People in the field and in Iraq say it IS sarin.
But keep pretending that finding sarin and mustard gas is nothing. Saddam never had WMD. Saddam wasn't a threat to the US or the region. Saddam didn't have a direct relationship with Osama bin Laden. Saddam didn't know 9/11 was coming.
You are possibly the biggest Saddam supporter on FR. You think you are the only true conservative. I could write your lines myself.
And despite your mantra and parsing of words that sarin isn't technically a WMD, the former UN inspectors and military experts on this matter have continuously referredt to sarin as a WMD under generally accepted usage.
See the tagline.
yeah the Iraqi Survey Group confirmed it was Sarin, I assume they are a little more advanced than a field test. My impression listening to Rumsfield yesterday was the testing was needed to determine the origin and time the Sarin gas was created not whether it was actually Sarin or not (of course the media would never distort something like that). However, does anyone else know of a purpose of a shell design like the this one (binary design, holding two different chemicals, etc)? What other purpose for such a shell would there be? By all accounts it was specifically designed for binary weapons delivery but I'm not an expert. Are there any other possibilities?
Is this another case of Republicans snatching defeat from the jaws of victory? We have found so much over there (as recent Insight Magazine articles detail), yet every time one more thing turns up, someone from the admin comes out to tell us "it's nothing." They can continue this at their own peril: the election is looming, and it wouldn't hurt to be able to say, "Yes, there were in fact WMDs, and here's what we've found, and when, and where."
Having been an NBC Defense specialist, and attending the NBC defense course at Fort McClellan, and working in related areas: Sarin is a nerve agent, and is a WMD according to the Department of Defense definition. I don't know of any other definition. Pesticides have a very similar chemical structure (both act by the same mechanism, acetylcholenesterase inhibitors)and would test positive for this activity, but as far as I know should be distinguishable by more sensitive analysis.
Not that it matters. But the current talking points are that we are in Iraq to build democracy and never went in for WMD.
The latest is that this dud shell is at least 13 years old if not older.
But I guess that proves this administration's case for why 10,000 Americans are mauled and injured, another near 800 dead, and some (conservative estimate- 6000 Iraqis are dead and countless more wounded)- not to mention the billions of tax dollars being wasted.
But lets wait and see. I supect this story (like most other Fox stories on WMD) will be gone within days. Memory hole.
http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2003/17300.htm
You don't know squat to begin with anyway. Field tests (from the M-8 alarm to paper swabs) are extremely unreliable and flase positives happen constantly due to everything from rabbit-piss to cleaners and solvents.
People on both sides of the issue - left and right - HATE the truth if it doesn't fit the limited agenda they've manufactured in their little brains.
Why not just wait until the TRUTH is known and deal with such objectively?