Did Saddam’s WMD Go to Syria? Part I

Flopping Aces ^ | 06-18-07 | Scott Malensek

[Starman417]

Have you ever noticed that it’s always politicians, media types, and either washed up or disgruntled, anonymous intelligence sources who claim there never was any WMD in Iraq? On the other hand, every single commander and deputy commander of CENTCOM says that Saddam did have WMD. So too do the inspectors with the closest knowledge of before and after inspections: Dr Butler, Dr Kay, Dr Duelfer, and most of the former UN inspectors. Is this subject one where the word of a former governor of Vermont is better than that of highly decorated generals and weapons inspectors who have served their country all over the world for decades? While Gov. Dean’s hands were sticky with maple syrup, people like General Zinni, General DeLong, General Franks, and so many others had their hands covered in the sands of the Middle East. While Rep. Pelosi works to blame President Bush for things as random and controllable as the weather, people like Dr. Kay and Dr. Duelfer were in 130 degree desert heat wearing plastic suits in toxic environments and being shot at. Perhaps it’s wiser to believe the professionals who serve with honor and for whom lying is a disgrace rather than a politician for whom pandering to constituents and the party base isn’t lying. It’s “spin.”

If one is to raise an eyebrow and for a moment believe the Generals, then the obvious question is, “What happened to Saddam’s WMD?” The former dictator declared them, and declared them destroyed but offered no evidence of their destruction; no wreckage, no contaminated sand, no documents, and not even witnesses. One must wonder how the most poisonous chemicals and biological agents ever made by man just disappear without leaving a trace, without anyone logging their destruction, and without anyone having done the destruction themselves. Moreover, if the WMD once did exist (as Saddam, the UN, and the Clinton and Bush Administrations as well as the world all acknowledge)….then where are they?

There are basically three claims as to what happened to Saddam’s WMD: they were flown to Syria, they were driven to Syria, and they were shipped out on Russian ships.

One of Saddam’s generals, General Georges Sada, has come forward with claims that Saddam moved his “special weapons” out of Iraq, to Syria in late summer 2002. He allegedly did this under the guise of humanitarian aid flights to Syria after there was a dam burst in July, and the shipments were made on modified civilian planes, by pilots Sada knows personally. On June 17, 2002, the Times of London reported that Iraqi nuclear centrifuge parts were being smuggled out of Syria-originally stored at the port of Tartus, they had been moved to Damascus International Airport and moved to points unknown from there-effectively corroborating Sada’s story. The Time’s report even cites the Dam break as a cover story, and that cover story is part of Georges Sada’s claims as well. In late summer 2002, we know from the Saddam tapes, from multiple mainstream media interviews with former Iraqi generals, and from the ISG reports that Saddam stunned his general staff by announcing to them that he was letting the UN inspectors back in because there were no longer any “special weapons” in the country.

Other shipments went by truck and storage payment was made to Syria through an arms smuggling front company run by Syrian Intelligence: SES International. That it did exist, was A Syrian Intel front company and was corrupt is not at all in dispute. SES Intl was one of those blatant Oil-For-Food cover companies used by Saddam to buy conventional weapons in exchange for UN oil vouchers. The Duelfer Report is ridden with information about SES International’s illegal sales-sales that Saddam was using to break his conventional arms containment. SES was cited by the Treasury Department as being a front for Syrian Intelligence, a sanction-breaking company, and was being used by Syria’s family to launder money. Assad’s family has also been caught by the UN using the collapsed bank of Al Madina as a similar front company involved in the assassination of Lebanon’s former Prime Minister.

Why believe General Sada? As a pilot himself and an investigator respected by Saddam himself, Sada was the general in charge of interrogating and guarding downed Coalition pilots during Desert Storm. Retired USAF Col. David Eberly (the ranking Coalition POW pilot) writes the introduction to Sada’s book and vouches for his credibility. Two British airmen vouched for his credibility in a book they co-wrote about their experience as POW’s at his hands. In fact, Sada dared to argue with Saddam’s insane son, Uday-who wanted the pilots executed, and Sada was jailed as a result. Opponents to the war should respect his opinion as he was given multiple awards for his peaceful efforts to prevent a war by anti-war groups prior to the invasion. Ali Ibrahim, another of Saddam's former commanders, affirms Sada's story. (“Ali Ibrahim al-Tikriti was a southern regional commander for Saddam Hussein’s Fedayeen militia in the late 1980s and a personal friend of the dictator. Units under his command dealt with chemical and biological weapons”). Perhaps most importantly, the details of his story-as well as all the stories in his book-are well-corroborated by mainstream media reports. Few details are not-except the contents of the planes and trucks that went to Syria. Sada says he knows what was in them, but the ISG, and mainstream media don’t. It’s sad they don’t have one of Sada’s pilots doing the cable news talkshow circuit.

