Well, that and this... 
among other things...
Posted on 02/22/2003 4:37:44 PM PST by MadIvan
Saddam Hussein's air force has developed a more sophisticated delivery and detonation system for chemical weapons than previously known to United Nations inspectors, a former senior air force officer has told The Telegraph.
In an interview at a house in Amman in Jordan, where he has been hiding since he fled Baghdad last year, the former officer said that Baghdad was still pursuing the chemical armaments programme when he left Iraq - despite its insistence that it had abandoned its weapons of mass destruction project after the Gulf war.
"Ali" - The Telegraph knows his real name and former rank but promised not to disclose it in case his relatives still in Iraq are identified and punished - said that he was trained to handle binary-system bombs which mix lethal chemicals moments before detonation for maximum effect.
"Saddam will never surrender these weapons," said Ali. "They are as much a part of his life as eating and drinking."
His alarming claims, which indicate a clear breach of UN resolutions, will fuel fears that Saddam may use chemical weapons against American and British forces in the event of war.
United Nations weapons inspectors based in New York said yesterday that they would like to debrief the former officer urgently. "We would be interested in talking to this man," said a spokesman for Unmovic, the weapons inspection agency.
Ali described in detail how the chemical bombs and sprays were fitted and operated, backing up his testimony with drawings and graphics, during clandestine meetings lasting several hours in the Jordanian capital, Amman.
"What he describes is a logical development of the techniques we know the Iraqis were working on," said one former senior weapons inspector contacted by The Telegraph.
Another said: "If what he says can be confirmed then this is a very big discovery. It would be proof that Iraq has continued with the development of a new type of weapon."
The chemical weapons previously known to inspectors were less advanced; their lethal contents mixed on the ground before the bombs were loaded on to planes.
At the time that Ali was trained, he was working at military bases at Habbaniya 50 miles west of Baghdad, and al-Qa'qa, 20 miles south of the capital.
He last witnessed the new bomb mechanism being tested - with water and oil rather than chemicals - at Habbaniya in 2000, after which the tests were switched to a different location. However, he said former colleagues with whom he remains in contact confirm that the programme is still running.
He said that the bombs were divided in two by an internal partition. When loaded with chemicals, there was a black liquid in one compartment and a yellowish one in the other.
The pilots were trained to hit a switch to open the partition when they approached their targets, allowing the two substances to combine and reach their greatest potency. A few seconds later, outer doors on the bottom of the weapon would open automatically, releasing the mixture.
Ali then drew a detailed diagram of another binary-system bomb, also divided by a partition that was designed to explode after its release in mid-air, again allowing the two substances to mix at the last moment. These weapons were intended for the Iraqi air force's more modern jets, but an alternative delivery method was developed for slower planes such as Sukhoi-25s and for helicopters, he explained.
The Viet Cong made land mines with nothing more than a bullet, a lump of clay and a nail.
pit-ty
In a submission before the House Armed Services Committee on 10 September 2002 biowarfare expert Dr Richard Spertzel, who spent years trying to uncover Saddam's secrets while heading the biological wing of UNSCOM in Iraq after Operation Desert Storm, said that there was some evidence that the Iraqis might now also have the deadliest nerve gas of all: Novichok. A product of the Cold War, Novichok is a dozen times more potent than any other agent easily penetrates all known gas masks produced in the West - Israel's included.
Then wouldn't Saddam have to torture and kill himself???
I like it!
Spay Saddam!
The horror scenario isn't that Hussein visits horrible weapons like this on our troops--the difficulty of delivering such weapons effectively against the type of light, mobile force we will send is immense. Rather, it is that he will deploy these weapons against large civilian targets. Our military leaders know that he knows that he will never survive the invasion--thus, he has nothing to lose and will likely act accordingly.
The delay in moving has been to allow our forces to interdict those units that will remain loyal to Hussein to the end--the ones who can execute his orders. These units are comprised of those most likely to bear the brunt of vengeance from the liberated, formerly oppressed. They, too, have little to lose.
Exhaustive planning is the hallmark of successful wars. The hand wringers in the media grossly overestimate the capabilities of the Iraqis (whose military is roughly 1/3 the Gulf War size and equipped with weaponry that has felt the effects of 12 years of sanctions) and their willingness to mix it up once Uncle Sam starts shooting. Likewise, the media grossly underestimate the caliber of our current weaponry and tactics.
The delay has permitted thorough planning and intelligence gathering that will minimize the loss of civilian and allied lives. The hot part of this engagement will be less than 96 hours.
Our military leaders know that he knows that he will never survive the invasion--thus, he has nothing to lose and will likely act accordingly.Boy, Zebra, I hope you are right. He can not escape justice. Please assure me that this will not happen in this case.
A_R
They kept the planes. Hehehe.
Well, that and this...
among other things...
Just like Hitler, trying to fly out of Berlin and then on a sub to South America. Well AH never made it out.
Didn't the Iraqi AF leave for safe harbors in other countries during the Desert Storm/Shield? Seems like Iran may have been one of them. If they do it again at the beginning then their bombs won't be of much use..... If they don't use them early I suspect they can forget them as I suspect the Allies will control the airspace from day one.
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