Third Infantry Finds Chemical Weapons

CBN News ^ | March 26, 2003 | Paul Strand CBN News War Correspondent

[Freedomsfriend]

"What I just heard from a highly placed source here is that they've discovered, they've captured chemical warheads, they're Russian, they have Russian writing all over them and they are chemical warheads."

CBN.com – The Third Infantry Division has captured evidence of chemical weapons as they are fighting Iraq’s Republican Guard just 60 miles south of Baghdad. The evidence has yet to be confirmed, but CBN News War Correspondent Paul Strand delivered this exclusive information by satellite phone early Wednesday. PAT ROBERTSON: We are going to our CBN News War Correspondent Paul Strand, embedded with the Army's Third Infantry Division. That's the spearhead of the attack against Baghdad. Paul, we understand you have some shocking news about chemical warheads. Tell us about it.

PAUL STRAND: Yes, Pat, I do. First of all, I hope you can hear me because I am out in that raging sandstorm and it’s hard to hear you. I hope you hear me okay. What I just heard from a highly placed source here is that they've discovered, they've captured chemical warheads, they're Russian, they have Russian writing all over them and they are chemical warheads. Of course, they can't get into them and find out if there’s chemicals because once they open them they'd all die right there on the spot. But they're gonna ship them off for testing.

They also captured a launcher that was able to shoot these very munitions that they've captured. And they’ve captured a man who mixes the chemicals, that was his job with the Medina Division which is the division we're facing right now near the city of Karbala. So all these things leading the military here to believe we might have been hit by chemical shells any time now, and we're not sure we've got them all. So those are the developments here near Karbala about 60 miles south of Baghdad.

ROBERTSON: Paul, I can hear you loud and clear, so don't worry about that. Let me ask you this, are these the type of weapons of mass destruction that has been talked about so much by President Bush?

STRAND: I’m not sure, Pat. I’ve told you just everything I heard. It happened just a few minutes ago. I would think this is definitely the smoking gun. It’s so strange, because the joke before this war was that Saddam says, "I have no chemical weapons, and if you invade I will use them on you." And now we find out they’re right out there with the frontline troops.

And another disturbing thing I heard a few days ago, was that he has pushed the level of authority for using these weapons down to the commander level. Not up around him, but the very commanders out on the line, they can use these things, they can choose to use them. So that means young officers have the orders now that they can go ahead and use these things if they feel like they are about to be overtaken. So that’s another disturbing development. Not only have we found the warheads, but officers out on the frontline can use them.

ROBERTSON: Paul, are you protected against this kind of thing? Will your suits do it and do you have some kind of an injection that can be used to counteract the effects of VX or whatever?

STRAND: Yes, Pat. We already, from the day we entered Iraq, we have had the suits on, the trousers and the pants, and boots, and gloves, and then we put the masks on. The mask fully protects us and the hood wraps around it tightly. And then we have in our backpacks, we have atropine we can shoot into our legs against nerve agents, we have pills to take against things like anthrax. So we’re pretty well covered. And the soldiers I have talked to seem very comfortable about getting hit with this stuff. The only thing is nobody wants to live in those masks for weeks.

ROBERTSON: Paul, I am told that the sandstorm may be the worst in recent memory, you know, in the last 17 or 18 years. Can you tell us about the sandstorm? Is it growing in intensity?

STRAND: It is about the worst weather I have ever felt in my life. Last night I was sleeping outdoors like usual, and it was so bad I jumped into a Humvee. There, with all of the windows closed and everything, the Humvee just filled with sand, there was so much sand it just came in through the little air holes or whatever. And the wind was so strong, it felt like the Humvee would get picked up and thrown over — and you know, Humvees are big, strong, giant vehicles. Stuff was flying through the air, smashing into the side of the vehicle all night long. And the air is completely yellow. You can't see any normal light, you can’t see the sky. It got dark like an hour before it was supposed to. It’s just truly an amazing sandstorm.

ROBERTSON: The Iraqis are saying it’s the judgment of Allah upon the attackers. Are we finding any bright spots in it for the American troops?

STRAND: We are. The soldiers have so much gear that can operate in this kind of thing that they say actually some obscuring factors like this can help them. Now the thing is, the battle has been raging in Karbala, back and forth, so both sides seem to be still operating in this environment. But I understand if it does go away here in the next day or two, that we will just really smash ahead as hard as we can. You know, I must admit, the first thing I said when the sandstorm came in, a lieutenant and I were sitting in the Humvee with it roaring all around us, and I said, "It’s at a moment like this that a theologian asks, ‘What is God trying to tell us?’"

