So did we know about the stockpiles? I’ve never heard anything about them. Even from our own side’s leaders.
Here is a post I made on the issue last month to clear it up
Here’s the stink from what I can gather. The facility is called Al Muthanna. After UNSCOM failed to destroy the chemicals there during the 1980s, Saddam used chemicals manufactured there to kill civilian targets. In the 90s, the facility was heavily damaged during the war, in which it was a target for US bombing campaigns.
The facility was subsequently sealed off and remained thus throughout the invasion in the 00s. It was simply too dangerous to operate. Because of this, the suspected WMDs were not believed to have been manufactured or housed in this facility. It was abandoned and entrances were blocked off. Despite this, there were sporadic reports of looters who had found a way into the facility.
During US occupation, the military made the decision that it was safer to leave the chemical weapons buried in the unstable environment than attempt to move them, which would have been a monumental and expensive task. Supposedly, both UN and ISG inspected the facility to the best of their ability, however this was likely incomplete because it sprawls over 10 square miles, with underground laboratories. The interior is highly hazardous for humans to enter.
Now that we are aware that members of Saddam’s Baathist military command, including al-Douri, are helping ISIS to topple the Shi’ite government, it is not beyond the realms of possibility that they are aware of how to access a deeper sub-level of the complex where less degraded weapons could be available. Even degraded amounts of VX are highly effective regardless. I very much doubt they hit this place by accident.
The idea that these terrorists cannot use these chemicals unless they are ‘military grade’ (which means they are safe for weaponization and use) is lunacy.
Not even George Bush or Colon Bowel?
We found and removed many "stockpiles". At the time, the MSM rarely reported on it, when forced to, the said they were just little "caches" and not worthy of the word "stockpile".
We didn't manage to find ALL of them.