Posted on 05/17/2004 3:01:20 PM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
The discovery of an Iraqi artillery shell armed with nerve gas has the liberal community and mass media in a panic.
The 155mm nerve gas shell was rigged to kill U.S. troops but it failed. U.S. Brig. General Mark Kimmitt confirmed the discovery during a news conference in Baghdad.
Yet, the discovery of nerve gas was followed by a second revelation. A second shell, equipped with mustard gas was found two weeks ago.
The mustard gas shell identified by the special WMD inspection team in Iraq appears to be one of 550 declared by Saddam to U.N. inspectors during the early 1990s. These shells disappeared later in 2002 when Hans Blix asked to see them.
The sudden discovery of nerve gas and mustard gas in Iraq can be added to two other recent events ignored by the mainstream media.
Saddam and Osama
The first took place during the 9/11 hearings when former Clinton Defense Secretary William Cohen testified that in 1998 Saddam's top nerve gas experts met with several members of al Qaeda in Baghdad. Clearly, such a meeting places the top terrorist with the leading Middle East dictator in the same basket. The dangerous combination of two madmen, mixed with weapons of mass destruction, seems to blow the "no threat here" argument out of the water.
However, that is not enough for the left.
The second event, a foiled gas attack in Jordan, piles more facts higher and deeper. The attack, led by Al Qaeda operatives, reportedly could have killed 20,000 people. The Jordanians were very clear about the foiled attack, the weapon involved was deadly gas and the terrorists, based in Iraq, entered by the Syrian border.
Jordanian diplomats have informed me that the investigation into the foiled gas attack is still under way and that at least two other members of the terrorist team are still on the run. Still, this is not enough proof for the anti-war fanatics.
Kill U.N. Teams
It is very clear from what we have found so far that Iraq did have chemical weapons and was trying to hide its arsenal. The discrepancies between documentation, box markings and actual items found clearly show that an intentional effort was made by Iraqi troops to mislead U.N. inspection teams. In some cases false shipping documents written in English were discovered with the weapons.
The effort to find chemical or biological weapons is being hampered by the vast quantity of conventional munitions stored under dangerous conditions. The Iraqi Army was well known for storing chemical weapons with its conventional explosives.
The Iraqi program to hide its weapons programs from U.N. inspectors was no small effort. Aviation Week and Space Technology noted in an article published in September 2002 that Iraq went to great lengths to conceal its arms technology.
According to Aviation Week, the Iraqis tried to destroy a German aircraft and its crew on a U.N. mission. The Iraqis were trying to prevent documents produced by the U.N. inspectors from leaving the country.
The U.N. documents covered details found on Iraq's nuclear weapons programs and a blueprint for aggressive, military-backed, inspections to root out the underground WMD programs. The documents also contained "rough" details of Iraqi command authorities, weapons production and delivery systems.
France and Russia
Iraq did most of its killing using Russian-made MiG and Sukhoi aircraft equipped with chemical sprayers. In addition, Saddam used French-made artillery and helicopters to dump gas on the Iranians and his own people.
The 155mm shell found outside of Baghdad airport was made for Iraq's arsenal of French made artillery. Clearly, the shell was designed to meet French military standards to fire and used advanced safety techniques to protect Iraqi gunners.
It was that safety technique, of separating the nerve gas into two inert chemicals, and placing them in two chambers inside the shell, that foiled the terrorist attack. The "binary" chemical weapons design has a metal or plastic diaphragm designed to keep the two inert chemicals apart until the massive force or shock of firing it down a cannon bursts the wall, allowing the chemicals to mix.
Ironically, the binary weapons design originated inside the former Soviet Union. Saddam Hussein rose to power backed by Russian weapons and Russian money. Saddam still owes Moscow over $8 billion for the arms he purchased from Russia.
The primary Iraqi chemical weapons are nerve gas and mustard gas, a blistering agent, standard equipment for the 1980s Soviet era military machine.
