Chemical Weapons Found

[Tomsoundman]

http://www.msnbc.com/news/895392.asp

[Mark Holtz]

Somehow, the link got mangled.

I'm taking the report for the time being with some doubt, especially since it is a early report and they are doing some testing for confirmation. But, if the report turns out to be true, then we have found the smoking gun.

[Scott Greczkowski]

Does this mean that France will like us again? :)

[Tim]

It could Scott.. it could also mean that we finally got proactive and planted the sarin instead of hoping we eventually would find it. ;)

[cooper]

Gee, I hope so. I've had this deep feeling of emptiness since this whole thing started. ;)

[Dgenx321]

"Smoking gun" WMD site in Iraq turns out to contain pesticide

NEAR NAJAF, Iraq (AFP) - A facility near Baghdad that a US officer had claimed might finally be "smoking gun" evidence of Iraqi chemical weapons production turned out to contain pesticide, not sarin gas as originally thought.

A military intelligence officer for the US 101st Airborne Division's aviation brigade, Captain Adam Mastrianni, told AFP that comprehensive tests Monday determined the presence of the pesticide compounds.

Initial tests had reportedly detected traces of sarin -- a powerful toxin that quickly affects the nervous system -- after US soldiers guarding the facility near Hindiyah, 100 kilometres (60 miles) south of Baghdad, became ill.

Mastrianni said: "They thought it was a nerve agent. That's what it tested. But it is pesticide."

He said a "theatre-level chemical testing team" made up of biologists and chemists had disproved the preliminary field tests results and established that pesticide was in fact the substance involved.

Mastrianni added that the dozen sick soldiers, who had become nauseated, dizzy and developed skin blotches, had all recovered.

The belated correction was an embarrassment for the US forces in the region, who had been quick to say that they thought they had finally found the proof they have been actively looking for, that Iraq was hiding weapons of mass destruction.

A spokesman for the US army's 3rd Infantry Division, Major Ross Coffman, had told journalists at Baghdad's airport that the site "could be a smoking gun".

"We are talking about finding a site of possible weapons of mass destruction," he had added.

But in Qatar, where the US Central Command (CentCom) is directing the US-led invasion of Iraq, officials had been much more cautious.

"We don't have any extraordinary finds at this point while we're still looking," CentCom spokesman US Brigadier General Vincent Brooks told a news briefing.

He expressed confidence that the US forces would eventually find the proof they were looking for.

Troops, he said, would be increasingly investigating suspected sites, both ones that have been identified beforehand, and others "that can be done on an ad hoc basis where we find some piece of information we didn't previously have -- and frankly we expect there will be a lot of that."

In a further sign that US commanders are unconcerned about an Iraqi nuclear, biological or chemical attack, they ordered forces near Baghdad on Monday to shed their protective gear.

"It's great to have them off," Lieutenant Colonel Fred Padilla, commander of the 1st Marines Battalion, said after his troops stripped down to lighter camouflage garb.

Padilla said an order to take off the cumbersome and hot protection suits had come down from his superiors.

"They made an assessment and they determined there was not a serious threat right now," he said.

[waydwolf]

Originally posted by Tim
It could Scott.. it could also mean that we finally got proactive and planted the sarin instead of hoping we eventually would find it. ;)

    Our forces in no way, shape, or form have access to any such materials. Dugaway Proving Grounds is the only place I can think of off the top of my head that MIGHT have ANY amount of such things in storage, and that would likely be for counter-agent research.

    We didn't traipse in with 55 gallon drums of this cr*p. There were reports earlier that similar drums were avoided on the battlefield near Baghdad as possibly being intended for explosive dispersion by their forces. Also, there's been reports of a possible buried WMD site in a the yard of a girl's school under concrete.

    My sense is that when it is all done, we're going to be able to show off Russian, Syrian, French, German, and Chinese weapons and supplies that were brought in since the end of the last war in violation of UN resolutions that those very same nations signed on to, and probably even help from more than one in the WMD area.

    This is a gigantic slap in the face to the world from reality, telling it to wake up, that the reflexive anti-American bashing and claiming that we do all the arming of despots is utter hogwash, and that our supposed allies at the UN have been lining their pockets with money from monsters at the expense of those who live under the boots of such international creeps.

    I only hope the world will be honest enough to admit that they've been hosed and lied to repeatedly by the weasel nations ever since the last war with Iraq, and that those nations helped this ******* Hussein stay years longer in power and kill untold thousands of Iraqis and contribute who knows what to the terrorists of the world who view American prosperity as evil and their fellow countrymen who come here and build new lives as traitors.

