Article

2004-05-18 Iraq-Jordan

Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.

Posted by Dragon Fly 2004-05-18 13:29|| || Front Page|| [1 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 U.S. forces in Karbala have also recently uncovered 55-gallon drums loaded with chemicals that were said to be "pesticide," some of which were stored in what military sources described as a "camouflaged bunker complex."

Why camouflage insect spray?

The alleged agricultural site just happened to be located alongside a military ammunition dump, reports Insight magazine.

Doh!

Boy! Those UN Inspectors, they dont miss a ~~bribe~~ beat do they?

Posted by CrazyFool 2004-05-18 1:47:05 PM|| 2004-05-18 1:47:05 PM|| Front Page Top

#2 UN Inspectors see camoflagued drums . . .

"Gee its says pesticide on the outside - Works for me. Let's get back to the hotel for tea and kebabs. Its awful hot out here."

Posted by BigEd 2004-05-18 2:06:37 PM|| 2004-05-18 2:06:37 PM|| Front Page Top

#3 The lack of WMDs is actually a great diplomatic ploy by the US. Of course there are WMDs in Iraq, tons of them, which the US will steadfastly deny, while continuing to find more and more of them. Why?
Because of the UN resolution that the US is using to be there in the first place!
If the US either "finds" WMDs, or pronounces that there are "NO" WMDs, then the justification for the US invasion is OVER, as far as the UN resolution is concerned. Then the UN can take over or resolve that the US has to get out.

However, if the US continues to "look" for WMDs, without finding them, then it can continue to stay there and look. Hell, at this point we might as well set up a permanent office of "Looking for WMDs", that will continue onward even after the turn-over of power to the Iraqis.
It will keep the US in and the UN out.

Diplomatically, we have been beating the drum for a "new" UN resolution, that would turn power back over to the new elected government. Perhaps then, but I'm not counting on it, the US will "find" WMDs.

Posted by Anonymoose 2004-05-18 2:09:28 PM|| 2004-05-18 2:09:28 PM|| Front Page Top

#4 moose: Better loosen yer foil hat

Posted by Rex Mundi 2004-05-18 2:17:36 PM|| 2004-05-18 2:17:36 PM|| Front Page Top

#5 Why camouflage insect spray?

"So the cockroaches don't notice it. They're tricky, those suckers; the minute they see you coming, they scatter."

"Darn, Hans, he's got us there, his logic is just impeccable. Guess we'll be moving along then; sorry to interrupt you there, Mr. Hussein."

Posted by Mike 2004-05-18 2:27:32 PM|| 2004-05-18 2:27:32 PM|| Front Page Top

#6 well, I don't know if Anonymoose is right about the UN resolution or not - but he's right about one thing. Of course there always were and are still WMD's in Iraq. You had to let go of your common sense to think that Sadaam didn't have WMD's and that all of those camoflauged bunkers full of pesticides and mobile labs were meaningless.

Just because a lie is repeated over and over and over again by the media doesn't mean that it's true.

Posted by B 2004-05-18 3:00:18 PM|| 2004-05-18 3:00:18 PM|| Front Page Top

#7 Sorry, guys - you don't search an area the size of California over night, especially when ammo dumps are one of the more common features of the landscape.

Posted by mojo 2004-05-18 3:15:25 PM|| 2004-05-18 3:15:25 PM|| Front Page Top

#8 Um - we have a Sarin shell, and a Mustard gas shell. Now we need to find the source of those bad puppys. Being that the Sarin one was unmarked as such, it make the whole thing rather tricky. Precursors in drums labeled as bugspray? Matches with unmarked Sarin in an artillery shell.

Posted by BigEd 2004-05-18 3:22:00 PM|| 2004-05-18 3:22:00 PM|| Front Page Top

#9 No wonder the UN inspectors couldn't find anything! They weren't properly labeled!

Posted by Robert Crawford 2004-05-18 3:57:56 PM|| [http://www.kloognome.com] 2004-05-18 3:57:56 PM|| Front Page Top

#10 boy, for a fairley non-agrarian society with very little agriculture Iraq sure had a lot of 'pesticide'.

spiffo

ps - see I can do scare quotes, too, yippeee

Posted by spiffo 2004-05-18 4:54:42 PM|| 2004-05-18 4:54:42 PM|| Front Page Top

#11 Damn, I got schooled by a moose.

