Posted on 07/02/2004 12:02:45 PM PDT by TexKat
BAGHDAD (AFP) - Multinational forces in Iraq (news - web sites) said that more than a dozen missile warheads said to contain mustard gas or sarin have tested negative for chemical agents.
Washington had announced the find by Polish troops on Thursday, which was later confirmed by Warsaw.
The head of Poland's military intelligence service also said on Friday that "terrorist" groups were seeking to acquire the weapons.
But the 122mm warheads, found in late June, have been found not to contain the deadly chemicals, a statement from multinational forces here said.
"Those 16 rounds were all empty and tested negative for any type of chemicals," it said.
Two other warheads found in mid-June were found to contain an insignificant amount of sarin gas. The armaments were left over from the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s, the statement said.
"Due to the deteriorated state of the rounds and small quantity of remaining agent, these rounds were determined to have limited to no impact if used by insurgents against coalition forces."
Washington justified leading the invasion of Iraq in March 2003 by claiming the country was harbouring weapons of mass destruction. However, none has yet been found.
What do they think hollow warheads are for?
The usual. I wonder how many took the roller coaster ride this time. Happy to say I didn't. =)
Deja vu all over again!
Ya gotta love this spin. The reason why only trace amounts of sarin were detected was that using them as part of a roadside bomb prevented the binary agents from mixing properly - otherwise, had the shells been fired, a fair amount of sarin would have been produced.
Here's the press release straight from CENTCOM:
http://www.centcom.mil/CENTCOMNews/news_release.asp?NewsRelease=20040705.txt
July 2, 2004
Release Number: 04-07-05
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
IRAQ ROCKETS FOUND IN LATE JUNE TEST NEGATIVE FOR CHEMICALS
Baghdad, Iraq - On June 16, 2004, an Iraqi civilian led Polish Soldiers to two 122mm rockets he had found in Al Hillah.
The rounds were tested and showed positive for Sarin gas. It has been determined that the rounds were left over from the Iran-Iraq war.
Due to the deteriorated state of the rounds and small quantity of remaining agent, these rounds were determined to have limited to no impact if used by insurgents against Coalition Forces.
The source led Soldiers to 16 more 122mm rockets over a period from June 23 - 26, 2004. Those 16 rounds were all empty and tested negative for any type of chemicals.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT THE PRESS INFORMATOIN CENTER AT
914-360-5082.
Consider the source....
BAGHDAD (AFP) - Multinational forces in Iraq (news - web sites) said that more than a dozen missile warheads said to contain mustard gas or sarin have tested negative for chemical agents... "Due to the deteriorated state of the rounds and small quantity of remaining agent, these rounds were determined to have limited to no impact if used by insurgents against coalition forces."
REMAINING AGENT. That doesn't mean they tested negative - it means the agent leaked out. Lies, lies, lies.
Tests on my half empty curdled milk carton have determined that it did not contain milk. (Just, curdled milk.)
I guess that means it NEVER contained milk!
Who the heck wrote that headline? A former BBC stringer?
The headline for the press release on the CENTCOM site says "IRAQ ROCKETS FOUND IN LATE JUNE TEST NEGATIVE FOR CHEMICALS"
So you're accusing the US military of lying, not Agence France Presse. AFP just basically regurgitated CENTCOM's press release.
Agreed. What the heck is going on? What is the truth? It is like a big whitewash is going on as we find these things. I know a sarin ied was used against our men, but now it is only "insignificant trace" amounts!!! Tin foil hat time.
I'm saying the US military screwed up their own headline. The weapons did NOT test negative for sarin gas. They simply did not have militarily significant amounts.
And then AFP spun the binary shell matter to further make their point.
It was an old binary round, and by the way the IED was set up, it seems clear the terrorists who placed it had no idea it was a chem round.
Well, then what's stopping them from testing for methylphosphonyldifluoride and isopropanol in order to verify what it was and what quantity of sarin was meant to get produced?
This is not the first time a discovery by the Poles has been reversed.
Weird.
The saga goes on...
However, none has yet been found.
__________________________________________________
The above statement is of course a LIE.
Sarin and mustard gas shells have been found. What this article is reporting is that the latests suppected shells did not turnout to contain such weapons. Previously found shells including the inflight binary, ie new technology, shell used as an IED did contain sarin. So WMD has been found in Iraq End of story.
Really? I didn't realize that but I'm not surprised. A lot of people in Iraq are desperate to confirm the presence of WMDs and the Poles aren't exactly on the cutting edge (granted they aren't the technological dregs either) so false IDs from them don't surprise me.
I don't really pay much attention anymore to any of this WMD reporting, though, because I know that if and when anything gets verified then the administration from Bush on down will be trumpeting 24/7 every chance they get. Until that happens, I'm over the whole deal when it comes to that..
This thread just happened to be up top when I clicked on. Otherwise, I can't be bothered anymore.
Are there the same ones that the Polish soldiers paid for?
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