Posted on 03/15/2005 7:27:51 PM PST by Nachum
As Israel considers allowing Egypt to control the critical Philadelphi corridor along Israels border, startling revelations about Egyptian chemical weapons proliferation are coming to light.
Egypt secretly helped former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in his chemical weapons program, according to a CIA report.
The report, authored by the CIAs Iraq Survey Group, says that Egypt sent specialists to Iraq in the 1980s to help him manufacture poison gas. Iraq later used the gas against Iranian citizens as well as Iraqi Kurds.
The report says that the Iraqi government paid Egypt $12 million, "in return for assistance with production and storage of chemical weapons agents."
The Iraq Survey Group, led by CIA special adviser Charles A. Duelfer, discovered extensive information on Iraqs chemical weapons programs. "During the early years, Egyptian scientists provided consultation, technology and oversight, allowing rapid advances and technological leaps in weaponization," the report says.
Despite Egyptian denials following the report, UN arms inspectors confirmed the assertions to the Associated Press.
"We were aware from back in 1991 that there was a link between Iraq and Egypt on chemical weapons," former senior U.N. adviser on chemical weapons Ron G. Manley of Britain told the AP.
Iraqis used mustard gas, sarin and other chemical agents against the Iranians during the lengthy Iran-Iraq war. In 1988, Iraqi aircraft dropped sarin and mustard gas on Iranian-held villages in Iraqi Kurdistan, killing up to 5,000 Iraqi Kurdish civilians.
Egyptian Embassy spokesman Hisham Elnakib insists that, "Egypt had no relation whatsoever with Iraq in the field of chemical weapons."
The UN inspectors say their findings were confirmed over and over again by hard evidence and frank and honest Egyptian scientists. They say they never announced the Egyptian connection in order to maintain Egyptian cooperation in future investigation.
Some Israeli officials have long warned against Israeli indifference to Egypt's stockpiling of dangerous weapons. MK Yuval Shteinitz, for instance, who is Chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said last year that the Egyptians continue to allow arms-smuggling to Gaza because they are interested in the continuation of the Israeli -Palestinian conflict. Egypt's policy is just like Syria's arming of Hizbullah, Shteinitz said, except that the Egyptians do it more quietly.
The estimated amounts of arms and explosives smuggled in to Gaza in the past four years are: 2,000 kilograms of explosives, 6,700 Kalachnikov rifles (including 5,000 since 2003), 750 anti-tank shell launchers, 33 mortars, 18 submachine guns, 5 anti-aircraft missiles, 580,000 bullets, and dozens of rocket propelled grenades(RPGs).
The subject of Egypt arming terrorists with chemical weapons has not been discussed publicly in Israel.
Actually, I find the timing of these revelations curious,
Egypt Ambassador Back in Israel After 4-Year Break
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050317/wl_nm/egypt_israel_arrival_dc_2
Could it be that someone wants to break up the peace process?
The liberation of Iraq, and the recent successful elections, and the rolling back of the illegal Syrian occupation of Lebanon, not to mention the November 2004 reelection of GWB, put a scare into the Egyptians. It is my belief that the Egyptians are planning the next (and they hope last and successful) war against Israel in concert with Syria, Hizbollah and the other PLO mass-murderers, and with the help of a nuclear-capable Iran. The current apparent diplomatic progress is part of the show; however, as long as there is regime change in Syria and Lebanon, and Hizbollah is exterminated like a roach -- and of course, the obliteration of the mullahcracy in Iran -- we'll see more real progress, as Egypt will have no choice but to abandon war plans.
"Terrorist with no place to hide? Try sunny Saudi Arabia. Help overthrow the corrupt, decadent, pro-western royal house and re-establish true Islamic rule."
[that's a poster idea for distribution throughout the Moslem world]
That's the truth. If this story is true it will only die in the msm. Should it get any attention, the msm will find some liberal lackey to say "well, you know we sold them the chemicals in the first place".
Thanks Nachum.
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