Seriously, I hadn't seen that angle before. I haven't really been able to understand WHY the US seems to be UNDERPLAYING their hand.
1. Iraqi-AQ links: see Czech intel
2. WMD: It's all bugspray
3. Torture by Saddam: Yeah, he kept lots of records... uh... but let's not let them out.
4. UNSCAM: Why the UN didn't want US going into Iraq, but we still love them.
5. Insurgents: Odd... they're Syrian, Iranian and Jordanian. Not a peep.

At times it seems like the US LIKES it's bad press. And hasn't said a word in defense. It's like they used all their PR juice in the run-up to the invasion.
The only thing I could figure out, is that it's playing nice with the UN and others, for support in rebuilding Iraq. But it never dawned on me that we might want to keep ALL of the UN out of Iraq. (I guessed/hoped that France, Germany and Russia might get the cold shoulder, but I doubted it)

Posted by Anonymous4021 2004-05-18 5:03:55 PM|| 2004-05-18 5:03:55 PM|| Front Page Top

#12 Whoops, premature post.

Anyway, it could be going it alone in Iraq to more effectively build a democracy by itself. Unless, I'm mistaken, nation-building attempts by the UN have been horrible disasters. And so far, we've done pretty good in the past. (See: SKor, Japan, Philipines... sorta and Europe... sorta)

Of course this is all just wild speculation on account of my tinfoil hat shrinking, but it's all FASCINATING.

Thanks Moose

Posted by Anonymous4021 2004-05-18 5:08:46 PM|| 2004-05-18 5:08:46 PM|| Front Page Top

#13 True enough....everyone here at RB has wondered aloud what's been goin' on over there. The communication has been awful in regards to reported finds concerning WMD. This latest incident just adds to it. I do remember that one contact either at DoD or Pentagon was surprised at the release of the info on the sarin attack....that it was his understanding it was classified (and was to remain so)...so who knows. I still don't see it adding up to a conspiritorial effort to keep us in and the UN out (but hey...I've got my own foil stash ready to go...I just haven't dipped into it yet) The UN bugged out on their own. Fine..we're better off.

Posted by Rex Mundi 2004-05-18 5:56:34 PM|| 2004-05-18 5:56:34 PM|| Front Page Top

#14 As if the day couldn't get any stranger.

Rumsfeld says it wasn't necessarily sarin

http://www.wtkr.com/Global/story.asp?S=1873574&nav=0oa8AfMQ

O_o

Posted by Anonymous4021 2004-05-18 6:11:41 PM|| 2004-05-18 6:11:41 PM|| Front Page Top

#15 I work in a chemical plant that has in the past made insecticides. These chemicals are nerve agents. They fry a bugs nervous system. They do the same thing to humans if enough is injested or gotten on the skin. They can be refined to make MUCH more potent nerve agents. But I guess the pesticides found in Iraq by the barrel-load are for peaceful purposes only.

Posted by Deacon Blues 2004-05-18 6:35:53 PM|| 2004-05-18 6:35:53 PM|| Front Page Top

#16 well...it's intriguing anyway, Moose. There has to be some reason why they do it. I'm very curious as to why.

Posted by B 2004-05-18 6:46:13 PM|| 2004-05-18 6:46:13 PM|| Front Page Top

13:58 Jarhead
13:25 11A5S
09:45 Robert Crawford
07:55 Mitch H.
04:44 Anonymous4617
04:13 Phil B
02:52 Mark Espinola
01:21 Lucky
01:14 Anonymous4617
00:32 Mike Sylwester
00:25 Zenster
00:19 RMcLeod
00:16 Bomb-a-rama
00:15 Mike Sylwester
23:53 Mark Espinola
23:46 Anonymous2U
23:40 Anonymous2U
23:34 JDB
23:23 Pappy
23:12 Edward Yee
23:10 Edward Yee
23:01 rex
22:59 ex-lib
22:52 Mike Sylwester