Tests rule out suspect bio-labs

CNN ^ | 4/15/2003

[ArcLight]

The buried labs U.S. troops found last week were not the mobile chemical and biological weapons labs one U.S. Army general suspected, CNN's Ryan Chilcote reported Tuesday.

[WilliamWallace1999]

Dittos. You don't puts guards led by a general on an abandoned chemical weapon plant and you don't have to lock "pesticides" up behind electrified fences. None of this passes the smell test. He is saving this for a media bombshell at the UN.

[hsmomx3]

Yeah, figures CNN came out with this. Did they report this before the other networks? How thorough is the testing and is it something that can be detected immediately or can it take some time?

[bcoffey]

"You don't puts guards led by a general on an abandoned chemical weapon plant ..."

Hmmm... Are WE still guarding these supposedly non-WMD sites? If so, WHY? Perhaps if someone could answer this question, we'd have our WMD question answered as well.

[PISANO]

The only people that give a damn whether or NOT we find WMD are the gimmies, hollywood and ABCNNBCBS. If we DON'T come up with demostrable PROOF of WMD there will be a continous cacaphony by these entities for years to come!

[Chameleon]

"I think they don't want the info to trickle out and spoil the fun of watching more of our enemies show their true color and accuse us of not finding anything and "needlessly" toppling a murderous tyrant." My thinking as well.

If you are 100% certain of finding WMD, it doesn't matter how long critics groan about not finding them. They will be made fools eventually, and the bigger the scale of the find/report, the more foolish they'll look.

I haven't seen any hesitation from anyone in the administration about finding these weapons, and Ari said last week that WMD were what the war is about.

1500 special forces guys were training in Jordan since last year to get to the WMD stuff quick. We haven't heard anything about what they're finding underground in Baghdad - apparently the embeds aren't going down there and talking with those folks.

The fact that we've heard nothing but vague denials of finds suggests strongly to me that this is the strategy.

By now they know for certain what's at that nuclear site, but haven't said a word.

IMO, they've already got the goods, they just want to find them all and get all kinds of corroborating documents and testimony before coming forward with what they've found.

[republicanwizard]

I hope to God you are right.

[COURAGE]

"It has been rumored that we have fired scud missiles into Kuwait. I am here now to tell you, we do not have any scud missiles and I don't know why they were fired into Kuwait."

[bcoffey]

"we do not have any scud missiles ..."

adding.... "well, not any more."

[Calpernia]

Sounds like 'false flags'. Iraq has left crumbs to keep everyone running in circles while something else was done or being done. Only my opinion, though.

[COURAGE]

"Tonight, we will do something unconventional against them. This means: not by the military. We will do something that I believe will become a pretty example for those mercenaries. I would not be giving out a secret when I say that action in the dark against such mercenaries is effective, not through the action of armies. I say that dropping down those mercenaries in a surprise fashion at Saddam Airport without accurate calculations is largely meant for showing things. It's a showy operation. It is a kind of surprise muscle flexing to the world to show it that the shock and awe operation is indeed successful. May they be accursed. Through this operation [shock and awe], they sent a number of their villains and mercenaries to be butchered. Again, and according to my early estimates, unless the remaining part of their soldiers surrender, the chance for their survival is very slim. The surprising thing is that after they threw their soldiers into a place where they are not aware of the real results, the villainous Americans, like Powell and the others, sat in Europe to discuss how to divide Iraq as spoils after the war [laughing]. This means what's post-war. The post-war [Iraq] will be the same current Iraq under the leadership of President Saddam Husayn."

[Calpernia]

That would make sense if these weren't reported then disputed after. Now, if laid out for a case later, it lacks credibility.

[goodnesswins]

LOL...that was my FIRST thought.....CNN is saying this....sooooooo?

[DannyTN]

"I'm thinking the DoD does NOT want these sites confirmed until later "

Apparently, but why? They did that with the information linking Saddam to 9/11 and then when they were ready to go after Saddam, they couldn't use the information. Nobody believed it.

You don't bury labs ... . Something smells.

[Chameleon]

They are only issuing denials...

If a report goes out and it's false, they correct it pretty quick.

But they haven't denied or addressed all of the reports, and they haven't confirmed any. Leads me to think some of the reports have some meat behind them, but they won't come forward until they've done an exhaustive search and interrogation.

[Calpernia]

Good point. I 'assumed' reports that weren't proven or confirmed as being denied.

You corrected me. ;)

[Chameleon]

There were only scraps of intelligence linking Saddam to 9-11, and they knew they'd be challenged.

Any individual find will be challenged.

Dozens of finds, complete with documentation of activities and testimony from workers is pretty hard to challenge.

IMO, they want to paint the entire picture of Iraq's banned weapons programs rather than dribble out individual finds that people can debate about.

[kabar]

During the Fox News interview of Franks this past Sunday, Franks responded to Tony Snow's question about the existence of WMD and finding them with an unequivocal absolutely to both. Given Frank's unhesitating assurance that they exist and will be found, I believe we already have located some. Stay tuned while the media goes nuts claiming that WMD don't exist and that this was just a trumped up excuse to go into Iraq. Once the Democrats start adopting this stance, an announcement will be made concerning their discovery.

[DannyTN]

Whether or not individual finds are challenged, you let them add up and people see the big picture.

To discredit every individual find yourself, doesn't leave you anything to pain the big picture with.

[mtbopfuyn]

What, doesn't everyone bury their lab equipment out in the middle of no where? All this denial better pay off big later. Bush mentioned WMD several times during his speech today so surely he must feel we have or will have the smoking gun, right??? Huh, right???

[Damagro]

extruded through the cracks in a cinder-block wall by a JDAM


Man, that paints a picture lol