[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Ya Hoo....ROve strikes back...take that DemonicRats....

[bnelson44]

Santorum: 500 Chemical-Weapons Shells Found In Iraq

According to numerous sources but not yet on the wires, Senator Rick Santorum announced a few minutes ago that the US has found 500 chemical-weapons shells in Iraq. Hot Air has the hot link for what little data exists thus far. Apparently, some of the shells contained sarin and others mustard gas. No word has come yet on when and where the US found these munitions.

I will update this as more information becomes available.

UPDATE: Nothing on the wires yet at 5:10 pm CT, but let's think through what this discovery -- if it is new -- means. We have found a handful of such shells already in Iraq; I reported such a find here in November 2004. The shells had come from around the time of the first Gulf War and the contents had likely been rendered inert by the passage of time and exposure to air. That has a lot less significance than a find of 500 shells; that kind of stockpile could have done real damage to our troops during the invasion, and of course could also have caused a lot more trouble with civilians in the hands of terrorists, if properly deployed.

The political significance will be difficult to calculate without more information on when and where the shells were found, in what condition, and so on. However, their existence in those numbers will at least eliminate the argument that Saddam's WMD existed only in his head, a position that former Saddam henchmen have taken ever since they fell into Coalition hands.

UPDATE II: Here's a post that noted confirmation of one shell with sarin gas found in May 2004.

 

From Captain's Quarters

[Just Lori]

Can we shove this down their throats now?

[TomGuy]

Santorum on Senate floor now talking about WMD

CSPAN 2

[TheCornerOffice]

Santorum live in the Senate on CSPAN2 now talking about this!!!

[Burlem]

Democrats will just say we had them the whole time, waiting for the right time. "Look at the timing".

[steveegg]

I want my apology from the DUmmies, the KOKOs, and the 'RATs who bleated, "Bush lied, thousands died."

[backhoe]

Hot Air has the hot link for what data exists thus far.

[RDTF]

wow I take a nap and wake up to this!

[bnelson44]

Press Release: Senator Santorum Makes Major Announcement Regarding Newly Declassified Information Concerning Chemical Weapons Discovered in Iraq

“This is critically important information that the world community needs to know” – Senator Santorum

June 21, 2006

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA), Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, joined Congressman Peter Hoekstra, (R-MI-2), Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, today to make a major announcement regarding the release of newly declassified information that proves the existence of chemical munitions in Iraq since 2003. The information was released by the Director of National Intelligence, John Negroponte, and contained an unclassified summary of analysis conducted by the National Ground Intelligence Center. In March, Senator Santorum began advocating for the release of these documents to the American public.

“The information released today proves that weapons of mass destruction are, in fact, in Iraq,” said Senator Santorum. “It is essential for the American people to understand that these weapons are in Iraq. I will continue to advocate for the complete declassification of this report so we can more fully understand the complete WMD picture inside Iraq.”

The following are the six key points contained in the unclassified overview:

• Since 2003 Coalition forces have recovered approximately 500 weapons munitions which contain degraded mustard or sarin nerve agent.

• Despite many efforts to locate and destroy Iraq’s pre-Gulf War chemical munitions, filled and unfilled pre-Gulf War chemical munitions are assessed to still exist.

• Pre-Gulf War Iraqi chemical weapons could be sold on the black market. Use of these weapons by terrorists or insurgent groups would have implications for Coalition forces in Iraq. The possibility of use outside Iraq cannot be ruled out.

• The most likely munitions remaining are sarin and mustard-filled projectiles.

• The purity of the agent inside the munitions depends on many factors, including the manufacturing process, potential additives, and environmental storage conditions. While agents degrade over time, chemical warfare agents remain hazardous and potentially lethal.

• It has been reported in open press that insurgents and Iraqi groups desire to acquire and use chemical weapons.


###

[Redneck Limey]

Santorum has just been Hugh Hewitt's radio show discussing this in depth.

Replays of the show can be heard here...

http://www.ksky.com/

between 8-11PM CST (Santorum was on after about 15 minutes in the second hour).

[RightWinger]

If it's not a nuke, the libs will say it doesn't count.

[JustDoItAlways]

A lot of Liberals seem to be jumping into this thread.

In my opinion, 500 chemical munitions is A LOT.

No country with any sense loses track of 500 sarin nerve gas shells (especially countries with paranoid dictators that are worried about being assassinated on minute-by-minute basis.)

I believe they found much more than this, but the greatest threat to the US is WMD terrorism. All of the finds will remain hidden until we are reasonably sure we have found virtually all of it.

Since it has come out now, I am assuming we HAVE found virtually all of it. More information will begin to be released in the days and weeks ahead.

But most importantly, the war was never about the WMD that Saddam secretly still had (no matter how much you continue to hear that from the bush lied crowd.)

The war was about stopping terrorists from having access to WMD and stopping untrustworthy dictators from having access to it (and potentially giving it to terrorists.) The war was about permanently changing the face of the world (with Iraq as step one with many other steps having taken place before and after) so that terrorists would not have the chance to use WMD in New York like they used jets in New York.

Someone mentioned the Frontline hit piece on Bush and the warhawks last night. Of course, if you do not understand the true reasons and the true benefits for the war, you are stuck with a Liberal mind and a Liberal mindset that Bush lied. The (many) former CIA analysts and State Department analysts are smart-enough people to understand the true reasons. They are just mouthpieces for the Dems (or they were not as smart as they should have been given that they were in charge of counter-terrorism and in charge of capturing Bin Laden.)

[hawkaw]

Wow ... like ... Way to go Rick!

Rush said something was up yesterday. But I never thought Rick would come on and talk about this.

After all th eB.S. I have had to put up with over this MD issue I a really glad to read about this.