[MMF]

I hope your right but history is against it. When I was in Thailand during Vietnam we were bombing Cambodia daily. Yet our government told the American people that we were not. If you don't think our intelligence community would plant something to cover their buts you are sadly mistaken.

Have you noticed the lack of news coverage concerning war protests? Now why do you think that is? Maybe it has something to do with Michael Powell allowing the consolidation of radio and TV stations and the broadcasters giving back for allowing it!

Don't get me wrong, having been in Germany and London this year I know first hand the bashing we are taking and I don't like it. And don't give me that crap about not being patriotic. I served my country during war when nobody wanted it and most of the people that wanted this war have never been in one!!!!!!

Sorry to vent.

[Bogy]

Our armed forces have been in Iraq 2 weeks and they finally found this stuff. Can you imagine, the inspectors didn't find this stuff in the whole two weeks we gave them after they finally were fully staffed and equipped? :rolleyes:

[Richard King]

Can you imagine, the inspectors didn't find this stuff in the whole two weeks we gave them after they finally were fully staffed and equipped? Fully staffed with what, under 200 inspectors? Face it, no matter what you want to think, they never would have found anything. We have over 100,000 in field right now. I think the advantage to finding anything goes to us over the inspectors. But then, I wouldn't expect you appeasers to see facts if they bumped you in the face. Whatever this stuff is, WMD or not, would have sat perfectly safe just where it was found for years if they didn't want the inspectors to find it.

[DDRio]

OK, What did we find? Pesticides or Chemical Weapons? I've been watching MSNBC and they haven't been reporting what the French News Agency reported. MSNBC is still reporting that what they found are probably chemical weapons. The real results will be reported in 36 - 48 hours.

I wonder how the French News Agency was able to get this information and report it at 1:52 pm while the pentagon at 2:00 pm said that further testing was needed.

I just hope that this is not of another case of Liberal Media now coming from France.

"The belated correction was an embarrassment for the US forces in the region, who had been quick to say that they thought they had finally found the proof they have been actively looking for, that Iraq was hiding weapons of mass destruction." HA!!!!

[James_F]

Originally posted by Rking401
Face it, no matter what you want to think, they never would have found anything.
Well I guess we will never know. I hope it is worth all the thousands of Iraqi, British and American lives.

[alfbinet]

MMF. It amazes me that we have not seen a "surge" of volunteers to our Armed Forces. With all the testosterone going on various boards with support, I would expect recruitment would be up. Is it? I was reading a piece in the "Cleveland Plain Dealer", not a bastion of liberal left wing thinking by any stretch of the imagination, where it seems recruitment is flat. Granted we have only been at this for two weeks, but you would still think all these "younger folks" who want to kick Iraq's ass would be lining up. I have served, I have killed, and I still think we went into this mess way too soon. I have questioned some of the younger generation and one response comes up frequently. Their thought is that they have a career path they want to pursue which includes getting a 4-year degree, AND IF THEIR COUNTRY NEEDS them after, they will serve. Somehow, this rings hollow to me. It is easy to let someone else fight your war for you.

[Nick]

...and just exactly why would the Iraqi govt store 'pesticides' in hidden underground bunkers? Get real.

As to why the UN "inspectors" didn't find any WMD and the coalition forces have? Simple.

- 200 inspectors, land area the size of California
- tens of thousands of coalition military now on the ground looking for evidence
- thousands of cooperating Iraqis reporting where all kinds of contraband has been stored.

Locals now feel freer to provide ciritical intelligence to the allies.

Now all we have to watch out for is the damn vultures (France, Germany, Russia, Belgium & others) circling overhead hoping to get a piece of the carcass.

[Mark Holtz]

You're forgot one thing..... the UN Inspectors had Iraqi minders keeping an eye on where the inspectors went. The troops will shoot such Iraqi minders.

[Mike123abc]

The Pentagon is not confirming the presence of chemical weapons until detailed tests can be done. The field test kits tested positive, but they are not always accurate and some pesticides can cause false positives. So, the Pentagon is playing it safe and not confirming until extensive tests are done.