ROBERTSON: [laughter] Paul, I think a lot of people are going to be asking that. This is kind of a trite statement, but as they say, stay safe.

[getitright]

Iraqi Divisions Ordered to Use Chemical Weapons
NewsMax Wires
Tuesday, March 25, 2003
Iraqi Republican forces have received orders to use chemical weapons against American troops as they near Baghdad, NBC News reported Monday night.
NBC Correspondent Jim Miklaszewski said that with U.S. forces meeting stiff resistance on the battlefield over the past few days, “the worse may be yet to come.”

With U.S. troops moving north, the U.S. will soon take two key Iraqi cities en route to Baghdad: Karbala, just 50 miles south of Baghdad, and in the west, Al Kut.

Once U.S. troops move north of those cities, they will come face to face with the Medina and Baghdad divisions of the elite Iraq Republican Guard.

At that point, NBC reported, officials fear Iraq “may soon use chemical weapons.”

NBC cited intelligence and Pentagon sources that say “intercepted Iraqi communications indicated that the Republican Guards were under orders to attack with chemical weapons once U.S. ground troops crossed a line around Baghdad drawn roughly between Karbala and Al Kut."

Miklaszewski said the major ground battle of the war could happen within the next 24 hours.

[getitright]

Wednesday, March 26, 2003
OPERATION: IRAQI FREEDOM
U.S. troops capture
chemical warheads?
Report: Russian weapons sent for testing, specialist with Medina unit also nabbed
Posted: March 26, 2003
6:20 p.m. Eastern
© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com
U.S. troops south of Baghdad believe they have captured Russian chemical warheads along with a launcher and a chemical warfare specialist, according to a reporter embedded with the 3rd Infantry Division.
The warheads – discovered in a confrontation with Saddam Hussein's Medina division about 60 miles south of Baghdad – have been transferred for testing, according to Paul Strand of the Christian Broadcasting Network.
A spokesman for the U.S. Army Central Command in Kuwait, Dani Burrows, told WND that her office could not confirm the report. Diane Perry said her Pentagon office had not heard the report but noted that embedded reporters often are getting stories ahead of the Defense Department.
Strand, quoting a "highly placed source," said by telephone that the American troops are not certain they found all of the Medina division's chemical weapons and fear they might be "hit by chemical shells any time now."
The captured warheads had Russian writing on them, he said.
The reporter noted a report several days ago that Saddam Hussein has pushed the level of authority for using these weapons down to the level of commanders on the front lines.
"That means young officers have the orders now that they can go ahead and use these things if they feel like they are about to be overtaken," he said.
Strand said the 3rd Infantry troops are fully equipped with gear to protect from chemical agents.
"The soldiers I have talked to seem very comfortable about getting hit with this stuff," he said. "The only thing is, nobody wants to live in those masks for weeks."
Concerns were raised Monday by a report that Saddam's Republican Guard units are authorized to use chemical weapons once American troops cross a red line the Iraqis have drawn around a map of Baghdad.
News reports Sunday indicating that U.S. forces had discovered an Iraqi chemical weapons facility have not been verified.
''It's a bit early for us to have any expectation of having found [any weapons],'' Gen. Tommy Franks said Monday at U.S. Central Command in Qatar. ''We'll wait for the days ahead.''
The Bush administration has insisted that Iraq is concealing an extensive biological and chemical weapons program. While making its case for the necessity of disarming Saddam by force, U.S. officials claimed Iraq has 1.5 tons of VX nerve gas, nearly 20,000 liters of anthrax and 30,000 artillery shells or rocket warheads capable of carrying chemical or biological agents.

