Munitions Found in Iraq Meet WMD Criteria, Official Says

American Forces Press Service ^ | Samantha L. Quigley

[SandRat]

WASHINGTON, June 29, 2006 – The 500 munitions discovered throughout Iraq since 2003 and discussed in a National Ground Intelligence Center report meet the criteria of weapons of mass destruction, the center's commander said here today.

"These are chemical weapons as defined under the Chemical Weapons Convention, and yes ... they do constitute weapons of mass destruction," Army Col. John Chu told the House Armed Services Committee.

The Chemical Weapons Convention is an arms control agreement which outlaws the production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons. It was signed in 1993 and entered into force in 1997.

The munitions found contain sarin and mustard gases, Army Lt. Gen. Michael D. Maples, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, said. Sarin attacks the neurological system and is potentially lethal.

"Mustard is a blister agent (that) actually produces burning of any area (where) an individual may come in contact with the agent," he said. It also is potentially fatal if it gets into a person's lungs.

The munitions addressed in the report were produced in the 1980s, Maples said. Badly corroded, they could not currently be used as originally intended, Chu added.

While that's reassuring, the agent remaining in the weapons would be very valuable to terrorists and insurgents, Maples said. "We're talking chemical agents here that could be packaged in a different format and have a great effect," he said, referencing the sarin-gas attack on a Japanese subway in the mid-1990s.

This is true even considering any degradation of the chemical agents that may have occurred, Chu said. It's not known exactly how sarin breaks down, but no matter how degraded the agent is, it's still toxic.

"Regardless of (how much material in the weapon is actually chemical agent), any remaining agent is toxic," he said. "Anything above zero (percent agent) would prove to be toxic, and if you were exposed to it long enough, lethal."

Though about 500 chemical weapons - the exact number has not been released publicly - have been found, Maples said he doesn't believe Iraq is a "WMD-free zone."

"I do believe the former regime did a very poor job of accountability of munitions, and certainly did not document the destruction of munitions," he said. "The recovery program goes on, and I do not believe we have found all the weapons."

The Defense Intelligence Agency director said locating and disposing of chemical weapons in Iraq is one of the most important tasks servicemembers in the country perform.

Maples added searches are ongoing for chemical weapons beyond those being conducted solely for force protection.

There has been a call for a complete declassification of the National Ground Intelligence Center's report on WMD in Iraq. Maples said he believes the director of national intelligence is still considering this option, and has asked Maples to look into producing an unclassified paper addressing the subject matter in the center's report.

Much of the classified matter was slated for discussion in a closed forum after the open hearings this morning.

[LibertarianInExile]

I have to move this brilliant post from someone else over...I forget who posted it. Please give them credit if you remember:

Well, the standard response is just gonna be that these "aren't the WMDs we fought the war over", or some nonsense like that. This is what some unnamed "defense department official" was blabbing to reporters when this news first hit.

That rebuttal always cracks me up, too. Supposedly somewhere there's an Official List Of WMDs For Which We Invaded Iraq. It describes precisely and in great detail the type, quantity, age, serial #'s, etc. of the "WMDs we're fighting the war over". If we find stuff that's on that magic secret list, then boom, I guess the war would be justified. But what we've found, all somehow happens not to be on the list.

[Buckhead]

I'd wager a good meal that the Democrats have known this from day 1, but have chosen to accuse Bush of lying about WMD, knowing that Bush would not respond with contrary proof because he would rather take the hit than release secret info for political gain.

[Coop]

Well, well, this is certainly unfortunate for our media "friends" and Dem politicians.

Thank you, Sen. Santorum and Rep. Hoekstra.

[Peach]

The other thread got locked because it's a duplicative post, I guess.

Anyway, this is good news and I'm e-mailing this to my e-mail group. Let's make sure this gets traction and thanks for everything you're doing, ikez78.

[Dilbert56]

2003 State of the Union Address

Our intelligence officials estimate that Saddam Hussein had the materials to produce as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard and VX nerve agent. In such quantities, these chemical agents could also kill untold thousands. He's not accounted for these materials. He has given no evidence that he has destroyed them. U.S. intelligence indicates that Saddam Hussein had upwards of 30,000 munitions capable of delivering chemical agents. Inspectors recently turned up 16 of them, despite Iraq's recent declaration denying their existence. Saddam Hussein has not accounted for the remaining 29,984 of these prohibited munitions. He has given no evidence that he has destroyed them.

