Belgium Finds Nerve Gas Ingredient in Letters

Reuters ^ | 06-04-03

[MizSterious]

Great research, Shermy! Thanks so very much for the ping!

[BagCamAddict]

My thoughts exactly. "We've got WMD. Neener neener"

[okie01]

Thanks for the digest of related info and the analysis. I can't add anything about hydrazine. In my agricultural life, it never came up.

Let's hope that somebody in law enforcement is paying as much attention, and expending as much energy, as you on tracking these connections.

Because we sure as hell know the mainstream media isn't doing squat. And, if the truth be known, probably doesn't know how to do this kind of work anymore...

Incidentally, there are several ingredients commonly employed in spraying pesticides (whether aerial or surface) whose purpose it is to accelerate absorption (by the leaf, rather than skin). As a group, they are "surfactants" -- nothing more than non-foaming varieties of detergent -- which break down surface tension.

Perhaps, hydrazine acts in this way -- but it seems an expensive and probably awkward way to achieve the effect.

[archy]

Bob Geldof: "President Bush is radical, in a positive sense. Clinton just screwed everybody." . ...

This article isn't censored and says what Geldof said about Clinton really:

Well, your translation of the British colloquialism f**k-all is a little sloppy. A better approximation would have been *President Bush is radical, in a positive sense. Clinton didn't actually do a bloody thing....*

[Shermy]

"Surfactant"

I learn something new here most every day!

Web search of "Hydrazine Surfactant" gets hits, nowhere is hydrazine named a surfactant.

Small world - there's an OKC occurance.
http://www.okcitytrial.com/content/dailytx/043097p/PaulRydlundCrossExaminatio.html

This is the testimony of a scientist on the OKC bomb. he mentions that hydrazine can serve the same purpose as "fuel oil" is said to have served in the OKC type of bomb. (No proportions are stated at the link so I think it's ok to hyperlink it here.) "Surfactant" comes up otherwise at the site.

So perhaps the terrorist interest in the chemical's explosive qualities comes from it's specific suitability to OKC type bombs.


Hydrazine - the terr's wonder chemical! Used for poisons for absorptive qualities (or some other quality). Also for explosions.

[Shermy]

Wow!

Thanks. Just adding my two bits, connecting the dots, inviting all to disconnect them with their own knowledge.

[archy]

Hydrazine - the terr's wonder chemical! . ... .Also for explosions.

Oh, bother. Do a websearch for * Astrolite A-1-5 *

-archy-/-

[Shermy]

Oh, bother. Do a websearch for * Astrolite A-1-5 *

Thanks. It was worth the bother.

[cgk]

LOL! I quoted Scarborough's quote of what Geldof said... and I read another UK article where Geldof was quoted as saying: "... Clinton did diddly-squat" and yet another saying "...Clinton didn't do enough." I figured this was kind of in between.

[Alamo-Girl]

Jeepers! Thank you so much for the information!

[Shermy]

Jeepers! Thank you so much for the information!

You're welcome. I wish I edited out some of the text from the first cropduster stories...I think I could make my point with less. :)

[Eroteme]

Great info and analysis.
You make a compelling case for stepping back from an automatic anthrax/cropduster association.

Layman's perspective only, but it does seem to me that certain chemical agents would not have the many drawbacks to effective dispersal as those [I understand to be] inherent in an anthrax spore release. Too, obtaining and transporting the stuff in quantity would be far easier than with anthrax. Seems like every third AQ suspect picked up following 9-11 had a hazardous material transport license on him.

Thanks for your clear and well-presented research. Much to chew on.

[cgk]

Perhaps the redness was from playing with chemicals used for a chemical weapon - perhaps hydrazine. As stated, hydrazine to skin contact causes redness. Also, al-Shehhi needed to be simultaneously treated for a “cough”, another hydrazine symptom.

Your entire post is another reminder that we all need to remain vigilant. Excellent work and research.

[Alamo-Girl]

It's never a problem to have extra information IMHO! Hugs!!!

[Grampa Dave]

Good work!

You need to bookmark this reply to keep it on your home page.

[Nita Nupress]

I find your research about hydrazine as it possibly relates to Atta to be very interesting. Let's hope the feebs have already thought of this. If not, maybe they lurk. ;-) Thanks for the ping.

[Shermy]

Thanks.

Totally unrelatedly, here's a fine dining story for you:

Screw tops are better than corks, say wine tasters

[Grampa Dave]

The winos on Main Street agree.

[Shermy]

http://www4.rtbf.be/rtbf_2000/bin/view_something.cgi?type=article&id=0133411_article&menu=default&pub=RTBF.PORTAIL%2fPORTAIL.FR.la_taille.SP.BELG


The federal police force challenged Wednesday evening in its residence of Deinze a 45 year old Iraqi who could be the author of the toxic letters discovered Tuesday and Wednesday . This man, who is not known justice, was placed at the disposal of an examining magistrate of Ghent which will have to decide if it puts it under warrant for arrest, indicated Thursday evening the federal parquet floor.

Its spokesman, Lieve Pellens, did not want to say if this man had accomplices or if it were related to a terrorist group. Wednesday, Mrs. Pellens had stressed that the targets of the 10 letter bombs as well as the signatures "The International Islamic Society" pushed the federal parquet floor to check the track islamist. The federal parquet floor did not want to reveal Thursday evening how the police force identified this man.

At the time of the searching carried out at this man Wednesday evening, the police officers took along in tight bags a series of exhibits, of which diaries and notebooks. They were to be examined Thursday by police officers of the Cell terrorism of the SJA (legal service of district) of Brussels.

When those opened the bags, Thursday towards 14h00, they felt a little later of irritations to the throat, the skin and the eyes in spite of their protective gloves. They had to receive care at the hospital which they could leave in the evening, the legal director of the SJA, Glenn Audenaert indicated.

The Tower IBM, which shelters in particular the buildings of the SJA, was evacuated to prevent that the substances do not gain all the building via the system of air conditioning. The building was checked Thursday at the end of the afternoon by a company specialized in decontamination: only the stage of the Cell terrorism could not be occupied Friday morning.

The symptoms felt by these police officers are the same ones as those which felt the poisoned people Tuesday and Wednesday by the ten letter bombs with the toxic powder, which reinforces the suspicions against the Iraqi.

Five of the letter bombs had reached their recipients: the harbour office of the wearing of Antwerp, the airport of Ostend, grafts it supreme court of appeal and the embassies of Great Britain and Saudi Arabia. Five others - addressed to the cabinet of the Prime Minister, with the ministries for Justice and the Foreign Affairs, with the court of first authority of Brussels and with the embassy of the United States - had been intercepted in the postal sorting offices of Deinze and Ghent.

Thorough analyses of toxicology were carried out on the seven contents of these ten letters. They confirmed the presence of adamsite, so known under the name of chloryde of phénarsazine, a substance in particular used in pesticides. This flammable product can, once set ablaze, to emit a gas which can be mortal, specified Mr. Audenaert.

Examinations will have to determine if the substances discovered at the Iraqi are identical. A graphologist will analyze his writing in addition in order to determine if he is well the script writer of the ten intercepted trapped envelopes Tuesday and merdredi.

The first examinations had shown that only one person, having tried to modify her writing, had written the address on these ten envelopes. Fifteen people - including six police officers and of the employees of the embassy of Saudi Arabia - had been slightly poisoned by their contents.

The sending of such letter bombs can be qualified voluntary aggravated assault with premeditation and the aggravating circumstance that there was disability. The sorrows envisaged go from 6 months to 3 years.

[Shermy]

New info on the Belgian letters. A poison now id'd as "adamsite." see babelfished post above.