Sarin, Mustard Gas Discovered Separately in Iraq (no WMD, huh?)

FNC ^ | 5-17-04

[jmstein7]

A roadside bomb containing sarin nerve agent (search) recently exploded near a U.S. military convoy, the U.S. military said Monday.

Bush administration officials told Fox News that mustard gas (search) was also recently discovered.

Two people were treated for "minor exposure" after the sarin incident but no serious injuries were reported. Soldiers transporting the shell for inspection suffered symptoms consistent with low-level chemical exposure, which is what led to the discovery, a U.S. official told Fox News.

"The Iraqi Survey Group confirmed today that a 155-millimeter artillery round containing sarin nerve agent had been found," Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt (search), the chief military spokesman in Iraq, told reporters in Baghdad. "The round had been rigged as an IED (improvised explosive device) which was discovered by a U.S. force convoy."

[sully777]

"Everybody knows that Saddam wouldn't give any of his old WMD's to Al Qaeda."

Looks like he gave them to Zarqawi for safe keeping.

BTW, this Zarqawi guy is a chemical weapons expert. He is allegedly behind the Jordan chemical bomb plot that Jordan busted a few weeks back. Just a coincidence he was the al-Qaeda guy in Iraq don't you think?

Let's see, Jordan chemical bomb plot, mustard gas IED, Sarin IED, all in the last 3 weeks or so. Anyone see a trend here???

---

No no, Snooker, Krispy is telling us that the WMDs are old, old, old. See him in the protective gear on the ground in Iraq? He's the expert. trust him. Krispy knows. Krispy assures us we're mistaken about the age and measure of WMDs used.

Snooper, do you now feel safer knowing that semantically our soldiers were attacked by old WMDs according to Krispy, an alledged WMD expert and galiant newshound on the FR. Trust him, he apparently is on the ground in Iraq in the heart of the investigation before the military has had a chance to investigate.

Remember this thread when some OLD sarin hits you in a terrorist attack. you can assure your dying family it was old WMD. Tell them that Saddam and AQ still have no link. If they doubt you, tell them some guy from the FR assures you as fact. It will both comfort and relieve their minds as they gasp their final breath.

[dandi]

Regardless of how one parses the words "urgent", "imminent", whatever. The point is to neutralize the threat BEFORE it becomes imminent. By the time it's "imminent", it's usually too late. Hence the doctrine of preemtion

[KrispyKringle]

Looking what up in a dictionary? Urgent? ``Compelling immediate action or attention''? How is this different than what the White House spokesman said (who, in his role as spokesman, is presumably speaking for the White House), that Iraq poses an ``imminent threat''?

[Bon mots]

Hans Blix said there are no WMDs in Iraq.

[azhenfud]

"Hans Blix said there are no WMDs in Iraq."

I believe, IIRC, Blix stated there were no reconstituted WMD programs discovered to be in Iraq - somewhat different than a remaining hidden stockpile of munitions. Nevertheless, the shell was not properly accounted for, just like tons of others, in violation of UNSC Resolution 1441.

[cwb]

Exactly! Heck, prior to 9/11 who would've thought that the Taliban and Afghanistan would've been an imminent threat to anyone in this country. In fact, the reason UBL was ignored for so long was because no one could've imagined a little man living in a cave as an imminent threat. Saddam had at least 5x the resources...and reasons, that UBL did. We can debate what is and isn't imminent...but the fact remains that once they become imminent, it is often too late.

[Go Gordon]

It sounds like Gen. Kimmitt let the cat out of the bag even though the adminstration was keeping things quiet for some reason.

If I were in charge, I wouldn't be parading around Iraq announcing and pointing out all the places WMD's could be found. There are so many unfriendlies over there, a certain amount of the stuff would fall into terrorist hands. Bush and Co. are showing amazing restraint. But then again, Bush is one helluva poker player.

[js1138]

``Compelling immediate action or attention''

Lots of things compel immediate action without being an imminent threat. Most immunizations are immediate action to a threat that is not imminant. By the time the threat is imminant, your kid or your neighbor's kid is sick.

Worn out brakes compel immediate action. Psychopaths in possession of the technology and the motive to kill you compel action before their threat becomes imminant.

Here's a little quiz. Who said (paraphrasing) that peace is not the absence of conflict, but the presence of justice?

