Article

2014-07-09 Iraq

Iraq tells UN "terrorist groups" seized former chemical weapons depot

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 Fred 2014-07-09 00:00|| || Front Page|| [4 views ] Top
File under: Islamic State of Iraq & the Levant

#1 FREEREPUBLIC Artic indics that there are literally 000's of Saddam-era rockets still left + filled wid all sorts of BIOWAR + CHEMWAR WMDS, e.g. SARIN, + which can now be used to strike Israel or for any other purpose the Milterrs see fit.

Posted by JosephMendiola 2014-07-09 02:53|| 2014-07-09 02:53|| Front Page Top

#2 AyPee has the details JosephM refers to:

UNITED NATIONS (AP) The Islamic State extremist group has taken control of a vast former chemical weapons facility northwest of Baghdad, where remnants of 2,500 degraded chemical rockets filled decades ago with the deadly nerve agent sarin are stored along with other chemical warfare agents, Iraq said in a letter circulated Tuesday at the United Nations.

The U.S. government played down the threat from the takeover, saying there are no intact chemical weapons and it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to use the material for military purposes.

More at the link. It is not clear to me whether or not ISIS can use either the rockets or the chemicals in a meaningful -- rather than merely threatening -- way. In other words, is it scary in the way that a dirty bomb is scary -- radiation is a terrible word, but general is neither life-harming nor life-threatening -- or can ISIS do actual harm to others with the stuff?

Posted by trailing wife 2014-07-09 07:28|| 2014-07-09 07:28|| Front Page Top

#3 Why is there any doubt about whether the "former chemical weapons depot" has anything to worry about? How many years & how many billions was spent during the US occupation of Iraq?

Posted by Anguper Hupomosing9418 2014-07-09 08:15|| 2014-07-09 08:15|| Front Page Top

#4 So the narrative created by the left in the U.S that Bush lied about WMDs and that the invasion of Iraq was illegal is a false narrative. Who would have thought the left would lie about such things (SARC ON).

Posted by JohnQC 2014-07-09 08:37|| 2014-07-09 08:37|| Front Page Top

#5 ..here remnants of 2,500 degraded chemical rockets filled decades ago with the deadly nerve agent sarin are stored along with other chemical warfare agents

They may degraded with time, but would you allow them to be stored in your neighborhood? The amateur stuff cooked up by Aum Shinrikyo in the Tokyo subway was not 'weaponized' material as these things are.

Posted by Procopius2k 2014-07-09 08:44|| 2014-07-09 08:44|| Front Page Top

#6 More detailed account from Guardian.

Posted by JohnQC 2014-07-09 08:54|| 2014-07-09 08:54|| Front Page Top

#7 Ref Guardian story at #6.

The UN inspectors left just before the US invasion of Iraq in March 2003 and never returned. The US-led Iraq survey group then took over the search for Iraqi weapons of mass destruction and found none.

As a point of clarification, UNSCOM/UNMOVIC was ordered out of Iraq and back to Bahrain by Saddam.

Posted by Besoeker 2014-07-09 10:01|| 2014-07-09 10:01|| Front Page Top

#8 PJMedia notes that AP quietly edited their article. The original lede:

Iraq has informed the United Nations that the Islamic State extremist group has taken control of a vast former chemical weapons facility northwest of Baghdad where 2,500 chemical rockets filled with the deadly nerve agent sarin or their remnants were stored along with other chemical warfare agents.

Iraqs U.N. Ambassador Mohamed Ali Alhakim said in a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon circulated Tuesday that terrorist groups entered the Muthanna site June 11 and seized weapons and equipment from the protection force guarding the facility.

Note the difference with what I posted earlier.

Posted by trailing wife 2014-07-09 13:09|| 2014-07-09 13:09|| Front Page Top

#9 You mean the weapons the democrats and their whore media swore were not there?

Posted by newc 2014-07-09 16:42|| 2014-07-09 16:42|| Front Page Top

23:58 Zenobia Floger6220
23:46 Richard Aubrey
23:34 Pajama Boy
23:22 JosephMendiola
23:15 JosephMendiola
23:09 JosephMendiola
23:06 JosephMendiola
23:01 JosephMendiola
22:50 Uncle Phester
22:47 Uncle Phester
22:45 Uncle Phester
22:41 Uncle Phester
22:40 Frank G
22:35 KBK
22:34 Uncle Phester
22:32 Uncle Phester
22:21 Uncle Phester
22:12 Sean Connery
21:39 49 Pan
21:36 Steve White
21:29 Frank G
21:08 Frank G
20:40 rammer
20:39 Frank G