[getitright]

Discovery of 3,000 chemical suits fans U.S. concerns Last Updated Wed, 26 Mar 2003 14:07:14 DOHA, QATAR - Coalition troops are bracing for more than a tough fight as they approach Baghdad and the elite Iraqi troops defending the city. Their fears of chemical or biological attack are growing. U.S. forces advancing through central Iraq found 3,000 chemical protection suits, U.S. Brig. Gen. Vince Brooks said on Wednesday. The discovery in a hospital south of An Nasiriyah "reinforces our concern," said Brooks. Coalition forces are concerned that Iraqi forces defending the Iraqi capital will use chemical weapons. "The danger does increase as we approach Baghdad," Brooks said. "We are well prepared to deal with the potential use of chemical weapons." Marines searching the hospital also found gas masks and antidote injection kits. There have been reports that coalition intelligence officers believe Iraqi commanders have drawn a line around Baghdad and if U.S. forces cross the line it would trigger the use of chemical or biological weapons. The hospital was apparently being used as a military staging site, Brooks said, saying it's another example of the Iraqi military using civilian sites to hide and house military equipment. Written by CBC News Online staff

[Lady In Blue]

I heard Hannity talk about this on his show this afternoon.He alo added that they(3rd Infantry)had captured an Iraqi officer who was the one who mixed the chemical. Anybody else hear Hannity today? Need confirmation about Hannity's statement regarding the Iraqi officer.

[El Gato]

It took the Nazis PLUS the Soviets about five weeks to "conquer" tiny, near-defenseless Poland.

The roads were worse and the equipment not nearly as capable. Also, the Soviets were incompetant. They hadn't let their really good Generals and other officers out of the Gulag at that point. They waited until after their "Ally" the Germans, turned on them, big time. The Germans hadn't really had much practice then either. They got better before they hit the Russians.

[El Gato]

I agree that the "made in Russia" part is less credible

Why? The Soviets were the Iraqi's primar supplier, maybe still are. The shells could easily predate Gulf War I. Not the chemicals, most likely, but those are added not long before use anyway.

[Lady In Blue]

ping

[ConservativeLawyer]

If they are Russian-made, I wonder if they work as well as those Russian GPS Jammers.

[b4its2late]

I heard Hannity talk about this on his show this afternoon.He alo added that they(3rd Infantry)had captured an Iraqi officer who was the one who mixed the chemical. Anybody else hear Hannity today? Need confirmation about Hannity's statement regarding the Iraqi officer.

Yes. I heard that too. He was going to try to have Sweet Baby James get a hold of Robertsons office. Then I had to go to a meeting and heard no more of the show.

[WOSG]

We will not confirm their presence while we are fighting their army. If we confirm them and show them to the world, there's then absolutely no reason for the Iraqis to hold back on using them.

Thanks, you've explained it all!

That Najaf facility sure sounded suspicious to me. I was on pins and needles when Fox news was "confirming" with 'high-level defense officials' and then within hours the wet blanket came out. It seemed strange how that news cycle came out, there seemed to be alot more than met the eye.

Patience. In due course we will know the truth.

[b4its2late]

The show used to repeat in a 3 hour loop on Hannity.com. Not sure if they still do that or not. If so, you might be able to catch it on rebroadcast. I'll listen tomorrow morning at work. Now, I've got to hit the hay.

[blastdad51]

Did a google search on Novichok.
Wow!! bad stuff to be sure, maybe we should invit Chirac and his buddy Blix down to explain this S#%t. Then offer it to the Chechins for Putin benefit.

[CyberAnt]

I still say the sandstorm was the perfect time to allow these young men the opportunity to rest. Whether GOD provided it for that purpose or not - we got to take advantage of it.

[goody2shooz]

Me thinks God did it so our guys could rest before battling the Evil Ones.

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

Strand is CBN's embedded reporter. You think the US Military would not have credentialled him if they didn't think he was OK?

[Bitter Bierce]

Has anybody seen any confirmation whatsoever of the CBN report since it was first published? While I understand the reasons some have given for the lack or prompt corroboration, but it's terribly frustrating to have such an important story sort of dangling out there for so long.

[yoe]

"IF it ain't on Fox, I'm not buyin' it..."

Mind if I join you? I am with you on this one......

[Nebr FAL owner]

Very creative idea take a attaboy out of petty cash.=8^)

[Nebr FAL owner]

Sad to say but was real hospital being misused by Iraqi fedayeen goons they will fight cause they got nowhere else to go the other arabs won't trust them & the Iraqi's that are liberated will skin them alive & roll them in rock salt just for sh*ts ,grins & giggles.

[Grampa Dave]

Regardless, they were using the hospital as storage facility, communication center and for other purposes.

Thanks for your reply.

How about we round up the Folly Wood fools and send them over Bashra to tell those poor people how innocent and great Soddomite is/was?