[SittinYonder]

keyword search: “Sarindar”

The Russians planned this.

[Vn_survivor_67-68]

if these weapons are still in Syria and/or Lebanon, I would expect that they will show pretty soon.......

[T. Buzzard Trueblood]

Moreover, if the WMD once did exist (as Saddam, the UN, and the Clinton and Bush Administrations as well as the world all acknowledge)….then where are they?

Damn good question.

[SevenMinusOne]

I don't buy that one - Fact is the Russians aren’t that competent.....Nor would they care that Saddam had WMDs.....Or that they supplied them variables (which could be used for theoretically hundreds of things)....

Saddam most certainly did have WMDs at one point - Where they went? When they went there....That is open for debate. Reality is many WMDs have short shelf lifes...

Furthermore the bigger reality WMDs were merely one of over a dozen reasons we moved to remove the Saddam regime. Additionally we cleared up the WMD/Saddam equation regardless....It is now certain the world will never be threaten via the WMD route (or by proxy) from a Saddam regime. The world is safer because of this.

[Anti-Bubba182]

Nothing short of Nuclear tipped missles would satisfy Anti-War types. Whatever was contained in the massive truck traffic to Syria was more than Uday's Porn collection.

Saddam's WMD hidden in Syria, says Iraq survey chief

[Ooh-Ah]

It's amazing how little reporting was done on this story. If Zarqawi had succeeded, it was estimated over 80,000 people could have been killed in Jordan with WMD's from Syria. There was even a trial which did not receive media attention. It doesn't say it here but the truck came into Jordan from SYRIA!

Jordan says major al Qaeda plot disrupted Authorities: Chemical cloud would have been released in Amman

Monday, April 26, 2004 Posted: 3:54 PM EDT (1954 GMT)

Jordanian officials seized tons of chemicals in what they say was an Al Qaeda chemical attack plot.

ON CNN TV
Jordanians say they thwarted an al Qaeda bomb plot that would have been worse than 9/11 attack. See the suspected terrorists' taped confessions on CNN's NewsNight with Aaron Brown at 10 pm ET.

AMMAN, Jordan (CNN) -- Jordanian authorities said Monday they have broken up an alleged al Qaeda plot that would have unleashed a deadly cloud of chemicals in the heart of Jordan's capital, Amman.

The plot would have been more deadly than anything al Qaeda has done before, including the September 11 attacks, according to the Jordanian government.

Among the alleged targets were the U.S. Embassy, the Jordanian prime minister's office and the headquarters of Jordanian intelligence.

U.S. intelligence officials expressed caution about whether the chemicals captured by Jordanian authorities were intended to create a "toxic cloud" chemical weapon, but they said the large quantities involved were at a minimum intended to create "massive explosions."

Officials said there is debate within the CIA and other U.S. agencies over whether the plotters were planning to kill innocent people using toxic chemicals.

At issue is the presence of a large quantity of sulfuric acid among the tons of chemicals seized by Jordanian authorities. Sulfuric acid can be used as a blister agent, but it more commonly can increase the size of conventional explosions, according to U.S. officials.

Nevertheless, U.S. intelligence officials called the capture of tons of chemicals that together could create several large conventional explosions "a big deal."

The plot was within days of being carried out, Jordanian officials said, when security forces broke it up April 20.

In a nighttime raid in Amman, Jordanian security forces moved in on the terrorist cell. After the shooting stopped, four men were dead. Jordanian authorities said. They said at least three others were arrested, including Azmi Jayyousi, the cell's suspected ringleader, whom Jordanian intelligence alleges was responsible for planning and recruiting.