According to "Russian Military Power" published in 1982, "It is known that the Soviets maintain stocks of CW (chemical weapons) agents." The two primary Russian chemical weapons in the 1982 Soviet inventory were "nerve" gas and "blistering agents - developments of mustard gas used so effectively in World War I."
Iraq obtained Russian chemical delivery systems and the same inventory of Russian made chemical weapons at the same time. Iraqi SU-22 Fitter attack jets have been armed with Warsaw Pact designed bombs filled with chemical weapons.
Iraq used these Russian jet fighters to drop chemical weapons on Iranian troops during the Iran/Iraq war. Iraq tried to use these SU-22 jets during the 1991 Gulf war and was foiled by the allied air superiority.
The Next Attack
We are indeed fortunate that the two weapons discovered so far were not used correctly. However, it is clear, that much like cockroaches - when your find one it is an indication of many more. Saddam did not make just one - he made tons.
Saddam had 220 tons of nerve gas, counted previously by U.N. inspectors that he could not declare to Hans Blix. The deadly gas, and the delivery systems, vanished into the Iraqi desert and points beyond.
U.S. satellite's detected large convoys of unspecified equipment flowing over the Iraqi/Syrian border just prior to the war. The General in charge of our space assets has publicly noted the photos showing what appeared to be weaponry passed from Iraq to Syria.
We all know from the anti-war fanatics that there are no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq - the leftist media and pundits have pounded that assertion into the American TV fact file. We are told again and again that George Bush lied.
The recent discovery of nerve gas and mustard gas in Iraq is clearly proof that it was Saddam Hussein that was lying. Saddam lied about his weapons and has hidden more than one for future use.
The fact is the left will not be satisfied with the recent discovery. How many need to be found - two - ten - a thousand? The left does not feel that any number of these dangerous weapons reaches the level of adequate proof.
Yet, the one important question they will not answer is: How many have to die from such a weapon to qualify?
BUMP!
I never had ANY doubt.
The liberals are already spinning this:
1. It was only one shell
2. It didn't kill anyone
3. We were lied to because Bush said there were stockpiles.
Questions: which band of insurgents converted the artillery shell to an IED? Did they know it contained Sarin? Where did they get the shell? Do they have access to weapons depots that the coalition does not know about?
MSNBC: Samir Sumaida'ie Iraq interior Minister, acting head of Iraqi Governing Council, states: Sarin find -evidence that Sadam has WMD. Samir trying to calm citizens of Iraq who are becoming alarmed.
The only way the media will cover any of this is if more WMDs are found...when they are found, I hope we launch a few at their precious mosques and kill off these "insurgents" before they kill us!
on to syria? once bitten...
Mustard gas? Sarin? That's nothing...now, if somebody had tried to put a pair of women's undies on a soldier's head...THAT'S criminal and awful!!
Hey John Kerry, can you say rope-a-dope? You and your left-wing allies are about to be hung out to dry. Look for more WMD discoveries in the next five months. Repeat after me slowly, "rope....a....dope."
4. Reagan sold Saddam the precursors. (coming soon)
Nor did I. And I still think we are going to find much more, eventually.
Not that it will matter one bit to the Dems. Anything that would help Bush is going to be whitewashed into oblivion as soon as possible.
Anything that hurts him is going to stick like pizza stains on a white shirt.
Well, they are openly attributing it to Bush's drop in the polls, so as long as they're getting results I imagine they'll continue.
They're doing follow up stories regarding much more serious abuse now. All based on heresay, of course. I figgur they could go a for another month this way.
I dunno, but if you we can get any recent captives to tell us by taking naked pictures of them, it'd be ok with me.
Questions: which band of insurgents converted the artillery shell to an IED? Did they know it contained Sarin? Where did they get the shell? Do they have access to weapons depots that the coalition does not know about?
I dunno, but if we can get any recent captives to tell us by taking naked pictures of them, it'd be ok with me.
I'd sure like to see a "cartoon" in which mike lukovich meets his demise after inhaling sarin. The painful death wouldn't bother me at all while I watch him waste away.
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