazyFool   2004-05-17 12:10:04 PM  

#20  Big Ed-
Yes, TWO separate incidents, FNC giving more details - mustard was found 2 weeks ago by the Iraq Survey team.

That thumping noise you hear from Kerry's HQ...sounds like someoneslamming their head against a wall..

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski   2004-05-17 12:03:08 PM  

#19  Mike K - Mustard and Sarin in seperate incidents?

The DNC is in deep doodoo - Quick Terry McAuliffe. You need to hire Baghdad Bob to get you out of this one.


My friends Terry McAuliffe and John Kerry want you to know that the reports of chemical weapons in Iraq are false.

Posted by: BigEd   2004-05-17 11:58:42 AM  

#18  1155 EST - FNC is saying that 'senior administration officials' are confirming a mustard gas round discovered 'recently'.

Tell me again how dumb Dubya is, trolls.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski   2004-05-17 11:53:58 AM  

#17  Since this gas in the shell wasn't used very effectively, I bet whoever rigged this bomb didn't know it was a Sarin shell. They probably just got "lucky" - but I still would like to find out where it came from. Imagine what might happen if Zaqarwi got ahold of it.
Posted by: Yosemite Sam   2004-05-17 11:32:20 AM  

#16  Some info on Sarin:
http://cfrterrorism.org/weapons/sarin.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarin
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,76856,00.html


BTW,Steve, where's the link to that info about it being a binary agent?
Posted by: Anonymous4021   2004-05-17 11:29:35 AM  

#15  One added comment: Maybe it will take thousands of hard-core leftists being directly involved in a Islamic terrorist chemical attack in order for them to grasp the true nature real world.

Then again most of them will blame the 'vast rightwing conspiracy :)
Posted by: Mark Espinola   2004-05-17 11:26:09 AM  

#14  Storage site? I'd be happy just to date the shell to the mid-late 90s.
Posted by: Anonymous2U   2004-05-17 11:25:48 AM  

#13  Where is the radical Left now? What about all the screaming in defence of Saddam not having any WMD? Ummmmm??

The truth comes forth in a deadly way for the whole world to witness. Those Iraqi WMD not shipped to Syria, the Bekka Valley or sold on the open market, could now be used throughout Iraq unless the Coalition forces discovers where the terrorists are hiding all stockpiles of nerve agents.

The death cult jihadists once again prove they care nothing for fellow Muslims or anyone else using sarin gas or other chemical agents.

Iran has chemical weapons may be importing them to use on Coalition forces and Iraqi population which they hate since they are Arabs, not Persians. If Iran or Syria is proven to be behind any chemical attacks in Iraq, a swift military response must be forthcoming for both renegade terrorist promoting entities.

We knew one day Saddam's WMD would indeed be uncovered and it looks like the enemy has shed light on this subject through a failed sarin nerve gas attack on our men.

The arch appeasers of the world, France, Germany, regrettably now Spain, and a cast of other weasels, those nations which made backdoor oil deals with Saddam's former Ba'ath Party regimé are about to have egg on their two faced mugs.

Posted by: Mark Espinola   2004-05-17 11:20:30 AM  

#12  The 155-millimeter round, which was rigged as an improvised explosive device, was found by a U.S. convoy and detonated before it could be rendered inoperable, producing a very small amount of nerve gas, Kimmitt said. Two members of the ordnance team were treated for minor exposure to the nerve agent, he said.
The shell was an older round with two compartments containing two chemical components that need to be mixed before the agent is produced, Kimmitt said. It was designed to work after being fired from an artillery cannon and the ability to mix and distribute the gas from an improvised explosive device is ``very limited,'' Kimmitt said.

Binary round, needs to be fired to "spin mix" the agents together. That's good news, now we need to find the storage site this came from.
Posted by: Steve   2004-05-17 11:17:36 AM  

#11  Steve, you mean somethin' lyin' around that Saddam forgot to move to Syria last year. Maybe. But with the unexploded one also found(mentioned elswhere) it seems more likely that someone has a stash.

In spite of what was said publically, I think the CIA has someone wearing a pink panty hat until some info is derived where the stash is.
Posted by: BigEd   2004-05-17 11:15:13 AM  

#10  Wonder if it was a deliberate attack with chemical weapon, or some guy wired a old 115mm shell he found as a IED without knowing what was in it?
Posted by: Steve   2004-05-17 11:10:02 AM  

#9  Here is the Fox link to the release of the "Roach Spray" (Democrat Definition).

Democrats Decry Bush Plot To Call Planting Of Roach Spray In Roadside Bomb As Nerve Gas
Posted by: BigEd   2004-05-17 10:51:39 AM  

#8  F*CK what the left says.

This is huge. No need to let the left's own stupidity to diminish the importance of this find. They have spent their political capital on pushing the idea that Bush lied all the while ignoring even the Frogs said there are still WMDs. It is time the left either comes up either with a knee dragging apology to each and every memeber of the armed service fighting there now, or they need to go out of business.

I vote Number Two.

Moreover, the weapon was actually used against our forces.

Can the gloves NOW come off?
Posted by: badanov   2004-05-17 10:51:28 AM  

#7  It's a PLANT by CIA/MOSSAD/Bushitler.

It came from SYRIA! (Nevermind that they came from Iraq back in '03)

On a serious note, aside from "nerve gas" have there been any solid IDs on what it was? The way I understand it (I'm prolly totally wrong, but what's new), Iraq was the only one in the region that had the money/expertise to manufacture VX-family nerve agents.
Posted by: Anonymous4021   2004-05-17 10:51:26 AM  

#6  The only evidence the left would accept as valid would be large scale casualties, military or civilian, from a chemical attack.

Which they would then use to politically attack Bush.
Posted by: Phil Fraering   2004-05-17 10:49:45 AM  

#5  I'm holding my breath, waiting for a comment from Hans "Magoo" Blix... turning blue... world going dark... please, Hans, make a comment... life flashing before eyes...Auuuggh.....
Posted by: snellenr   2004-05-17 10:48:50 AM  

#4  This story is impossible - the Iraqis had no WMD.
Posted by: Jake   2004-05-17 10:48:37 AM  

#3  Is this gun smoking enough for anyone on the left? Nah. I think all of midtown Manhattan would have to be a smoking ruin before they noticed. And they'd only notice because their cocktail party would have to move to a new location.
Posted by: eLarson   2004-05-17 10:44:38 AM  

#2  That was the link to sfgate from Drudge.

Must be one of those ficticious WMD shells Saddam didn't have that got used by the terrorists who weren't connected to Iraq.
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats   2004-05-17 10:43:09 AM  

#1  Here is the article

Roadside bomb containing sarin nerve agent explodes in Iraq
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats   2004-05-17 10:41:30 AM  

00:00