EUPHRATES 'POISONED'

Sky News ^ | 4/4/03

[Zipporah]

EUPHRATES 'POISONED'

US Marines found cyanide and mustard agents in high concentrations in the Euphrates River near Nassiriya in Iraq, television network MSNBC has reported.

The network said a briefing from Marine officials was its source for the information.

The agents were found during routine tests conducted to ensure the water being used is safe, MSNBC said.

Neither Centcom officials in Qatar nor US military officials in Iraq have confirmed the MSNBC report.

Mustard gas produces painful, long-lasting blisters and often leads to blindness, while cyanide kills by preventing blood from transporting oxygen.

Last Updated: 19:01 UK, Friday April 04, 2003

[katana]

Sounds to me like the result of a sub-commander covering his a**.

"What are we supposed to do with these drums?"

"Get rid of them! Get rid of them! Screw this! Do you want to die for that crazy s**t Saddam?"

[eastsider]

Fish lived in the Hudson River in NYC all through the worst years of pollution. But you wouldn't want to drink it.

Or eat the striped bass that spawn in it.

[MHGinTN]

During the first hour of the Ollie North show, with Jed Babbin sitting in, Ollie and a military chem field guy satted that the concentrations were very low, but they were accurate detections. Dumping barrels into the river would give trace readings if not opened before dumping (on the outsides). The real poisoning will dribble out over time if those barrels are not removed. Think about where the Euphrates empties. Southern Iraq is not Ba'athist party holiday zone and the coast of Kuwait isn't a place Saddam would sun himself ... intentionally.

[Sacajaweau]

I remember Blix saying there were moat or canal type structures around certain palaces and they were worried that there were chemicals hidden underneath. They were even considering scuba teams.

Don't know how these moats/canals are fed but am now thinking these contaminations are somehow related. They should be able to locate the source.

[TopQuark]

Oh, just wait intil the ARab press, the Russians, and the French will denounce this as a fabrication of the CIA that "is desparate because it cannot find proof, just like bin Laden." Plus, "Israel stands to benefit from the death of Arab babies, so Mossad did it."

It seems that, when people take sides, the one supported cannot loose and the won opposed cannot win --- facts don't matter.

The saddest part is, there will be plenty of conspiracy theorists here, at home, who will invent similar explanations. Sad, very sad.

[Dog Gone]

Fish with mustard? I've never tried it, but it might be good.

[B4Ranch]

We took the power out.

[DoughtyOne]

Thank you for the comments. They were interesting.

[for-q-clinton]

We took the power out.

Source please? Everything I've seen/heard the US says we didn't do that.

[laz17]

Most probably, this is the result of someone trying to get rid of evidence, not poison the river. Remember those sightings reported last week of Iraqis in chem suits handling drums? They were probably dumping the stuff in the river to keep coalition forces from finding them on the way north.

[BlackVeil]

Another WMD story You were right. There is a story on the ABC news site now, and the military spokesman says that the early reports of chemicals in the water were not confirmed.

[nomad]

Good point. In northwestern IN. there is a lovely little river called the Little Calumet. From its outlet to Lake Michigan all the way up past Hammond IN it is considered unsafe to touch let alone drink from (heavy metals, clorinated hydrocarbons, petroleum products, storm drain/sewage mix-you name it, chances are its there), and yet there are still fish in it! You can see them swim to the surface from time to time.

The Army Corp of Engineers has debated for over the last 20 years on how in the world they are going to dredge the toxic witch`s brew from the bottom and not contaminate the lower half of Lake Michigan, not to mention how or where to store the millions of tons of poisoned muck. So you should not be suprised at what fish could live in.

[B4Ranch]

I think I saw it on a Pentagon meeting, but I've seen it numerous times about 24 hours after the power went off.

[livis_dad]

What's the problem with that picture? If this were true you'd see floating fish everywhere. I will admit that these rivers may be fished clean though. I would think it would be mentioned that some animal life had been affected though. I'd wait to see if this pans out.

[katana]

That sounds more sinister but also a really stupid plan. Floating barrels shouldn't be hard to spot and recover, and are just as likely to end up caught in weeds along the side of a river as washed entirely out to the Gulf. If the intent was to kill Shiites in the south, it's going to take a long tme to work and will leave them plenty of incentive to move north and take it out on every Sunni they can catch. Interesting.

[DoughtyOne]

This space for rent.

[for-q-clinton]

From http://www.post-gazette.com/World/20030404baghdadwp5.asp

The reason for the loss of power was not immediately clear. "Coalition forces have not targeted Baghdad's electrical system," Jim Wilkinson, spokesman at U.S. Central Command, said in Qatar.

[B4Ranch]

Then someone screwed up and said we did it.

[MHGinTN]

Poisons dumped into the River or sunk in barreels in the River are the danger, not barrels floating down the River, for they may be retrieved and disposed of. The traces are more likely due to leakage from munitions dumped to the bottom of the River, and that will be a major problem to clean up once peace is established.

[Gamecock]

Hey! If you are going to make an accusation like that you better back it up with photos! Please, let me help: