Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Third Infantry Finds Chemical Weapons
CBN News ^ | March 26, 2003 | Paul Strand CBN News War Correspondent

Posted on 03/26/2003 12:45:20 PM PST by Freedomsfriend

"What I just heard from a highly placed source here is that they've discovered, they've captured chemical warheads, they're Russian, they have Russian writing all over them and they are chemical warheads."

CBN.com – The Third Infantry Division has captured evidence of chemical weapons as they are fighting Iraq’s Republican Guard just 60 miles south of Baghdad. The evidence has yet to be confirmed, but CBN News War Correspondent Paul Strand delivered this exclusive information by satellite phone early Wednesday. PAT ROBERTSON: We are going to our CBN News War Correspondent Paul Strand, embedded with the Army's Third Infantry Division. That's the spearhead of the attack against Baghdad. Paul, we understand you have some shocking news about chemical warheads. Tell us about it.

PAUL STRAND: Yes, Pat, I do. First of all, I hope you can hear me because I am out in that raging sandstorm and it’s hard to hear you. I hope you hear me okay. What I just heard from a highly placed source here is that they've discovered, they've captured chemical warheads, they're Russian, they have Russian writing all over them and they are chemical warheads. Of course, they can't get into them and find out if there’s chemicals because once they open them they'd all die right there on the spot. But they're gonna ship them off for testing.

They also captured a launcher that was able to shoot these very munitions that they've captured. And they’ve captured a man who mixes the chemicals, that was his job with the Medina Division which is the division we're facing right now near the city of Karbala. So all these things leading the military here to believe we might have been hit by chemical shells any time now, and we're not sure we've got them all. So those are the developments here near Karbala about 60 miles south of Baghdad.

ROBERTSON: Paul, I can hear you loud and clear, so don't worry about that. Let me ask you this, are these the type of weapons of mass destruction that has been talked about so much by President Bush?

STRAND: I’m not sure, Pat. I’ve told you just everything I heard. It happened just a few minutes ago. I would think this is definitely the smoking gun. It’s so strange, because the joke before this war was that Saddam says, "I have no chemical weapons, and if you invade I will use them on you." And now we find out they’re right out there with the frontline troops.

And another disturbing thing I heard a few days ago, was that he has pushed the level of authority for using these weapons down to the commander level. Not up around him, but the very commanders out on the line, they can use these things, they can choose to use them. So that means young officers have the orders now that they can go ahead and use these things if they feel like they are about to be overtaken. So that’s another disturbing development. Not only have we found the warheads, but officers out on the frontline can use them.

ROBERTSON: Paul, are you protected against this kind of thing? Will your suits do it and do you have some kind of an injection that can be used to counteract the effects of VX or whatever?

STRAND: Yes, Pat. We already, from the day we entered Iraq, we have had the suits on, the trousers and the pants, and boots, and gloves, and then we put the masks on. The mask fully protects us and the hood wraps around it tightly. And then we have in our backpacks, we have atropine we can shoot into our legs against nerve agents, we have pills to take against things like anthrax. So we’re pretty well covered. And the soldiers I have talked to seem very comfortable about getting hit with this stuff. The only thing is nobody wants to live in those masks for weeks.

ROBERTSON: Paul, I am told that the sandstorm may be the worst in recent memory, you know, in the last 17 or 18 years. Can you tell us about the sandstorm? Is it growing in intensity?

STRAND: It is about the worst weather I have ever felt in my life. Last night I was sleeping outdoors like usual, and it was so bad I jumped into a Humvee. There, with all of the windows closed and everything, the Humvee just filled with sand, there was so much sand it just came in through the little air holes or whatever. And the wind was so strong, it felt like the Humvee would get picked up and thrown over — and you know, Humvees are big, strong, giant vehicles. Stuff was flying through the air, smashing into the side of the vehicle all night long. And the air is completely yellow. You can't see any normal light, you can’t see the sky. It got dark like an hour before it was supposed to. It’s just truly an amazing sandstorm.

ROBERTSON: The Iraqis are saying it’s the judgment of Allah upon the attackers. Are we finding any bright spots in it for the American troops?

STRAND: We are. The soldiers have so much gear that can operate in this kind of thing that they say actually some obscuring factors like this can help them. Now the thing is, the battle has been raging in Karbala, back and forth, so both sides seem to be still operating in this environment. But I understand if it does go away here in the next day or two, that we will just really smash ahead as hard as we can. You know, I must admit, the first thing I said when the sandstorm came in, a lieutenant and I were sitting in the Humvee with it roaring all around us, and I said, "It’s at a moment like this that a theologian asks, ‘What is God trying to tell us?’"

ROBERTSON: [laughter] Paul, I think a lot of people are going to be asking that. This is kind of a trite statement, but as they say, stay safe.


