Sorry...
There are dozens of militaries all over the world that have no chemical weapons, but have chemical decontamination units and vehicles just like this Iraqi unit.
Keep in mind Iran has chemical weapons, and has used them, in the Iran-Iraq war (in smaller quantities than Iraq, but it still happened.)
I realize people desperately want to believe otherwise but reality has to be faced on this one. No particularly interesting smoking gun here.
My point is that just because they are defensive doesn't prove their isn't a chemical program.
I realize people desperately want to believe otherwise
I personally think we were right to take control of Iraq even if Saddam didn't have any weapons other than a sling shot and we should make provisions for staying there at least for the next 50-100 years.
So I am not desperate at all.
None of these single documents has been a "particularly interesting smoking gun here." But thanks to jveritas and the Ray Robison blog, who together are translating these documents before the MSM, we're putting pieces of a puzzle together.
Your point that this could be a defensive Chemical Platoon is valid and probably not a point everyone would have immediately picked up on.
But let's not insult the people who are doing the work (translating the documents) that most of us can't do by whining because they haven't given us a "smoking gun."
There are dozens of militaries all over the world that have no chemical weapons, but have chemical decontamination units and vehicles just like this Iraqi unit.
Keep in mind Iran has chemical weapons, and has used them, in the Iran-Iraq war (in smaller quantities than Iraq, but it still happened.)
I realize people desperately want to believe otherwise but reality has to be faced on this one. No particularly interesting smoking gun here.
On BIG caveat you did not mention:
The United States has renounced the use of chemical weapon since 1993 unless attacked in kind, and is in the process to destroying all its Chemical Weapons by 2007 that was started in the mid 1990s.
I doubt Saddam and his generals thought the US would be the first to strike them with chemicals in a war, which Iraq knew was a much greater possibility of war with the US than having a war with Iran.