Posted on 05/21/2004 2:50:53 PM PDT by swilhelm73
More on SarinFacts
During the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, Saddam’s military used sarin and other chemical agents against Iran and the Kurdish population. They primarily employed helicopters equipped with agricultural-type sprayers, as well as a crude type of chemical warhead that required the ingredients to be mixed on the battlefield immediately before firing. (I’d hate to be the guy with that job).
There is no evidence that Saddam’s military employed more sophisticated “mix-in-flight” binary chemical artillery shells during the Iran-Iraq war, nor even that they possessed such technology at that time.
After the First Gulf War, Iraq was required to declare to UN weapons inspectors all aspects of its chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons programs, to include a complete inventory of all existing or destroyed munitions. They did NOT declare any binary chemical warheads.
In October 1995 (after the UN discovered some previously undisclosed documents), Saddam revised his weapons declaration, admitting that his scientists had developed “prototypes” of shells capable of delivering binary sarin, but claimed that the project had never reached full production. UN inspectors noted at the time, however, that “new documentation shows production in quantities well beyond prototype levels.”
The artillery shell discovered earlier this week, according to General Kimmitt, contained a “mix-in-flight” binary chemical warhead. This type of warhead, as noted above, was not used in the Iran-Iraq war, and was not included by Saddam in his 1991 weapons declaration.
Assumptions
The Pentagon isn’t making this up.
The artillery shell was of Iraqi manufacture.
The shell wasn’t a prototype.
The shell was part of a larger stockpile.
Analysis
Sometime between 1988-95, Saddam developed and manufactured sophisticated, “mix-in-flight” binary chemical weapons.
He failed to declare these weapons, as required, to UN weapons inspectors.
Iraq did not destroy all of its chemical weapons.
A stockpile of artillery shells, including at least some that contain chemical warheads, has been found by “insurgents” in Iraq.
I’ll explore the further implications of this in a later post.
UPDATE: Scott Ritter provides an alternative explanation in today's Christian Science Monitor.
If the 155-mm shell was a "dud" fired long ago - which is highly likely - then it would not be evidence of the secret stockpile of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) that the Bush administration used as justification to invade Iraq. While Ritter has served, in recent years, as one of Saddam's most prominent Western apologists, his theory is technically plausible -- if not, as he claims "highly likely." Indeed, the Ritter theory would be relatively simple to prove (or disprove) by examining the shell itself. A 155mm shell that had been fired from an artillery piece would show visible evidence that it had been fired, as Ritter himself acknowledges.
Of course, the fact that another shell filled with mustard gas was recently discovered near Baghdad would make it appear much more likely that both weapons were recovered from the same chemical weapons stockpile, rather than Ritter's theory that two chemical "artillery duds" would coincidentally turn up within a couple of weeks of each other.
(Hat tip: Blaster)
Why do people even bother to print Ritters name, much less use anything he says in print.
He was marginalized years ago.
bmp
Saddam didn't have binary mix in flight shells back when Ritter claims this shell was made (and supposedly used).
I have another alternative explanation. Donld Rumsfeld and/or Dick Cheney snuck over there and planted it just so they could prove that sadam had WMDs.
What do ya think, am I ready for Air America?
So rather than this being a story about the WMD find, the story is about what Ritter says about the WMD find, introducing SOME doubt as to whether or NOT it is a legitimate WMD find. Once again proving that the MEDIA has an agenda and if facts are found that do NOT coincide with that AGENDA, then doubts must be raised to discredit those facts. SPIN SPIN SPIN
If we're lucky (real lucky), Bush's speech Monday will be about finding a large stash of these Sarin loaded in flight mixing shells.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.