Iraq has poison bombs

The Sunday Telegraph ^ | February 23, 2003 | Philip Sherwell and David Wastell

[MadIvan]

Saddam Hussein's air force has developed a more sophisticated delivery and detonation system for chemical weapons than previously known to United Nations inspectors, a former senior air force officer has told The Telegraph.

In an interview at a house in Amman in Jordan, where he has been hiding since he fled Baghdad last year, the former officer said that Baghdad was still pursuing the chemical armaments programme when he left Iraq - despite its insistence that it had abandoned its weapons of mass destruction project after the Gulf war.

"Ali" - The Telegraph knows his real name and former rank but promised not to disclose it in case his relatives still in Iraq are identified and punished - said that he was trained to handle binary-system bombs which mix lethal chemicals moments before detonation for maximum effect.

"Saddam will never surrender these weapons," said Ali. "They are as much a part of his life as eating and drinking."

His alarming claims, which indicate a clear breach of UN resolutions, will fuel fears that Saddam may use chemical weapons against American and British forces in the event of war.

United Nations weapons inspectors based in New York said yesterday that they would like to debrief the former officer urgently. "We would be interested in talking to this man," said a spokesman for Unmovic, the weapons inspection agency.

Ali described in detail how the chemical bombs and sprays were fitted and operated, backing up his testimony with drawings and graphics, during clandestine meetings lasting several hours in the Jordanian capital, Amman.

"What he describes is a logical development of the techniques we know the Iraqis were working on," said one former senior weapons inspector contacted by The Telegraph.

Another said: "If what he says can be confirmed then this is a very big discovery. It would be proof that Iraq has continued with the development of a new type of weapon."

The chemical weapons previously known to inspectors were less advanced; their lethal contents mixed on the ground before the bombs were loaded on to planes.

At the time that Ali was trained, he was working at military bases at Habbaniya 50 miles west of Baghdad, and al-Qa'qa, 20 miles south of the capital.

He last witnessed the new bomb mechanism being tested - with water and oil rather than chemicals - at Habbaniya in 2000, after which the tests were switched to a different location. However, he said former colleagues with whom he remains in contact confirm that the programme is still running.

He said that the bombs were divided in two by an internal partition. When loaded with chemicals, there was a black liquid in one compartment and a yellowish one in the other.

The pilots were trained to hit a switch to open the partition when they approached their targets, allowing the two substances to combine and reach their greatest potency. A few seconds later, outer doors on the bottom of the weapon would open automatically, releasing the mixture.

Ali then drew a detailed diagram of another binary-system bomb, also divided by a partition that was designed to explode after its release in mid-air, again allowing the two substances to mix at the last moment. These weapons were intended for the Iraqi air force's more modern jets, but an alternative delivery method was developed for slower planes such as Sukhoi-25s and for helicopters, he explained.

[AndrewC]

The Viet Cong made land mines with nothing more than a bullet, a lump of clay and a nail.

Yep, and they are a world power now.

[AndrewC]

So many questions, so few answers..

So few answers are needed. They are dead. (Or ded if you prefer)

[Lady In Blue]

hehehe! I know.

[null and void]

In case you missed it, they won that war...

[mikenola]

Much thanks for the link! BTW, Chemical Ali is decribed in detail in Ken Pollock's book, which I'm reading now. I would recommend it for all FReepers.

Iraq is *clearly* the most odious regime the US has had to confront since WWII.

[judicial meanz]

Any time. Glad I could help !

[fightinJAG]

bump

[AndrewC]

In case you missed it, they won that war...

Yes, it is known as a Pyrrhic victory. I wouldn't lose too much sleep over it.

[shezza]

Ping!

[ApesForEvolution]

Honestly, all Iraqis should be notified by whatever means possible 3 days before attack that if they stay, sorry, but they will die. And then nuke the place...

[Antoninus]

Note to Saddam: you drop one of these bombs on our troops, and it will be the last thing you ever do.

Don't worry Ivan. I don't think any of his planes will ever get off the ground, and if a couple should, they'll only be in the air about 45 seconds....

[ApesForEvolution]

Froggy toilet truffles aren't to be trusted. Does anyone remember how many Ameriand and British troops were killed by frogs in Africa during WWII? What a worthless 'leader' of Europe. They have a day of reckoning coming.

[AndrewC]

Don't worry Ivan. I don't think any of his planes will ever get off the ground,

Modern jets need long stretches of concrete. I don't expect many will be available after the shooting starts. Our technology has improved in the past 12 years. I don't think Iraq has had the same advantage.

[aculeus]

The scariest report, mentioned en passant by Bob Woodward on the CNN Larry King program, was that they had small aircraft dispersers chemicals of capable of flying 500 miles and of being launched from a frieghter ... at the US homeland.

Woodward, unfortunately, is connected to US intelligence.

[George W. Bush]

Rather, it is that he will deploy these weapons against large civilian targets.

Yes, in a last-ditch stand in Baghdad, to release the gas on our troops moving in and just happen to hit 50,000 of his own people. We get blamed and slowed way down. Maybe even stopped if it's Novichok or VX.

The Pentagon has made statements to indicate they are planning for the situation. The problem is, Saddam is such a vicious killer that you can't count on him to do the rational thing.

I do agree with your other points.

One of the things we never hear discussed is how to secure the WMD. These are very portable and would fetch a good price in other countries or from terrorists. Like the USSR, a collapse can let very deadly weapons fall into the wrong hands or, even worse, it just disappears.

[Siobhan]

That's Chiraq not Chirac ...

;^)

[APBaer]

"Froggy toilet truffles aren't to be trusted."

Moi?

[nickcarraway]

ChIraq

Yes, I like that.

[Republic]

< The defector from Iraq states >"Saddam will never surrender these weapons," said Ali. "They are as much a part of his life as eating and drinking."

We are very, very blessed at this juncture in history to have grown-ups with vision leading this wonderful nation, as well as Prime Minister Blair, who suffers from his strength of conviction founded on a knowledge of Iraq's treachery.

I thank our Father for our masterful leadership and the leadership of other nations who all are willing to sacrifice political points in order to provide for our safety.

President Bush understands his job and does not vere from the course.

In the end, England and America are exceedingly blessed just now.

Bill Klinton would have sacrificed our future for back slaps from Kofi and Mandela and Arafat-and my guess is that al gore would have done the same with klinton whispering at his back.

[AndrewC]

The scariest report, mentioned en passant by Bob Woodward on the CNN Larry King program, was that they had small aircraft dispersers chemicals of capable of flying 500 miles and of being launched from a frieghter

<BLIX>What chemicals? </BLIX>