[grapeape]

The intelligence agencies sat on this for two months!!?!??!

We so need to purge the CIA of these traitors..

[Big Guy and Rusty 99]

traitors lied, people died.

[grapeape]

Hey guys where is the thread that totaled the number of WMD's found to date?

I can not find it.

[do the dhue]

http://www.humaneventsonline.com/sarticle.php?id=10101&o=DIB004
above: every American should read the above book by: Richard Miniter. This is only a partial list of the deadly weapons Richard Miniter reveals in his new book, Disinformation. Miniter systematically dissects the "No-WMD Myth" (how it started, and why it continues), as well as 21 other War-on-Terror myths perpetuated by the media.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/07/07/iraq.nuclear/

above - 1.77 metric tons of uranium and 1000 and 1,000 "highly radioactive sources" CNN

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3872201.stm

above - 1.77 metric tons of uranium and 1000 and 1,000 "highly radioactive sources" BBC

http://www.mensnewsdaily.com/archive/m-n/mariani/2004/mariani052804.htm
above - mortor shell sarin gas

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,120137,00.html
above - Roadside Bomb and Mustard gas found FOXNews

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1078&dept_id=151021&newsid=12185667&PAG=461&rfi=9
above - WMDs Found in Iraq Consisted of Cyclosarin By MONIKA SCISLOWSKA, Associated Press Writer ©Indiana Printing & Publishing Co.


http://www.washtimes.com/national/20040624-112920-5897r.htm
above - Iraqi insurgents seek Saddam's chemical arms Washington Times (if the insurgents seek them, then they may know that they are present while are press seems to be naive about it - me). and here is more related to this concern: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=39158

http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/05/13/sprj.irq.mobile.lab/
above - mobile Bio weapons lab found CNN

http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0306/25/se.04.html
above - CNN has learned that the Central Intelligence Agency has in its hands the critical parts of a key piece of Iraqi nuclear technology CNN

http://www.cia.gov/cia/public_affairs/speeches/2003/david_kay_10022003.html
above - I think this is a good read for all Americans

http://www.iaea.org/worldatom/Programmes/ActionTeam/nwp2.html
above: 27 December 2002, IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency)

http://www.nopunditintended.com/?q=weapons-of-mass-destruction-Iraq
above - Stockpiles of WMDs found by American forces in Iraq
Submitted by Barney Brenner on Sat, 07/09/2005 - 07:34. Mid-East-Analysis | Political Op-Ed | WOT-

http://www.kentimmerman.com/2004_04_25syria.htm
above - more interesting reading and here is more from Timmerman: http://www.kentimmerman.com/2004_04_25wmd.htm


http://www.deanesmay.com/archives/005965.html
above - a good essay

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/3/13/115752.shtml?s=lh
Saddam's ambitions are clear


But the final report is this:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2004-10-06-wmd_x.htm

[JustDoItAlways]

Just wanted to reinforce that Saddam was not going to just leave 500 sarin nerve gas shells laying around (as degraded as they may have been.)

He was certifiable paranoid about being assassinated and would have made sure they were being tracked and were being protected by trustworthy Baathist-relative types.

[TexKat]

Senate Intelligence Committee Members: Weapons of Mass Destruction Exist in Iraq

By Jim Kouri, CPP
Jun 21, 2006, 20:23


Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) and Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.) announced Wednesday the discovery of over 500 munitions or weapons of mass destruction. The WMD found were sarin gas and mustard gas contained in projectiles, according to Fox News Channel's Special Report.
Sen. Santorium, reading from a newly declassified intelligence, said, "Since 2003, coalition forces have recovered approximately 500 weapons munitions which contain degraded mustard or sarin nerve agent. Despite many efforts to locate and destroy Iraq's pre-Gulf War chemical munitions, filled and unfilled pre-Gulf War chemical munitions are assessed to still exist." The statement was aired on The Mark Levin Show, as well as FNC.

"That means in addition to the 500, there are filled and unfilled munitions still believed to exist within the country," said Santorium.

Reading from the document on camera, Santorum added, "Pre-Gulf War Iraqi chemical weapons could be sold on the Black Market. Use of these weapons by terrorist or insurgent groups would have implications for coalition forces in Iraq. The possibility of use outside of Iraq cannot be ruled out. The most likely munitions remaining are sarin- and mustard-filled projectiles. And I underscore filled."

Santorum also said the "purity of the agents inside the munitions depends on many factors, including the manufacturing process, potential additives and environmental storage conditions."

While acknowledging that the agents "degrade over time," the document said that the chemicals "remain hazardous and potentially lethal," according to Levin.

The media has reported that "insurgents and Iraqi groups" want to "acquire and use chemical weapons," Santorum noted said during a press conference.

The Pennsylvania senator called the finding "incredibly" significant.

"The idea that, as my colleagues have repeatedly said in this debate on the other side of the aisle, that there are no weapons of mass destruction is in fact false," Santorum said.

"We have found over 500 weapons of mass destruction and in fact have found that there are additional chemical weapons still in the country."

Other portions of the intelligence report provide a glimpse of what some Iraq experts say is Saddam's attempt to continue to wage war against the US after the first Gulf War ended.

Earlier this year, the New York Times reported that in the days before the US-led invasion of Iraq, one of Saddam's generals, Georges Sada, said he witnessed what he believes were large volumes of WMD being transported into Syria. He also states that members of the Russian military assisted the Iraqis in removing the weapons.

In another story, also in the Times, it was reported that Saddam's top commanders were demoralized when he told them he had no WMD for them to use in order to repel the invaders.

Except for Fox News and a couple of newspapers, the news media have not reported on the Santorum press conference and the details contained in the intelligence report.