TOPICS: Breaking News; Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: blixiespixies; cbn; embeddedreport; illegalweapons; michaeldobbs; paulstrand; wmd
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 301-306 next last
To: Freedomsfriend
If we had given Blix more time... Would 12 years be enough?
21 posted on 03/26/2003 12:50:27 PM PST by Blood of Tyrants (Even if the government took all your earnings, you wouldn’t be, in its eyes, a slave.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Freedomsfriend
Oh my....
22 posted on 03/26/2003 12:51:02 PM PST by ksen (HHD)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: sam_paine
Good for CBN.

Should take Chirac, Schroeder, Blix, and put them in a room with a shell. Pop the top and ask them again about chemical weapons before they die.
23 posted on 03/26/2003 12:51:03 PM PST by Stopislamnow (Because tomorrow we'll all be dead and won't be able to)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: Freedomsfriend
Definately looking for confirmation on this one. Been burned once too often. Good post, though. Now I'll know to look for further reports.
24 posted on 03/26/2003 12:51:05 PM PST by Caipirabob (Democrats.. Socialists..Commies..Traitors...Who can tell the difference?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: sam_paine
Yeah.

Personally I'll wait for a Doha or Pentagon briefing myself.
25 posted on 03/26/2003 12:51:10 PM PST by John H K
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: finnman69
Christian Broadcasting Network (Pat Robertson, 700 Club, etc.)

Æ
26 posted on 03/26/2003 12:51:32 PM PST by AgentEcho (If you're in a fair fight you've done something wrong.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: finnman69
700 club. Pat Robertson. 0 Credibility for any leftie newsclone. Of course, any professed christian has near zero credibility and intelligence with them. See GWB.
27 posted on 03/26/2003 12:51:47 PM PST by epluribus_2
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: Freedomsfriend
I just got off the phone with Mr. Blix and Mr. Putin. Apparently those were not chemical shells, those were cans of Russian Caviar. Sorry to disappoint everyone. (/kidding around)
28 posted on 03/26/2003 12:51:55 PM PST by Rammer
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Freedomsfriend
Hmmmmm.

I live for the day that CentCom announces this.
29 posted on 03/26/2003 12:52:04 PM PST by Oldeconomybuyer (Let's Roll)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: finnman69
CBN = Christian Broadcat Network.

LINK TO CBN

30 posted on 03/26/2003 12:52:10 PM PST by KriegerGeist ("In war there is no substitute for victory" General Douglas MacArthur)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: Freedomsfriend
confirmation?
31 posted on 03/26/2003 12:52:12 PM PST by camle (no camle jokes, please...OK, maybe one little one)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Black Agnes
Made in Russia

Is there no doubt that Russia is an enemy of this country and for us to ever send them another dollar from the American people is as stupid as electing a democrat.

Instead we should stop all trade with them and China.
32 posted on 03/26/2003 12:52:38 PM PST by TLBSHOW (The gift is to see the truth......)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: Freedomsfriend
Chemical? Blix thought he was supposed to find Comical weapons... no wonder he couldn't find any.
33 posted on 03/26/2003 12:52:40 PM PST by bedolido
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Freedomsfriend
Actually, this "Judgement of Allah" is going to quickly turn into something else. Cooler weather with strong winds will make it easier for the Americans to deal with any chemical weapons the Iraqis try to drop on them. And the rain will probably help the desert bloom, a real sign of what's going on.
34 posted on 03/26/2003 12:52:42 PM PST by Question_Assumptions
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Freedomsfriend
When Maria Grazia Cutuli was murdered by the Taliban in Afghanistan, it was right after she had discovered vials labeled "Sarin Gas" in Russian at an abandoned Taliban base. Italian journalist killed in Afghanistan.
35 posted on 03/26/2003 12:52:42 PM PST by aristeides
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Freedomsfriend
Sounds like a bombshell, but I will hold my applause until I see the news break somewhere else like Drudge or Fox and such.
36 posted on 03/26/2003 12:52:51 PM PST by GiveEmDubya
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Caipirabob
I do not know of a time CBN got it wrong...do you have any knowledge of this?
37 posted on 03/26/2003 12:52:56 PM PST by bluecollarman
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 24 | View Replies]

To: Freedomsfriend
Maybe the Russians want these WsMD back. Think we can drop them off in downtown Moscow?
38 posted on 03/26/2003 12:53:22 PM PST by freebilly (I think they've misunderestimated us....)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

Comment #39 Removed by Moderator

To: Enterprise
"Poisinski gaski, for use against Amerikanski imperialists."

:-)
40 posted on 03/26/2003 12:53:28 PM PST by ezo4
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 301-306 next last

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.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson