Iraq Raid Yields Possible Chemical Production Facility

DOD American Forces Information Service ^ | 8/13/2005 | American Forces Press Service

[Brutus1964]

WASHINGTON, Aug. 13, 2005 – Acting on detainee-provided tips, coalition forces found what's believed to be an insurgent chemical production facility and chemical storage locations during Aug. 9 raids in northern Iraq, officials in Iraq reported today.

Technical experts are analyzing this chemical production equipment believed to be part of a clandestine operation. Officials state so far that evidence was insufficient on what was being produced at the facility found during a U.S.-led raid Aug. 9. The early morning raids, conducted by Task Force Freedom, uncovered what technical experts believe to be a "clandestine chemical production facility" and possibly related storage sites.

Military officials are careful to state that ongoing analysis of the chemical evidence collected from the sites is currently insufficient to determine what the insurgents had been producing. SIC

[Brutus1964]

Bad news for the Democrat Party and their propaganda machine (mainstream media). WMD's may have been found in Iraq, contradicting the deeply held belief amongst Bush antagonists and UN apologists. If this is true Bush and the entire war effort in Iraq will be vindicated. All the nay Sayers and anti war activists will have egg on their faces. Will this cause Hanoi Jane to turn her bus around? Will those who have accused President Bush of lying to get us into the war now recant and admit it was they who wrong? I doubt it.

It has been my contention all along that Saddam did in fact have WMD's. Everyone in the world including the UN, Russia, Germany, and even France acknowledged that he did have them. Saddam's behavior before the war pointed to it. The fact that none has been found does not prove they ever existed. It just proved that Saddam was very good at hiding things. Iraq is a big country and things could have easily been concealed in way that no one could find them.

We will just have to see if the media picks up on this or weather they bury it. We will have to see but it's my bet we won't be hearing much about this because it will embarrass the media along side the Democrats. It will be fun to watch. We will have to see what happens from here.

[cgk]

They found them back in 12/2003, too. Nothing happened, noone cared.

---

Reported solely in USA Today: 12/3/2003:, Canoe, news
On another issue, UNMOVIC said advanced testing and analysis had indicated that the strain of anthrax found on R400 bombs that Iraq declared that it unilaterally destroyed was the same strain that it had earlier declared to have weaponized.

[Mr. Mojo]

They found them back in 12/2003, too. Nothing happened, noone cared.

Not even the Bush admin, strangely enough.

[cambridge]

Wonder if this will shut up Sheehan?

[AZ_Cowboy]

Now, you know exactly what the moonbats will say. They'll say the same thing they would have said if we had found WMDs the day Baghdad fell, namely that the CIA planted them.

[ScaniaBoy]

Great find!

Now have we heard anything if this strain was or wasn't the same that was used in the anthrax letters?

[TBP]

But they can't be there, because if there are WMDs in Iraq, then the President didn't lie, the libs did, and everyone knows they would never do that.

[JLS]

Right enough WMD to kill half a million to a million people has been found in Iraq. It was probably just forgotten in moving the vast majority of the weapons to Syria. But the US press wanted Bush beaten so they ignored it.

The Administration has not really bothered to argue with the press on such matter. They could be right that it would just be a waste of time and dissentigrate into a discussion of what a stockpile is or is not.

[Pajamajan]

Nothing to see here, move along. I can hear the crickets chirping over at the MSM.

[ex-Texan]

Russian Special Forces [Spetnaz] smuggled Iraq's WMD's to Syria just before we invaded Iraq. Why the mainstream media has not reported this major news is simply beyond my comprehension. Read some reports Here

Map showing location of Saddam's WMD's now in Syria:

[coconutt2000]

The primary question that needs to be answered is if the production facility was using technology, materiels, and skills that predated the invasion of Iraq.

If it is proven that this is a WMD production facility, and that it predated the invasion, then the assertion that Iraq had maintained WMD production capability will be proven true.

The Democrats will shift their argument to "presence of capability does not verify the intent of Saddam's regime to use such weapons against the United States." This argument won't sit well with most Americans who will understand that Saddam having the capacity was dangerous, in and of itself, because he'd stated time and time again that his willingness to use terrorists to carry out his dirty work beyond his borders.

[cgk]

Thanks. Unfortunately I've been checking up on that tidbit in the news since it happened (and sharing mostly on the anthrax threads), and there has been no follow-up to date that I've found.

There was a long thread I *might* be able to locate - it had all the references to "found" WMD's, mostly by the UN, that had no follow-up stories. Off the radar. Good news for Bush = bury it!

[cgk]

Quick correction: "anthrax bomb" first reported (vaguely) by Bill Gertz ala Washington Times on 12/26/03 then reported by USA Today and Canoe news in Canada.

[Terpfen]

WMD's may have been found in Iraq, contradicting the deeply held belief amongst Bush antagonists and UN apologists.

"Deeply held" my @$$. Look up what the Democrats, including Clinton, said about Saddam's WMDs back in 1998.

If this is true Bush and the entire war effort in Iraq will be vindicated.

As if the invasion of Iraq needs vindication. Don't get me wrong, it's good that we've uncovered this chemical facility, but the invasion has long been justified to those who've paid attention.

