[RCNOVA]

Which means they were about 13 years old when we invaded Iraq. Pre-mixed sarin has a shelf life of weeks or month. In binary form only a couple of years. I'm certainly not defending Saddam, but the WMDs we were looking for should have been weapons grade. The more important story, which the press chooses to ignore is how much equipment Saddam had in storage which would have allowed him to build up his arsenal of chemical weapons in short order. It doesn't matter if you have chemical weapons, what matters is ability and intent.

[mylife]

It also means Saddam hid them and was in violation of the resolutions brought forth at the conclusion of gulf war I.

[Michael.SF.]

It doesn't matter if you have chemical weapons, what matters is ability and intent.

Why would he have WMD, if he did not intend to use them?

Recall also that Iraqi soldiers were issued protective gear for chemical weapon attacks, that would be an indicator of intent.

[Republicanus_Tyrannus]

RCNOVA Since Jun 17, 2006

Glad you're here doing damage control for your side, there lefty.

As anyone who has followed this knows, the whole "no WMD" was a lie by the Dems, trying to rewrite history as if WMD stockpiles were required to somehow "justify" our war against Saddam. In actuality it was only the PROSPECT of WMD PRODUCTION and the proliferation to terrorists that was only ONE part of a laundry list of reasons we went in. Dems created the whole lying mythology of their opposition to the war out of whole cloth - this whole cloth. This proves their treason and cowardice - as well as their utter stupidity and lust for power over loyalty to country. And it shatters to pieces their entire "reasoning" on their willingness to surrender.

Now, go back to DU and trade tofu recipes.

[elhombrelibre]

You're not right about pre-mixed sarin. We're getting rid of this stuff in the US and it's from the 40's and still as lethal as when new.

[Getready]

I thought the chemical weapons were supposed to be destroyed
according to the UN agreements, so it doesn't matter if they're
old or not....
I find it hard to believe that these molecules have a shelf
life of weeks or months...what does that mean?
By shelf life do you mean 100% potency, or is there degradation
of the mixture to where it becomes non toxic???
Suppose only 20% potency remains, it still is deadly stuff,
just less concentrated.
Give out some more chemical information please. Don't just
say that the "shelf-life" is limited, so it's not
dangerous. That doesn't give me any confidence that you
are really well informed on the topic.
Can anybody on this thread give out the real degradation
data on this stuff?

[seasoned traditionalist]

"Pre-mixed sarin has a shelf life of weeks or month. In binary form only a couple of years."

I am going to assume you know of what you speak and are either an authority on subject or have done your "due diligence."

I do not qualify as knowledgeable under either criteria, thus I am not in a position to challenge your position.

That said, I guess I would posit what Sean Hanity did when someone made the same argument earlier (and I'm paraphrasing):

Then, I guess you would have NO objection to storing these "inert" and "spent" shells in your basement/garage or even in your living room?

Well?

[DCPatriot]

Fair enough...we'll see about their potency.

[highlander_UW]

And yet the truth is all of the above...Saddam has weapons programs and materials to reconstitute production once the sanctions were lifted...there is clear documentation that he planned to do so AND there are WMD's that were in his possession...even if they may not have been recent...WMD's are still WMD's. They weren't destroyed, they weren't found by the inspectors, they weren't declared by Saddam. They are a clear violation.

[Flightdeck]

"It doesn't matter if you have chemical weapons, what matters is ability and intent."

Well, if you swear to the world that you don't possess any chemical weapons, degraded or otherwise, and indeed have stockpiles, then YES it matters. FYI, they were still extremely lethal. I will read the thread further to see if I missed your redactment of foolish statements, but I'm not holding my breath.