On a confession shown on state-run Jordanian television, Jayyousi said he took orders from Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a suspected terrorist leader who has been linked to al Qaeda and whom U.S. officials have said is behind some attacks in Iraq. ...

[steel_resolve]

it is worthless to even speak about this to a liberal. THey start screeching like a howler monkey and say “That’s what dick cheney and halliburton want you to belieeeeevvveee!!!!”

[steel_resolve]

ALso, didn’t the US satellites pick up convoys of russian military vehicles being moved out of Iraq? Wonder what was in those vehicles.

[Red6]

Yes, you are right. Sanitized rooms were found, as were witnesses, documents, and there even have been road side bombs that used Sarin gas. A preponderance of evidence suggests that you are correct.

However, this issue has gone political, emotional, and the battle in public opinion is lost. The media is looking for conflict because that sells the story. They are overwhelmingly liberal and often even outright anti-military. The media locked on to this single angle and beat the perception that there were no WMD in Iraq into the public’s consciousness. Some like Newsweek veil this bull$hit with statements like “No substantial WMD finds were made.” Politically this is echoed as well since it’s seen as an angle of attack on the legitimacy of this war and specifically the administration since this war is seen as the administrations doing, which it isn’t, but that’s a different topic.

The bottom line here is that yes you are right but it’s a moot point. Most likely these “non-existent” WMD will resurface at some point. At that time this won’t make a difference either. The politicians and irresponsible media playing their games will not be held accountable. Most of these politicians will be gone and seldom do people look back unless it’s something flamboyant like Kerry with his testimony, riding on the wave of the anti-war sentiment.

Other than self gratification you won’t achieve much by going down this road.

[Sender]

Wherever the WMD went, whether it’s buried or destroyed, anyone who thinks Saddam didn’t have it is delusional. Just ask any Democrat before 2000.

[pissant]

PING

[jveritas]

"We are not talking about a large stockpile of weapons," he said. "But we know from some of the interrogations of former Iraqi officials that a lot of material went to Syria before the war, including some components of Saddam's WMD programme. Precisely what went to Syria, and what has happened to it, is a major issue that needs to be resolved."

And here is a translation of such an interrogation of an Iraqi who said that Saddam WMD went to Syria.

Iraqi Dissident Talks About WMD Moved to Syria http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1671897/posts

[jveritas]

Thanks for the ping Pissant.

[drzz]

AUDIO TAPE of Gen Michael DeLong, deputy of general Tommy Franks, CENTCOM commander

“How the US army satellites saw trucks with Saddam’s WMDs driving to Syria”

http://www.eyeonbooks.com/ibp.php?ISBN=0895260204

---

A top Pentagon official who was responsible for tracking Saddam Hussein’s weapons programs before and after the 2003 liberation of Iraq, has provided the first-ever account of how Saddam Hussein “cleaned up” his weapons of mass destruction stockpiles to prevent the United States from discovering them.

“The short answer to the question of where the WMD Saddam bought from the Russians went was that they went to Syria and Lebanon,” former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense John A. Shaw told an audience Saturday at a privately sponsored “Intelligence Summit” in Alexandria, Va. (www.intelligencesummit.org).

“They were moved by Russian Spetsnaz (special forces) units out of uniform, that were specifically sent to Iraq to move the weaponry and eradicate any evidence of its existence,” he said.

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2006/2/18/233023.shtml?s=lh

[pissant]

No doubt about it. And the Bush admin does not want to expose this malfeasance by Russia. Very unwise on their part.

[drzz]

Well, Bush doesn’t want to see Russia supporting AQ in Iraq.

But he should know Russia is funding every distabilizing force in the Middle East.

[CarolinaGOP]

bookmark

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Part II:

Did Saddam’s WMD Go to Syria? Part II

*********************************EXCERPT***************************

Posted by Scott Malensek on June 19, 2007 at 8:17 AM

In December 2002, Russia’s Middle East envoy, Yevgeny Primakov (former Russian Intelligence Chief), flew to Baghdad under the front of making one last chance for peace with the dictator. As soon as his plane landed, it was allegedly loaded with “sensitive materials” and flown directly to Belarus. People speculate as to whether or not it was WMD, WMD equipment, documents, people, or things the Russians didn’t want the US to get their hands on, but in any event…the plane was loaded with things the US wanted. He also allegedly brought Russian GPS jammers to confuse American satellite-guided bombs, night vision goggles, special anti-tank missiles, and Russian advisors.