[Jack White]

Originally posted by Bogy
Our armed forces have been in Iraq 2 weeks and they finally found this stuff. Can you imagine, the inspectors didn't find this stuff in the whole two weeks we gave them after they finally were fully staffed and equipped? :rolleyes:

Hey, yeah pesticides that kill Misquitos and other such insects qualify as WMDs as far as the pro-war people are concerned.
If you REALLY want to find ILLEGAL WMDs, go west to Israel.
You'll allegedly find the LARGEST AND MOST DANGEROUS WMDs in the whole Middle East there.
You'll possibly find 400 to 500 fission, thermonuclear and neutron devices there.
Neutron bombs were a weapon conisdered so evil that President Carter had to forbid the US from ever making them, and the Russians also decided it was too evil a weapon to make.
You'll allegedly find the largest and most advanced chemical weapons program in Israel with every kind of chemical weapon known to man and some that nobody knows about yet.
You'll allegedly find the largest and most advanced biological weapons program in the Middle East.
You'll allegedly find the most GENOCIDAL WEAPON ever thought up, "THE ISRAEL ETHNO BOMB", an alleged biological weapon so powerful that it can wipe the entire arab race(over half a billion people) off the face of the earth.
This alleged Israeli biological weapon was allegedly designed so it can only kill arabs and non-arabs are immune to it.
Israel also PROMISED that it would not be the first to introduce nuclear weapons into the Middle East, and everyone knows how little the Israeli governments word means.

[firephoto]

Lets see how is the war with Israel going.... Oh wait, we aren't at war with Israel, WE ARE AT WAR IN IRAQ!!!!

:rolleyes:

France hasn't been saying much since we found all the crates of weapons with FRANCE painted all over them. ;) Maybe France sold them lots of pesticides too?

[Bogy]

Let's see. Pesticides kept in "underground bunkers." I haven't seen these bunkers, but they are in an agricultural area. I know a lot of farmers who keep pesticides, herbicides, fertilizer, all kinds of toxic materials under lock and key. If they don't, these things have a tendency to disappear, even in America. I'm going to wait to make any real judgments until I hear some real facts, but if we are going to send in the troops for pesticides, I guess Iowa should be the next "country on the hit list."

[MarkA]

DDRio, Al Jazeera News confirms they were in fact just pesticides: http://english.aljazeera.net/topics/article.asp?cu_no=1&item_no=2094&version=1&template_id=277&parent_id=258

[firephoto]

All that aljuzeyra site says is, and i quote.....
" WMD 'smoking gun' turns out to be pesticide"
That's a little vague. lol


Our laws say that all ag chemicals have to be locked up if you exceed a certain quantity. I would be surprised if Iraq has such laws. And since this was a dug pit with 55 gallon barrels of these chemicals I would guess someone was up to something they shouldn't have been. Maybe they just have big bugs there. Who knows.

[Mithica]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by waydwolf
[B]

    Our forces in no way, shape, or form have access to any such materials.


What?? it was former president Geoege Bush and former president Ronald Reagan who provided this crap to Iraq in the first place! they provided it to help in the Iran Iraq war, as they seen Iraq as a stabalizing force in the Middle East.Iraq and the U.S were allies at that time, until Iraq invaded Kuwait, and upset the oil balance, causing concerns in the U.S that the oil supply may either be cut-off, or it will cost them more to purchase....why in the world did you think they where so sure he had this stuff?..because they sold it to them!
I strongly suggest that you unwrap yourselves from the flag, and actually open your eyes to the truth.

which are #1. George W is insane! he`s a loose cannon who thrives on the power at his finger tips.(obviously making up for "other" shortfalls)

#2. Iraq was never a threat to the U.S

#3. wheres the glory in attacking a country with old antique equipment, who has to use regular vehicles, to mount their weapons, because they have very little in the way of armored vehicles.

#4. there would be no dead U.S soldiers if George W didn`t love throwing his weight around so much.

#5. The U.S dropped cluster bombs on villages!! what`s up with that? even if there was a valid military target close by a cluster bomb is designed to disperse itself over a large area. I`ve seen pictures of the children who were injured in this horrible act. one small boy had his arm blown off, one little girl (probably around the age of 6) had a hole blown in her head, another lost her eye........will George W say they were enemy combatants!?!

God bess America? sheesh!....God protect the rest of us!

[Tomsoundman]

Mithica-
Welcome. Please post your information. We can see from your ONE post that you are a Bush hater and blinded by your hatred of the Republican Party...

[Richard King]

The problem with what was found is that the drums were labeled "pesticides". Maybe it would have been better if they were labeled "WMD Poisonous Gas". There are some here who wouldn't even believe that. Time for Iraq to have a truth in labeling law.

[JBKing]

Al Jazeera -- now THERE's a reliable source of non-biased news reporting. :rolleyes:

I'm not saying the chemicals are or are not WMD, just that we don't know yet, and I wouldn't believe everything Al Jazeera says. I've heard Baghdad Bob's next job will be with Al Jazeera, if he survives :D