[Heff]

This is important. The fact that its only one bomb, rigged to explode by untraditional methods means that there is probably more in the country...very well hidden and not easy to move. So, they are moving them one at a time...the insurgents will get bolder and make a mistake and get caught with huge stash of WMD's and we will have them dead to rights.

[norcalvet]

First day on FR?

Initially, you concede that Iraq did, at some point, have "WMD's." OK, I certainly agree with that and as you demonstrate, it is consistent with at least part of what the president said.

Then you point out that Iraq declared them destroyed after the first Gulf War. They did???? Read your own tagline.

As of 1999, UNSCOM reported to the U.N. Security Council that Iraq had declared to them that they still possessed 30 artillery warheads containing SARIN:

http://www.globalsecurity.org/intell/library/reports/2004/australia_iraq-wmd-intell_01mar04_appendixd.pdf

So either Iraq lied to UNSCOM (calling into question any other claims they made regarding the existence or nonexistence of weapons), or UNSCOM lied (calling into question other statements they made), or you....made an incorrect statement.

Despite this, you claim "Iraq never developed the technology necessary for storage and transport of sarin."  Yes, obviously they did.  Unless, of course, you are speaking of the form of Sarin in it's final active state, but that is not how it is stored in these artillery shells.  Within the shell, it is stored as much more stable binary (as in two of them) components that mix when the warhead is detonated, releasing sarin gas.  The article you cite makes the claim you make without any proof.  So you got your info from them, but where did they get theirs?  There is nothing in the author's bio that lends credibility to this claim either.  You seem to think that the simple action of citing something in your writing automagically makes it true.  

You then make the remarkable claim that mobile (i.e. they can MOVE, such as to Syria before the war started) labs were "almost certainly destroyed or out of commission."  First, "almost" doesn't account for all of them.  Second, how did you manage to come to this conclusion?  To conclude that they were all destroyed or disabled you would have to have some idea how many there were to begin with and have an equal amount tallied in after-action reports indicating their destruction.  Since you make it conjecture that they even exist at all, how can you then say they are all destroyed or out of commission?

Go back and try again.  This time, do some real homework. If you can't find a citation THAT PROVES YOUR POINT don't bother posting.

[cwb]

And that's Bush's ace in the hole "when" democrats start complaining about Bush keeping secret the evidence of any WMD discoveries. The fact is, the last thing we need is for these terrorists digging in Saddam's old stomping grounds hoping to find some of these WMDs.

And for those media pukes who want to infer that these WMDs are being shipped in from places like Syria and Iran...I was happy to see one expert point out that they were probably shipped-out from Iraq to begin with thanks to our slow reaction. Which brings me to Kerry and his continual claim that Bush "rushed to war." On the contrary...our prolonged patience due to the appeasers has now let the cat out of the bag and may cause more problems. Thanks Mr. Kerry.

[barker]

On Drudge, above a large picture and headline about Michael Moore, is a small headline saying "Blix: Sarin gas used in Iraq attack not likely sign of WMDs...:

Blix and David Kay are already spinning this.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&u=/ap/20040517/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_sarin_10&printer=1

[Warrior Nurse]

Hussein had ample opportunity to present to the UN and the US what he had or didn't have. He played games with the inspectors and that was a material breech of Resolution 1441. The media is so quick to jump on the President that he lied but they act like Saddam Hussein was innocent and being falsely accused. It is the same syndrome with the Abu Gahrib prison. The hazing that went on by the US Soldiers doesn't even scratch the surface on what was done by the previous occupants. I believe that WMD's are still in Iraq as well as Syria. The liberal media will not admit President Bush was right to expand this war, just like they wont admit that tax cuts work.

[MediaMole]

Huh?? What Iraqi survey group?

The Iraqi Survey Group is the Military/Scientific task force that has been combing Iraq documenting the WMD programs.

[BykrBayb]

We went to war because we were 45 minutes away from a chemical attack, nuclear attack, and Saddam was supposedly giving arms to terrorists.

ROFL - they really believe that too. That's what makes it so funny!

[norcalvet]

UNMOVIC's report in March of 2003 (right before the war) agrees with you (as do I):

"The onus is clearly on Iraq to provide the requisite information or devise other ways in which UNMOVIC can gain confidence that Iraq’s declarations are correct and comprehensive."

http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/iraq/un/unmovic-udi-working-doc_6%20march03.pdf