American forces found the jammers, and that’s no secret since the Air Force was happy to boast that the jammers were ineffective (USAF just boosted the signal from their satellites so that it was “louder” than those from the jammers).

Syria and Russia both sent night-vision sights and goggles to Iraq, and they were recovered by American forces.

The anti-tank missiles did stop an Abrams tank and kill its crew. Others reportedly were ineffective, but evidence of their use is indisputable given the unique signature that their shaped charge left on the tanks that were hit.

Two Russian Generals, Gen. Vladimir Achalov, a former commander of airborne and rapid-reaction forces, and Gen. Igor Maltsev, a leading expert in air defense systems were reported in Baghdad up until 6 days before the war. During their “visit” they were photographed being given medals by Iraqi Defence Minister Sultan Hashim Akhmed. Other smiley photographs include the two Russian Generals standing with head of the General Staff of the Iraqi Army Izzat Ibragim between them. Upon their return to Russia, the generals were asked why they went on a “last-chance” diplomatic mission. They replied, “We didn't fly to Baghdad to drink coffee.” One wonders if all the elements of the story were proven true, could the claim of “special weapons” being moved out be less true than the other elements?

Immediately after the arrival of the Russians in Baghdad, retired USAF Lt Gen. James R Clapper Jr-then head of the National Imagery and Mapping Agency-monitored an increasing flow of traffic and communication from Iraq to Syria. Former head of the UN’s WMD inspection group, UNSCOM, Richard Butler, was asked to review the imagery. He agreed that Iraq appeared to be moving weapons out of Iraq, but did not think that “the Iraqis wanted to give them to Syria, but…just wanted to get them out of the territory, out of range of our inspections.” Syria was prepared to be the custodian of them.” The entire idea was nearly identical to when Saddam sent his entire air force to Iran for safe-keeping during Desert Storm.

Israeli intelligence (flush with human intelligence sources in the region-particularly in Syria, and Lebanon) reported that the increased traffic was Saddam’s repositioning of WMD to Syria. On December 23, 2002, Ariel Sharon stated on Israeli channel 2 television, "Chemical and biological weapons which Saddam is endeavoring to conceal have been moved from Iraq to Syria.” About three weeks later, Israel's foreign minister repeated the accusation. The U.S., British, and Australian governments issued similar statements.

Opponents to the war like to point to the 1000+ pages of the Duelfer Report and summarize it as “NO WMD,” but there’s a lot more to Moby Dick than 5 letters. Not even an elementary school student would dare turn in a 5-letter book report on Melville’s epic. Similarly the ISG’s report contains a lot more than just “NO WMD.” It is a resounding verification that, yes, there was a great deal of ‘something’ secreted out of Saddam’s Iraq into Syria. While the ISG doesn’t claim that it was in fact WMD in those trucks, it does leave that door open because of the clandestine nature and the assembly areas for the convoys that left Iraq for Syria would be consistent with WMD, WMD  equipment, documentation, and even personnel.

Given that there is so much evidence that Saddam’s illegal weapons, programs, documents, and equipment existed and were moved rather than did not exist and were destroyed, it seems that logic has turned. There’s simply more evidence it was moved than there is any evidence of WMD destruction. Yet, the debate from those who oppose prefers to ignore evidence and pretend that fictional evidence of destruction exists. That door to reality is creaking open for the opposition, and as such it’s no wonder that the anti-war movement is shattering, the Democratic Party is spinning, and opponents to the war are confused.

First part here.

[SunkenCiv]

Is this subject one where the word of a former governor of Vermont is better than that of highly decorated generals and weapons inspectors who have served their country all over the world for decades? ...While Rep. Pelosi works to blame President Bush for things as random and controllable as the weather, people like Dr. Kay and Dr. Duelfer were in 130 degree desert heat wearing plastic suits in toxic environments and being shot at. Perhaps it's wiser to believe the professionals who serve with honor and for whom lying is a disgrace rather than a politician for whom pandering to constituents and the party base isn’t lying.

The so-called Democrats are the Party of Treason. Thanks E.