Posted on 09/21/2016 2:45:49 PM PDT by Pinkbell
Washington (CNN)ISIS is suspected of firing a shell with mustard agent that landed at the Qayyara air base in Iraq Tuesday where US and Iraqi troops are operating, according to several US officials.
The shell was categorized by officials as either a rocket or artillery shell. After it landed on the base, just south of Mosul, US troops tested it and received an initial reading for a chemical agent they believe is mustard.
No US troops were hurt or have displayed symptoms of exposure to mustard agent.
One official said the agent had "low purity" and was "poorly weaponized." A second official called it "ineffective."
A US defense official said troops had gone out to look at the ordnance after it landed. Based on seeing what they thought was a suspect substance, two field tests were conducted.
The first test was positive and the second was negative, the official said. The substance is now being sent to a lab for further examination.
US troops involved in the incident went through decontamination showers as a precaution. No troops have shown any symptoms of exposure, such as skin blistering. CNN has reported on previous instances where ISIS has fired rounds with mustard agents in Iraq and Syria.
The officials said they "had expected" that ISIS might try use chemical weapons as US and Iraqi forces push towards Mosul in an effort to take the city back from ISIS. Several hundred US troops are using the base as a staging area for supporting Iraqi forces.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
“My guess would be Syrian stockpiles. Supposedly, Khadaffi destroyed all his (2003?). Of course, that doesnt mean some didnt survive.”
Hmm.... Does this mean Bush actually DIDN’T lie, as the dems endlessly say?/rhetorical question. I know he didn’t lie and that all the top dems of the day also said there were WMD in Iraq.
Yeah, bet the bullets are rusty too.
We should be allowed to take off the gloves. If they use chemical weapons, our boys should too.
Enough PC.
If their side doesn’t honor the Geneva Convention, then our side should tear it up too.
Give them ‘what for’.
"One of the more frequently-dumped weapons was the "Sprühbüchse 37" (SprüBü37, Spray Can 37, 1937 being the year of its fielding with the German Army). These weapons contain sulfur mustard mixed with a thickener, which gives it a tar-like viscosity. When the content of the SprüBü37 comes in contact with water, only the sulfur mustard in the outer layers of the lumps of viscous mustard hydrolyzes, leaving behind amber-colored residues that still contain most of the active sulfur mustard. On mechanically breaking these lumps, e.g., with the drag board of a fishing net or by the human hand, the enclosed sulfur mustard is still as active as it had been at the time the weapon was dumped. These lumps, when washed ashore, can be mistaken for amber, which can lead to severe health problems."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfur_mustard
Obozo, in his typical style, will just blow this off by sending cases of ketsup to our soldiers and apologizing to ISIS for the mere *thought* of hot dogs!
Well, FWIW, Syria had a fairly-extensive chemical capability and multiple SCUD launchers in the late 1990’s.
Which makes them a natural point to acquire any of Saddam’s stuff. Syria was (is) an Iran ally (the leaders anyways) whereas Saddam had fought a bloody 8-year war ending roughly a decade earlier.
A fertile breeding ground for Obama and Hillary to stir things up - which they did - Iraq, Libya, Syria.
And all of it puts the state of Israel in even more danger. /Captain Obvious
The only reason at this timeframe for the left stream media to issue a mustard gas report would be to choreograph a feigned concern designed to help Illary with talking points to aid her disastrous (to her) polling.
Not surprised. They’d use nukes if they had them.
They and their friends in Russia started it and Trump will finish it.
Totally expected. Did anyone really expect them to follow rules?
Now we should worry about dirty bomb. They will try. Iran and Pakistan can give them.
Had a relative who got some in WWI.
My Grandma said it took years off his life.
I believe it can also cause cancer.
That’s worse than ketchup gas
Loved that movie.
And yes, if they are using chemical weapons against our troops...that is highly disturbing.
“I can remember when our diplomats warned Sadat that use of WMDs against the coalition would draw the harshest possible response...which is code for a lumpy sheet of glass.”
___________________________________________________
Pardon my ignorance, but don’t we still have some sort agreement with NATO on this?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.