300 Sacks Castor Beans Found In Iraq By U.S.Troops[per MSNBC]

MSNBC ^ | June 25, 2003 | vanity

[Lady In Blue]

I was watching TV this evening and started to flip cable channels when I saw a streaming on MSNBC on our forces finding castor beans. The following is a part of what their website said about it.

NBC News’ Jim Miklaszewski that within just the past week, U.S. investigators had found two shipping containers filled with millions of much more recent documents relating to chemical and biological weapons.

One of the documents, from 2001, was titled “Document burial and U.N. activities in Iraq,” the sources said. It gave detailed instructions on how to hide materials and deceive U.N. weapons inspectors, the sources said.

Other documents related to the concealment of VX nerve gas, the sources said.

The sources said U.S. troops also discovered about 300 sacks of castor beans, which are used to make the deadly biological agent ricin, hidden in a warehouse in the town of al-Aziziyah, 50 miles southeast of Baghdad, the capital. The castor beans were inaccurately labeled as fertilizer.

U.S. search teams have also been led to a site near Nasiriyah, a key Euphrates River crossing 200 miles south of Baghdad, where Iraqi informants said Scud missiles were buried.

Anybody else see this?

[gaspar]

World-wide, the castor bean plant is most prevalent in Brazil. It also grows wild in Argentina and Paraguay. There is no reported use of the plant for fertilizer in that region.

[Paradox]

Lord knows that fertilizer was probably about the most deadly of all!!

Castor beans are not fertilizer. Sure, they can be processed and eventually the byproducts used as fertilizer, but so can fish. I guess if someone labeled a boatload of tuna as "fertilizer", that would not be incorrect..

I think a realist, such as you claim to be, would see this. Sure, there are those with blinders on both sides, some of us will wait to see what stands when the dust settles.

[Dog]

They were found at a brake fluid plant. Do you use Castor Beans to make brake fluid??

[js1138]

I think Bush enjoys giving his opponents enough rope to hang themselves.

[Coop]

Do you use Castor Beans to make brake fluid??

No, but I do use brake fluid to make a poor man's cognac.

[Paradox]

Do you use Castor Beans to make brake fluid??

Actually, they used to, about 60 years ago.

I think it is becoming clear that Iraq was hiding a low level WMD program by claiming other uses. Thus the potential WMD which turned out to be "pesticides", in military areas. Castor Beans claimed to be used for brake fluid, etc. PRetty lame but effective way of making excuses for having certain raw materials..

[Sacajaweau]

Yes! It's one of the products that Iraq says it uses the beans for. Per my #97, Plug in "The Henry L. Stimson Center, Biological Weapons Proliferation Concern"

[BritExPatInFla]

Castor Beans/Oil are still used in non-synthetic brake fluid, along with other types if hydraulic fluids. If these castor beans were found in a brake fluid factory, that could be 'series'!

[zip]

All of what you say may be true but really is going to nail them is all of those DOCUMENTS! Now,I wonder what kind of excuse they'll have for them?

There forgeries, don't ya know? I think one of those vast right wing conspirisy types did it. </sarcasm off

[tallhappy]

Hmmmmm, perhaps because the only thing they planned to use it for was I don't know, maybe fertilizer?

Are you serious.

My guess is you are being facetious and having a good ole time acting as a fool, pulling a prank.

If you are serious, there is definitely a screw loose.

[sheltonmac]

I think the U.S. government is hoping to capture the Iraqi "MacGyver," the man who was supposed to have been responsible for creating a WMD out of a paper towel tube, a sheet of aluminum foil and a half-eaten can of refried beans.

[raygun]

Now that you mention that, I see that. You're right. Hmmmm. Well, maybe they just mispelled it? No reason jumping to conclusions. Who knows, maybe they missed a jot or tittle (poor penmanship or something) - you know that Arabic script is pretty complicated stuff (just look at the scrilly stuff scribbled all over the U.S. Islam Christmas stamp released shortly after 9-11) and the word works just happens to appear to an untrained eye as being "fertilizer" when in all actuality it really does say "castor beans". Hey, it could happen.

After all, our legislators do the same thing with the Constitution, so what's the difference here?

When's the last time you tried to write "castor beans" in scrilly script like that. I bet it would look like fertilizer too.

[billbears]

My guess is you are being facetious and having a good ole time acting as a fool, pulling a prank.

Your guess would be wrong

If you are serious, there is definitely a screw loose

No tired of hearing of another needless war fought for reasons that never came to fruition. Castor beans can be used for fertilizer. The way some would have it, unless everything found in Iraq is marked as the worst possible scenario, it's not only misleading, it's intentional. Heck, you have components to make explosives probably under your sink right now. Are they labeled in big red letters WARNING: EXPLOSIVES? Is that intentional mislabeling?

I'm sorry, I just don't trust either party in the government as much as some apparently do. And considering the grievous actions both parties have committed against the Constitution I don't see why I should either

[blackie]

The Truth Will Out!

[alnick]

When's the last time you tried to write "castor beans" in scrilly script like that. I bet it would look like fertilizer too.

I can't argue with that. ;-)

[piasa]

What’s funny is finding bags labeled “fertilizer” in a brake fluid factory... when bags labeled “castor beans” would be more appropriate.