Maybe the janitor, or whoever that "Pentagon official" was, should have read the 2003 SOTU before saying those weren't the WMD we went to war for. They were cited as reasons Saddam was a liar and a dangerous one.

[Coop]

Exactly right.

[Marine_Uncle]

I'm not going to hold my breath waiting for adequate coverage on the wmd issues.

[hawkaw]

This is an excellent point.

Whether they were before or after 1991 is not the point. The point was Saddam was to have destroyed all of his WMDs. This evidence shows he did not and the ones found were still dangerous.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

REp Weldon ran a great hearing yesterday, the star in defending the President and why we went to WAR was Frank Gaffney.......

********************************************

Munitions Found in Iraq Meet WMD Criteria, Official Says ^

Posted by Ernest_at_the_Beach to All On News/Activism ^ 06/29/2006 11:12:26 PM PDT · 24 of 25 ^ Reference link: Frank Gaffney ************************************************* EXCERPT ***************************************** Two months prior to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Gaffney predicted, “I believe that when you find, as you will I hope shortly, that the Iraqi people welcome the end of this horrible regime, even if it comes at some further expense to themselves, knowing as they do that the alternative is more of the horror that they've lived under for the past two or three decades. Ah you'll see I think an outpouring of appreciation for their liberation that will make what we saw in Afghanistan recently pale by comparison. You'll see, moreover, evidence in the files and the bunkers that become available to our military, evidence not only of Saddam's weapons of mass destruction programs and his future ambitions for their use perhaps and for aggression against his neighbors, but also, I would be willing to bet, evidence of his past complicity with acts of terror against the West, perhaps more generally but certainly against the United States which in turn I think will further vindicate the course of action that this president is courageously embarked upon.”

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

From the other thread:

************************************************

I've been watching the CSPAN replay of the Weldon hearings today,....and at the closing it got contentious with Ike Skelton, Taylor of Miss, and Republican Walter Jones of North Carolina still basically arguing that we haven't found what the NCIE said we were going to find....Gaffney was brilliant in his defense of the President....it is a must see if CSPAN shows it again....

5 posted on 06/29/2006 10:36:31 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach (History is soon Forgotten,)

[Just A Nobody]

he would rather take the hit than release secret info for political gain.

Or to endanger our troops further. Thanks Buckhead!

[Marine_Uncle]

How many people will have watched the hearings, and allowed for those still not in the know, the things Curt and Frank said to sink in once and for all.
The issue is not that wmd programs where not long term, unbroken chains of events in Iraq, we know this to be so, but how much solid evidence can be presented to the masses in a form all can understand. When GWB, Generals, past DoS Collin etc., had made have a$sed comments that we did not find wmds in the country, it created a mindset. The demorats and L/MSM then went after it like a wolf after red meat.
The rest is history. This administration did a totally miserable job of carefully presenting their case. Now they have to depend (if they really even care at this point), a few republicans to attempt to set the record straight.
As much as I have supported this POTUS and most in his admin., I cannot praise them for their efforts on this issue. On such issues, one is not dealing with small groups of highly intellegient individuals that can carefully scrutinize, (with a set of facts/states/conditions) just what is most likely true. We are dealing with assimulating into the public eye general information. Which must be to the point and convincing. The seeds of doubt had been sown three years back.
This IMHO, is the sad state of affairs we now see this administration faced with.

[RandallFlagg]

Off the subject but, HEY!! How ya been?

You famous FReeper, you.

[nannaj34]

To All....Hearing on WMD replaying now on C-Span

[Volunteer]

PING!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Thanks,...might tune in to see Gaffney one more time....he gave a better defense than the administration ever gave on why we really invaded Iraq.

[XenaLee]

Nobody will ever accuse the Dems of playing fair...much less of missing an opportunity to take unfair advantage of the Republicans. But this latest news of WMDs found somehow makes it all better. Now, all we have to do is make sure this news gets out.

Btw, I want to thank you personally for debunking the TANG memos. I was posting there that nite, but mostly I was just reading what all you guys, the experts, were saying.

[Marine_Uncle]

"Thanks,...might tune in to see Gaffney one more time....he gave a better defense than the administration ever gave on why we really invaded Iraq."
Lets hope so E. Surely as time goes by the RNC, State wide Repubs, DoD, and WH, should be able to start slipping in some meaningfull stuff that just may catch the publics brain. I like many hear, just feel that they could have been doing a much better job instead of letting the swine get the better of them.

[Peach]

Hi, US Army EOD. Long time no see.