[Terpfen]

There are only two things that will shut her up:

1) The media publicizes the fact that she already met with Bush (unlikely, and even then, she may just change her lines and keep shrieking.)

2) The lefties who've given her talking points and backing will disappear on her, leaving her with nothing to actually yelp.

[cgk]

Wonder if this will shut up Sheehan?

---

No. It won't shut any of them up, and here's why: QUOTE: what's believed to be an insurgent chemical production facility and chemical storage locations during Aug. 9 raids in northern Iraq,.
Here's the ready-made MSM (insert: PARTYLINE) response here: Insurgent facility... insurgent storage locations...NOT Saddam, NOT pre-war. Therefore: these are INSURGENT WMDs. Since our military is currently in Iraq - WE let these weapons in and WE made Iraq more dangerous by not protecting Iraq's borders from these NEW WMD's - therefore we've made Iraq worse because before we got there, Saddam had NO WMD's - and now we're there - so are they. It's ALL BUSH'S FAULT.
If ANYTHING comes of this story - that will be the response. Infuriating, but true.

Compare the pics from the DoD link:

....

Technical experts are analyzing this chemical production equipment believed to be part of a clandestine operation. Officials state so far that evidence was insufficient on what was being produced at the facility found during a U.S.-led raid Aug. 9.  

This chemical production equipment among items found during the Task Force Freedom raid on Aug. 9 in northern Iraq.   Download screen-resolution

Unidentified chemicals in 5-gallon containers stacked against a wall represented the more than 1,500 gallons of various chemicals were found in northern Iraq on Aug. 9.   Download screen-resolution    Download high-resolution

Stored leaking chemicals were found near the possible production facility uncovered in U.S.-led Aug. 9 raids in northern Iraq.   Download screen-resolution

These unidentified chemicals in 55-gallon drums were part of the more than 1,500 gallons of various chemicals were found in northern Iraq on Aug. 9.   Download screen-resolution    Download high-resolution ... to these pics posted (exclusively?) here on FR by a FReeper in Iraq: () Here are some pictures from our Annonymous Freeper in Iraq. Barrels of chemicals and other material he has observed in Iraq this year. Note the picture of the Dimethyl sulfate barrel. This chemical was used as a chemical warfare agent in World War I. Its Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) gives the following information: This compound is extremely hazardous because of its lack of warning properties and delayed biological effects. It may cause burns of the skin, eyes, and mucous membranes. Eye damage may be permanent. Effects may be delayed occurring hours after exposure. Skin permeation may occur in toxic amounts. Both the fumes and the liquid may produce severe irritation. Inhalation may cause irritation of the nose, throat and lungs. Death may occur from overexposure. Prolonged exposures may cause liver and kidney effects. DuPont controls this compound as a potential carcinogen. Dimethyl sulfate vapor and liquid is extremely hazardous because of its deficient warning properties (NO ODOR THRESHOLD, LOOKS LIKE WATER, AND HAS ANALGESIC EFFECTS) and delayed biological effects. DMS hydrolyzes to methyl hydrogen sulfate and eventually sulfuric acid and methanol. Skin or eye contact with low concentrations of Dimethyl Sulfate may cause analgesia (numbness). Therefore, the corrosive action of Dimethyl Sulfate may not be readily detected. Skin contact with Dimethyl Sulfate may cause skin burns or ulceration. Inital effects include itching, reddening of the skin followed hours later by severe blistering. Evidence suggests that skin permeation can occur in amounts capable of producing the effects of systemic toxicity. Eye contact with Dimethyl Sulfate may cause eye corrosion with corneal or conjunctival ulceration. Permanent eye damage may occur. Both the vapors and the liquid can cause severe irritation; upon slight vapor exposure the whites of the eyes turn red (bloodshot). Ingestion of Dimethyl Sulfate may cause severe irritation of the mucous membranes of the mouth, throat and gastrointestinal tract. Inhalation of Dimethyl Sulfate may cause irritation of the upper respiratory passages, angioneurotic edema of larynx with hoarseness, difficulty in swallowing; temporary lung irritation effects with productive cough, discomfort, difficulty breathing, chest pain, shortness of breath or cyanosis; or possibly modest initial symptoms, followed in hours by severe shortness of breath, requiring prompt medical attention. In severe poisonings, central nervous system effects may occur which include unconsciousness, cramps or convulsions, and paralysis. Fatality may result from gross overexposure. Also note the barrel indicating it is some sort of chlorine. Chlorine Gas was also a chemical weapon used in World War I. Crates, barrels and boxes of other stuff as well. I believe the Kurds and the Iranians were familiar with some of this stuff. No "trace' of WMDs in Iraq at all? You be the judge.

[Pro-Bush]

bttt!

[MamaLucci]

Seek help, Cindy.

[calenel]

"We are definitely much safer since the door to Iraq got flung wide open for insurgents to come in and manufacture chemical weapons."

Welcome to FR, however brief your stay happens to be.

And we are safer because it's all happening over there rather than over here - bombings, WMD attacks, what ever.

IBTZ.