Posted on 12/13/2003 4:24:43 PM PST by quidnunc
Iraq's coalition government claims that it has uncovered documentary proof that Mohammed Atta, the al-Qaeda mastermind of the September 11 attacks against the US, was trained in Baghdad by Abu Nidal, the notorious Palestinian terrorist.
Details of Atta's visit to the Iraqi capital in the summer of 2001, just weeks before he launched the most devastating terrorist attack in US history, are contained in a top secret memo written to Saddam Hussein, the then Iraqi president, by Tahir Jalil Habbush al-Tikriti, the former head of the Iraqi Intelligence Service.
The handwritten memo, a copy of which has been obtained exclusively by the Telegraph, is dated July 1, 2001 and provides a short resume of a three-day "work programme" Atta had undertaken at Abu Nidal's base in Baghdad.
In the memo, Habbush reports that Atta "displayed extraordinary effort" and demonstrated his ability to lead the team that would be "responsible for attacking the targets that we have agreed to destroy".
The second part of the memo, which is headed "Niger Shipment", contains a report about an unspecified shipment believed to be uranium that it says has been transported to Iraq via Libya and Syria.
Although Iraqi officials refused to disclose how and where they had obtained the document, Dr Ayad Allawi, a member of Iraq's ruling seven-man Presidential Committee, said the document was genuine.
"We are uncovering evidence all the time of Saddam's involvement with al-Qaeda," he said. "But this is the most compelling piece of evidence that we have found so far. It shows that not only did Saddam have contacts with al-Qaeda, he had contact with those responsible for the September 11 attacks."
-snip-
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
It looks like a 152mm or possibly a 155mm artillery piece projectile, the standard artillery projectile for the old Soviet Union's Warsaw Pact troops as well as the present-day Russian army. Note too though that Saddam was one of the earliest users of the Space Research Corporation's developments of long-range projectiles for the 155mm artillery piece, used to great effect against the Iranians during the Iraqi-Iranian war, and further developed by the Israelis and South Africans as the G5 long-range munitions for the 45-caliber barrel length 155 artillery pieces. Whether that could be a 155-mm shell in a Iraqi Soviet-type shipping container, a 152mm projectile of Warsaw Pact, Russian or Iraqi manufacture, or something else is difficult to determine without at least a scaled reference in the pic, and preferably, firsthand examination.
As to whether it's a chemical shell or *nerve gas projectile* it could be a white phosphorous chemical smoke round that hadn't yet received its chemical filler; or it could be a WP round that was adapted for use with a single-component chemical warfare filler, either earlier WWII compounds such as Taubin or Saran [GB or VX as designated in US literature, or even WWI era Nitrogen Mustard] or one of the more recent Soviet binary nerve agents, such as Novichok 5 or 7, which could be expected to be shipped less one of the components needed for the projectiles to be lethally effective, preventing accidents during shipment.
Short answer: If there's no chemical filler, it's relatively safe, though some residues can be harmful or lethal- and the fuze assempbly used to rupture the projectile has a small explosive charge, about like that of a hand grenade.
Another question is if whether it was intentionally shipped empty, with one component of a two-part lethal mixture, or filled and leaked during shipment.
In general, I'd expect Saddam's chemical weapons to have been used in larger quantities- half-ton Scud warheads and aircraft-delivered devices similar to aircraft droppable fuel tanks or Napalm cannisters. But the Soviets very much make use of 152mm chemical and nuclear] weapons, and so their having been supplied to Iraq either directly or via a third-party surrogate would not be particularly surprising.
More on 155mm artillery ammunition and projectiles *here,* including US M121A1, M122 and M687 nerve gas projectiles.
One other possibility: the Chinese 130mm projectiles for their M46 130mm gun. They've certainly developed a long-range projectile, and if that's been combined with a chemical warfare projectile, a likely possibility, it'd certainly be worthy of notice.
The first 130 mm field gun produced by China was the Type 59, a virtually direct copy of the Russian M-46. The Type 59 130mm gun, with maximum rate of fire is at 8-10 rds/min, fires an HE projectile capable of penetrating 250mm of armour set at 0 degree at a range of 1,500m. The Type 59 gun also fires enhanced range projectiles: the MP-130 RAP that weighs 33.4kg with a maximum range of 34,360m; and an ERFB HE that weights 32.7kg with a maximum range of 30km. The Extended Range Full Bore-Base Bleed round was specifically designed by NORINCO Industries (China) for use with the Chinese 130-mm Type 59 Field Gun. However, this round may be fired by the M-46.
Russian 152mm conventional round being loaded into a MSTA self-propelled artillery piece pic *here.*
-archy-/-
You on drugs? You sound as though you think I wrote the article. I didn't, merely posted a highly relevant news article from a reputable outlet. I put it up so that freepers would give it the critical review you're doing by pointing out the fallacy of the Ansar statement.
Get a grip.
Bogus Alert?
On second reading, I picked that up, too. Even if the whole Niger uranium story we heard before was accurate, it wasn't that big of a deal and had nothing to do with 9-11. That both were discussed in the same Saddam- Al-Tikriti memo is just a little too cute. Be very skeptical of this.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.