Uh oh..chemical warefare??

[Outspoken]

http://www.usatoday.com/news/graphics/phantom_fury/flash.htm
Its the 2nd picture, that stuff is pretty nasty chemical weapons. One drop can kill. If widespread this could kill thousands...

 

[AirPo]

http://www.usatoday.com/news/graphics/phantom_fury/flash.htm
Its the 2nd picture, that stuff is pretty nasty chemical weapons. One drop can kill. If widespread this could kill thousands...

This is old news. There was a thread about it last week I think. I'd search for it, but I haven't figured out how yet.

Anyway, it turned out they were kits for testing for sarin, not actual sarin.

 

[Ceris]

As he said, old news. There was already a thread on this. Nothing but kits testing for sarin gas.

 

[Sycophant]

That stupid website seems to believe I don't have Flash, simply because I am running Mozilla. Stupid site.

And yes, that is not actually Sarin, it is testing kits. I can't believe USA Today is so irresponsible as to not correctly caption that photo. Or perhaps that's Getty Images' fault.

 

[Sycophant]

Yup. It is Getty Images' fault. See here.

 

[Outspoken]

can someone show me a story stating this?

 

[trunks2k]

can someone show me a story stating this?

This thread was where it was originally discussed. In the OP, if you listen to the whole thing, they mention that it was suspected to be Sarin gas, but turned out to be Sarin test kits. I believe there are a few other links in the thread to that information.

 

[ClaireZ]

starbulletin.com/2004/11/12/news/story3.html



In the course of locating seven weapons caches in a single block around a mosque in northeast Fallujah, an Iraqi platoon found a suitcase Wednesday full of vials labeled "Sarin," a deadly nerve agent. While further analysis determined that the find was probably part of a Soviet test kit with samples, its discovery in a room with mortar shells appeared to indicate an intent to weaponize the material.

 

[ClaireZ]

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4163601&sourceCode=RSS

Update: Troops' Discovery Found Not to Be Sarin Gas

U.S. Marines reload their tanks with shells during battle in Fallujah, Nov. 10 Reuters © 2004

 

[drboyd]

They're going to weaponize test kits? I don't understand why they would launch a perfectly good test kit in a mortar shell...

starbulletin.com/2004/11/12/news/story3.html


In the course of locating seven weapons caches in a single block around a mosque in northeast Fallujah, an Iraqi platoon found a suitcase Wednesday full of vials labeled "Sarin," a deadly nerve agent. While further analysis determined that the find was probably part of a Soviet test kit with samples, its discovery in a room with mortar shells appeared to indicate an intent to weaponize the material.

 

[ClaireZ]

They're going to weaponize test kits? I don't understand why they would launch a perfectly good test kit in a mortar shell...

Lol I think there might have been just a wee bit of bias in that "news source."

btw I think it highly unlikely that the "average insurgent" would have the skills to weaponize anything. Just posted that newsource cause I figured it would be one Outspoken would be likely to accept.

(A bit to the right don't ya know)

 

[Outspoken]

They're going to weaponize test kits? I don't understand why they would launch a perfectly good test kit in a mortar shell...

There are samples of the substance in a test kit are there not? Okay, seems this was or could have been a test kit.

 

[ff578]

Why do you need a sarin test kit if there is supposed to be no sarin gas?

 

[drboyd]

Interesting that the labels were in English, huh? I wonder if it said where they were purchased...

 

[Sycophant]

Why do you need a sarin test kit if there is supposed to be no sarin gas?

Sarin gas was used during the Iran-Iraq war (by Iran) there are likely to be hundreds of Sarin test kits left over from then.

 

[ff578]

Sarin gas was used during the Iran-Iraq war (by Iran) there are likely to be hundreds of Sarin test kits left over from then.

Are you trying to claim that Iraq never used Sarin?

Did Iraq ever use sarin?
Yes. Iraq began producing sarin in 1984 and admitted to possessing 790 tons of it in 1995. Saddam Hussein used sarin on the Kurds in northern Iraq during a 1987-88 campaign known as the Anfal. The worst attack occurred in March 1988 in the Kurdish village of Halabja; a combination of chemical agents including sarin, mustard gas, and possibly VX killed as many as 5,000 people and left 65,000 others facing severe skin and respiratory diseases, abnormal rates of cancer and birth defects, and a devastated environment. Experts say Saddam Hussein also launched about 280 smaller-scale chemical attacks against the Kurds.


http://www.cfrterrorism.org/weapons/sarin.html

 

[notto]

Why do you need a sarin test kit if there is supposed to be no sarin gas?

It is well know that both Iran and Iraq had Sarin during their war. It was claimed that Iraq had stockpiles of WMD and the capabilities to make WMD.

Soviet made test kits that may have contained small amounts of sarin do not substantiate the claimt hat Iraq had stockpiles of WMD or that they were capable of making it.

The US knew full well that Iraq used WMD against the Kurds and at the time they choose to do nothing and the current (Republican) administration even fought against sanctions against Iraq that were being urged by congress.

The question that we faced was if the sanctions that were finally imposed had worked to eliminate or reduce Saddams ability to make WMD's. From the looks of it, they did, otherwise, we wouldn't have seen so many posts in the last few months claiming that a few 20 year old rockets or soviet test kits amounted to stockpiles of WMD's that Saddam had. We would have pictures of said stockpiles and production facilities.

 

[Sycophant]

Are you trying to claim that Iraq never used Sarin?

No, I was making the point that the Iraqi military would have field testing kits for Sarin because it was being employed but the enemy in the Iran-Iraq war.

 

[drboyd]

Hey, anybody wanna play, "Who can find the best quote from Bush administration officials about how we know absolutely for a fact beyond a shadow of a doubt that Saddam has Weapons of Mass Destruction?"

 

[Sycophant]

Hey, anybody wanna play, "Who can find the best quote from Bush administration officials about how we know absolutely for a fact beyond a shadow of a doubt that Saddam has Weapons of Mass Destruction?"

Sounds fun -- but it would be taking the thread off topic a little wouldn't it? Oh well. I'll start:

"[Saddam] has not developed any significant capability with respect to weapons of mass destruction. He is unable to project conventional power against his neighbors."
- Colin Powell, 24 Feb 2001
No, wait that's not right. Hmm.