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Pentagon: Reports "credible" mustard gas used in ISIS attack
CBS News ^ | August 13, 2015

Posted on 08/13/2015 7:12:50 PM PDT by Brad from Tennessee

Pentagon sources tell CBS News that reports are "credible" that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) likely used mustard gas against Kurdish fighters in Iraq.

It is unclear if the gas was leftover from Saddam Hussein stockpiles or if they were brought over from Syria, which would be the two likeliest sources of the gas, said a senior Department of Defense official. The official said the reports are credible because of prior information, but did not elaborate.

Mustard gas is considered an "antiquated" weapon that must be used in very large concentrations to be lethal, the official told CBS News.

"ISIS is a group that has demonstrated time and again its willingness to stop at nothing," the official said. "This is further evidence of that."

Earlier Thursday, other officials had said reports were credible that ISIS launched a "crude attack using chemical weapons" against Kurdish fighters. But they had stopped short of identifying the weapon as mustard gas. . .

(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...


TOPICS: Extended News
KEYWORDS: blisters; chemicalweapons; gas; iraq; isis; kurds; mustard; mustardgas; tabun; wmd
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To: Brad from Tennessee

Mustard gas can “shape” the battlefield denying the opponent areas. At least that’s what SFC Manolo told me in in 1962.


21 posted on 08/13/2015 7:58:38 PM PDT by JimSEA
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To: WENDLE

No, we should NOT have been supporting Baathist Syria’s Assad, Assad is Iran’s ally [and Russia’s] and one of terrorist Imad Mugniyah’s best buddies. Mugniyeh killed hundreds of US Marines, French troops, and Israelis, etc. before finally assuming room temperature.

Assad’s regime harbored Saddam Hussein’s weapons scientists and Gen. al Dhouri, whose men, Iraqi intelligence and Baath Party members, joined with Zarqawi to form the Iraq insurgency group al Qaeda in Iraq, later the Islamic State, later ISIS, later known as ISIL. It was his tactics and his access Saddam’s financial assets that had been squirreled away in Syria, that enabled ISIS to swarm over Iraq after our withdrawal. He viewed his use of the jihadists as an opportunity to regain control of Iraq once we left. The jihadists viewed their use of al Dhouri’s forces as a means of establishing a caliphate.

Just because ISIS is horrible does not exonerate Assad of his own horrors. Keeping them stirred up and fighting amongst themselves is more useful picking sides.


22 posted on 08/13/2015 8:01:26 PM PDT by piasa (Attitude adjustments offered here free of charge)
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To: Brad from Tennessee
It is unclear if the gas was leftover from Saddam Hussein stockpiles

Those would be the stockpiles that none other than Sean Penn himself confirmed Saddam Hussein didn't have. Right?

23 posted on 08/13/2015 8:11:52 PM PDT by RansomOttawa (tm)
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Mustard gas victims will be rushed to the Mayo Clinic.


24 posted on 08/13/2015 8:43:44 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (What do we want? REGIME CHANGE! When do we want it? NOW)
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To: Brad from Tennessee

Gee, I wonder where ISIS, which grew from the remnants of Saddam’s army, got mustard gas...hmm?....


25 posted on 08/13/2015 9:04:35 PM PDT by Intolerant in NJ
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To: Intolerant in NJ
[Gee, I wonder where ISIS, which grew from the remnants of Saddam’s army, got mustard gas...hmm?....]

The Guardian July 9, 2014

ISIS SEIZES FORMER CHEMICAL WEAPONS PLANT IN IRAQ

The Islamic State extremist group (Isis) has taken control of a vast former chemical weapons facility north-west of Baghdad, where 2,500 degraded chemical rockets filled decades ago with deadly nerve agent sarin or their remnants were stored along with other chemical warfare agents, Iraq has said in a letter circulated at the United Nations.

The US played down the threat from the takeover, saying there were no intact chemical weapons and it would be very difficult to use the material for military purposes.

Iraq's UN ambassador, Mohamed Ali Alhakim, told the UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, in a letter that “armed terrorist groups” entered the Muthanna site on 11 June, detained guards and seized their weapons. The following morning, the project manager spotted the looting of some equipment via the camera surveillance system before the “terrorists” disabled it, he said. . .

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/09/isis-seizes-chemical-weapons-plant-muthanna-iraq

26 posted on 08/14/2015 2:49:22 AM PDT by Brad from Tennessee (A politician can't give you anything he hasn't first stolen from you.)
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To: Brad from Tennessee

Shouldn’t someone with access to a microphone be crying this from the rooftops along with the fact that Obama satisfied himself with allowing the Russians to take care of this problem?


27 posted on 08/14/2015 4:57:03 AM PDT by JOHN ADAMS
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To: Brad from Tennessee

Can’t be - Saddam’s Iraq had no WMD.....


28 posted on 08/14/2015 1:24:23 PM PDT by Intolerant in NJ
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