There was a documentary on our local PBS station last night about these people. (I don't normally watch PBS, but this was very interesting and I am sorry that I missed the start of it) The Kurds hate this fanatical group, whose name I can't remember. They crossed the border from Iran and set up shop in Northern Iraq. This group is linked directly the OBL and have assisted SH of releasing nerve gas on the Kurds. For the past several years the Kurds have been organizing thier militia into a real military.
The most disturbing part of the doc was when they were showing the effects of the nerve gas on the people. There was one man who was in his late 20's and couldn't take more then a few steps without his legs collapsing out from under him. A girl who was perfectly healthy until she was 3, then she got gassed. She is now (or when this was filmed 2-3 years ago) 16 years old and couldn't walk on her own anymore (had to be carried by her father) and because of the different diseases in her body, she looked like she was 60. So many people had very strange skin conditions which were all due to VX gas. They said that women are more likely to miscarry then to have a full term pregnancy.
There was a book written in 1988 by one of SH's henchmen all about the effects of different chemical weapons on bodies. Things like VX, mustard gas, etc...Guess who wrote the introduction to the book praising it's contents and calling it a triumph? You're a big winner if you guessed Saddam Hussain.
It was very disturbing and really just drove home that we are doing the right thing. These people need help.
They need help and we need to protect ourselves.
Prairie