Sarin/Mustard Gas

[RandomThug]

I was listning to the Radio, inparticularly to Sean Hannity. He now claims that these attacks are verifiable proof that they had and were willing to use these weapons of mass destruction. In his right wing bomb throwing eyes we've found enough proof.

Now I object to the thought that without a doubt these originated within iraq. I mean if Bush said there were W.M.D. in the MIDDLE EAST, everyone would well agree... but he said Iraq. Considering the influx of terrorism into Iraq.. can these be for sure weapons that saddam had?

[Weasel]

Quote:

Originally posted by Xiahou-Dun There are 'suppose' to be 500 + shells missing/Saddam forgot about (or something) from the last UN report I read, so finding one old shell doesn't mean much to me. (I'm not even going to look a FOX ) As to a single shell (I heard somewhere there was two, one containing mustard gas), the whole country (including Iran) most likely have old shells of this type laying around from the war between Iran and Iraq. They still to this day find old bombs (yes rare now) the germans dropped on London and this happened over 50 years ago. As to the serious threat, most likely to the crazy people trying to set them up. (IF they have anymore) Messing with this crap without knowledge of what your doing is asking for death. IMHO like messing with old TnT...unstale and deadly. What I would worry more about is the crazies setting off one by accident in a enclosed area and the Iraqi people thinking the US was the one who used the stuff to kill them. After the pictures this would just make matters worst...if they could be worst.

[Weasel]

Quote:

Iraq reported it resumed producing chemical warfare agents and filling chemical munitions at Al Muthanna in 1990.[23] US intelligence reports of observed transportation activity between Al Muthanna’s filling compound and storage areas in July and September of 1990 support Iraq’s claim.[24] Iraq began to fill artillery rockets in December 1990, and had filled 7,000 rockets by January 5, 1991. It filled an additional 1,320 rockets by January 9, 1991.[25] Iraq reported it deployed these munitions to military depots before Operation Desert Storm. It moved 2,160 122mm rockets filled with a nerve agent from Al Muthanna to Khamisiyah between January 11 and 15, 1991, immediately before the air war.[26] UNSCOM stated that Iraq’s May 13, 1996, declaration reported 4,100 sarin-filled 122mm rockets stored at the Mymona depot and 2,160 at Khamisiyah. After the war, Iraq moved the rockets back to Al Muthanna.[27] UNSCOM inspectors estimate that Al Muthanna’s Bunker 2 contained between 1,000 and 1,500 rockets of various types when it was destroyed.[28] The CIA accepts UNSCOM’s assessment that Iraq correctly reported the rockets in Bunker 2 were leaking or problem-plagued munitions filled in 1988 during the Iran-Iraq War. The CIA estimates the rockets destroyed in Al Muthanna’s Bunker 2 contained only sarin. Iraq also reported that the air attacks did not damage an additional 6,120 rockets stored in the open at Al Muthanna.[29] Impure or improperly stored sarin is unstable and degrades over time. US experts consider chemical warfare agents less than 50 percent pure to be militarily ineffective.[3 Western sources estimate the sarin Iraq produced never exceeded 60 percent purity, and Iraq reported that poor operating practices at Al Muthanna limited the purity of sarin to between 20 and 50 percent. Since it contained at least 40 percent impurities when manufactured, sarin produced at Al Muthanna had a short shelf life.[31] The CIA estimates the chemical warfare agent in the rockets stored at Al Muthanna had deteriorated to approximately 18 percent purity by the time that Bunker 2 was destroyed, leaving about 1600 kilograms (1.6 metric tons) of viable sarin.[32]

[fable]

Am I the only one who thinks the timing of this "discovery" of a slight amount of sarin, so close the debacle of Sunni relations, a (limited) Sh'ite rebellion, and the disgusting disclosures of torture, abuse, and possible murder of Iraqi civilians within a US-controlled prison, seems very convenient?

[Luis Antonio]

Quote:

Originally posted by fable Am I the only one who thinks the timing of this "discovery" of a slight amount of sarin, so close the debacle of Sunni relations, a (limited) Sh'ite rebellion, and the disgusting disclosures of torture, abuse, and possible murder of Iraqi civilians within a US-controlled prison, seems very convenient?

Not to mention it could be a good thing for our british friends.

But usually british are more sckeptical (misspeledl?) about this.

[Moonbiter]

Gimme a break! I can make Sarin gas IN THE SHOPPING CART down at the mall in about 5 minutes. There, I admit it, so now Shrub must come over and "liberate" my neighbourhood. The discovery is a complete, utter hoax, and it's already disppeared from the headlines over here. However, I've said before that a surefire way for El Presidente to win another term by catering to the drooling, sister-marrying NRA members of Arse Springs - Alabama is to conveniently find a cache of warheads by September. He's not above trying it, and his voters aren't above buying it.

[RandomThug]

Personally I dont consider it a hoax but more rather that those who used the shell most likely didn't even know it had remnants of whatever.

It'll take a lot larger than this to sway the public back onto the wmd thing.

[Weasel]

Quote:

Originally posted by fable Am I the only one who thinks the timing of this "discovery" of a slight amount of sarin, so close the debacle of Sunni relations, a (limited) Sh'ite rebellion, and the disgusting disclosures of torture, abuse, and possible murder of Iraqi civilians within a US-controlled prison, seems very convenient?

Possible. The thing IMHO that needs to be discovered is when this shell was loaded with the two agents that make sarin. From my limited understanding the shell's contents can be dated by how far it has degraded.

Now once the contents are combined it deteriorates within about 2 hours.

My guess, pre-1991.