Iraqi Chemical Weapons Facility Found - South of Baghdad

"It was not immediately clear what chemicals were being produced at the facility, but both reports said the Iraqis had tried to camouflage the facility so it looked like the surrounding desert and would not be spotted from the air.
. . .
Asked to comment on the reports, a Central Command official said in an e-mail: "While media reports are premature, we are looking into sites of interest."


It will be interesting to see what comes out of this site. It could be a mothballed facility or a standard weapons production facility. It looks like the media might be jumping the gun on this one.

Nothing hard headed here, just waiting for confirmation from non media sources. There are many possiblities of what this could be. Why the jump to chemical weapons production facility? Why chemical WEAPONS. Iraq is known to have chemical plants for things and products related to petroleum production. There are also several mothballed facilities in the area as well. I will trust the testimony of an expert over the reporters or the troops that found it (unless, they were indeed the experts). I've noticed that several additional stories of this find are a bit more cautious and label it as a "supected" chemical weapons facility. It certainly is suspect, but not confirmed.

Because no legitimate chemical plant would have been carefully hidden, and staffed by the military? Seems obvious to me.

Right Notto, quite a trick to begin with since they didn't have any of this stuff





how about the testimony of an expert that's driving a new Mercedes 650 SEL ?

Nothing will convince the hard-headed. They seem to be so dug in, they have ruled out any possibility that they could be wrong on this one.

Today at 09:14 PM TheBear said this in Post #3

Riiiight. And, I bet that coalition forces will plant the evidence.

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I hope not, but I don't know who I can trust.  If there is evidence deemed worthy by a large international body then I'll buy it.  I can't say I'd be that surprised anyhow.

Nothing will convince the hard-headed. They seem to be so dug in, they have ruled out any possibility that they could be wrong on this one.

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I hear the same in regards to the existence of God on a daily basis and I find the "proof" used to justify this war is on the same calibre of the "proof" used to prove the existence of God.

Most skeptics aren't exactly that difficult to sway on most issues - we just need adequate evidence and I can't apologize for having high standards for such evidence.

They have left themselves no breathing room, so they are actually praying that things go seriously wrong with this operation.

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TheBear, I sincerely hope you don't think we're that petty.  For the sake of our soldiers, for the sake of the Iraqi people, and for the sake of the American Image, I hope I am very wrong about this war.

I don't want innocent people harmed just so I can say 'na-nana-boo-boo'.

Skeptisicm is a virtue, Bear. Blindly accepting war news without it can make a fool of the best of men.

Especially given all the old adages about Fog of War, and how often "breaking news" turns out to be wrong (at least in war).

Here

Stories by some media outlets that U.S. forces have uncovered a suspected chemical weapons factory in Iraq may be wrong, the Pentagon cautioned late Sunday.

Various news agencies carried reports that a factory had been found near the city of Najaf, about 160 kilometres from Baghdad.

Troops are examining "sites of interests," U.S. Central Command confirmed in a statement. But it offered no details, and warned that claims the factory produced chemical weapons are "premature"

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That should be enough for skepticism, Bear.

However, even without that, you should be supicious at how lightly guarded it was, where it was, and the timing of it.

More importantly, I'm left in something of a quandry if it's true. Given the location of it, it was either discovered by front-line troops who noticed a "chemical weapons" facility that weapons inspectors didn't notice (at 100 acres, no less), or they were told where it was....which makes me wonder why the inspectors were not.

There are quite a few dual-use plants in the area, as, you know, petrochemicals and such are a big industry in Iraq. My first impression is that they took one of those, and that the presence of a high-ranking officer and such a small number of guards has more to do with guerilla plans than chemical weapons.

I've seem "30 soldiers and one general" or "general officer" (don't know which is correct). That's way to small to guard an important 100 acre facility.

Today at 11:38 AM Morat said this in Post #11

Skeptisicm is a virtue, Bear. Blindly accepting war news without it can make a fool of the best of men.

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What's reported, and what actually happened is two different things. At least, from my personal experience....

Want to know what actually happened? Ask the men who were there...

The problem is, the men who were there aren't likely to know what the heck it is. I doubt many chemical engineers are serving in front-line units. These weren't chemical weapons experts, but marines.

I don't doubt their ability to recognize camaflouge, chemical plants, or enemy soldiers, nor their ability to handle any surprises thrown up by them. But I don't expect them to be able to say "Why, to the untrained eye this looks like an abandonded petrochemical facility, but if you look closely (and according to samples X, Y, and Z) it appears to be creating large quanties of VX gas...."

Today at 11:53 AM Morat said this in Post #13

The problem is, the men who were there aren't likely to know what the heck it is. I doubt many chemical engineers are serving in front-line units. These weren't chemical weapons experts, but marines.

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Agreed,

however, our troops are given intensive training in BNC (bio, nuclear, chemical) warfare. Given the perceived threat, the Marines on the frontline are carrying test kits to test for bio/chemical agents. If chemical agents really are there, they will know.

My point is simply, what our government typically reports in the news always differs from what actually occured in the hostile area. Just from my own personal experiences.

Just saw reports. Not a chemical weapons facility, according to US officials.

NBC reports no chemicals were found there. CNN reports the Pentagon believes it was abandonded a long time ago.

Be a bit of a skeptic. Learn to use your BS detector.

Mine broke during the Great Pyramid debate..
It hasn't worked since...