[Wow, almost three years later, the truth becomes a public issue. The White House calls this report "irresponsible", and clings to the incompetence defense.]
Lacking Biolabs, Trailers Carried Case for War
Administration Pushed Notion of Banned Iraqi Weapons Despite Evidence to Contrary
By Joby Warrick
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 12, 2006; Page A01
On May 29, 2003, 50 days after the fall of Baghdad, President Bush proclaimed a fresh victory for his administration in Iraq: Two small trailers captured by U.S. and Kurdish troops had turned out to be long-sought mobile "biological laboratories." He declared, "We have found the weapons of mass destruction."
The claim, repeated by top administration officials for months afterward, was hailed at the time as a vindication of the decision to go to war. But even as Bush spoke, U.S. intelligence officials possessed powerful evidence that it was not true.
[Sarin Nerve Toxin -- $150B per gallon.]
Tests Confirm Sarin in Iraqi Artillery Shell
FOXNEWS -- May 18, 2004
NEW YORK — Tests on an artillery shell that blew up in Iraq on Saturday confirm that it did contain an estimated three or four liters of the deadly nerve agent sarin (search), Defense Department officials told Fox News Tuesday.
The artillery shell was being used as an improvised roadside bomb, the U.S. military said Monday. The 155-mm shell exploded before it could be rendered inoperable, and two U.S. soldiers were treated for minor exposure to the nerve agent.
Three liters is about three-quarters of a gallon; four liters is a little more than a gallon.
"A little drop on your skin will kill you" in the binary form, said Ret. Air Force Col. Randall Larsen, founder of Homeland Security Associates. "So for those in immediate proximity, three liters is a lot," but he added that from a military standpoint, a barrage of shells with that much sarin in them would more likely be used as a weapon than one single shell.
The soldiers displayed "classic" symptoms of sarin exposure, most notably dilated pupils and nausea, officials said. The symptoms ran their course fairly quickly, however, and as of Tuesday the two had returned to duty.
The munition found was a binary chemical shell, meaning it featured two chambers, each containing separate chemical compounds. Upon impact with the ground after the shell is fired, the barrier between the chambers is broken, the chemicals mix and sarin is created and dispersed.
Intelligence officials stressed that the compounds did not mix effectively on Saturday. Due to the detonation, burn-off and resulting spillage, it was not clear exactly how much harmful material was inside the shell.
A 155-mm shell can hold two to five liters of sarin; three to four liters is likely the right number, intelligence officials said.
Another shell filled with mustard gas (search), possibly also part of an improvised explosive device (IED) was discovered on May 2, Defense Dept. officials said.
The second shell was found by passing soldiers in a median on a thoroughfare west of Baghdad. It probably was simply left there by someone, officials said, and it was unclear whether it was meant to be used as a bomb.
[This article fails to mention that the finding of sarin was only a field test, and that laboratory tests will be required to confirm this finding.
The always predictable NewsMax as a different take ...
WMD Confirmed: Sarin Bomb Explodes
Proof beyond a doubt Saddam had WMD. Iraqi insurgents use chemical weapon and media ignore the story.
]
Shell said to contain sarin poses a dilemma for U.S.
Houston Chronicle -- May 18, 2004
By MICHAEL HEDGES
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON -- American officials from Baghdad to Washington scrambled Monday to determine whether the explosion of a shell they said contained poison gas posed a new threat to U.S. soldiers or proved Saddam Hussein's regime kept significant illegal weapons.
Two soldiers were slightly injured when the artillery shell rigged as a roadside bomb exploded Saturday, dispersing a small amount of a chemical agent that experts concluded was sarin, coalition spokesman Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said Monday from Baghdad.
Some Evidence on Iraq Called Fake
U.N. Nuclear Inspector Says Documents on Purchases Were Forged
Washington Post via Concord Monitor -- March 8, 2003
How £1bn was lost when Thatcher propped up Saddam
The Guardian -- February 28, 2003
David Leigh and Rob Evans
seen at this modern world
For more than a decade, yellowing paper files in a government store have hidden the story of the way £1bn of Whitehall money was thrown away in propping up Saddam Hussein's regime and doing favours for arms firms.
It took place when many in both the British and US administrations were covertly on President Saddam's side. But as yet another war against the Iraqi dictator looms, what may be the final skeleton in Britain's arms-to-Iraq cupboard has been uncovered.
[Powell's infamous PowerPoint of terror entitled "Iraq -- Failing to Disarm."]
Remarks to the United Nations Security Council
U.S. Department of State -- February 5, 2003
SECRETARY POWELL: Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President and Mr. Secretary General, distinguished colleagues, I would like to begin by expressing my thanks for the special effort that each of you made to be here today. This is an important day for us all as we review the situation with respect to Iraq and its disarmament obligations under UN Security Council Resolution 1441.
Iraq's Hidden Weapons: From Allegation to Fact
FAIR -- February 4, 2003
Inspectors to Scour Iraq for Mobile Weapons Labs
Los Angeles Times via UCLA -- November 17, 2002
Dubbed "Winnebagos of death," the anonymous vehicles are hard to locate, even with sophisticated sensors.
Iraq -- Denial and Deception
President Bush Outlines Iraqi Threat
George W. Bush -- October 7, 2002
Pentagon Prepares for Chemical, Biological Weapons Attack
Global Security Newswire -- October 2, 2002
Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction Programs
CIA --
October 2002
Iraq’s Weapons of Mass Destruction: A Net Assessment
International Institute for Strategic Studies -- September 9, 2002
Baghdad Probably Still Has WMD Delivery Systems, Post Reports
Global Security Newswire -- September 5, 2002
Threat Assessment: States May Help Terrorists Attack U.S., CIA Director Says
Global Security Newswire -- March 20, 2002
U.S. Lacks Evidence of Iraqi Tie to Terrorism
Global Security Newswire -- February 6, 2002
Secretary Colin L. Powell
Remarks at Arrival Ceremony, Kuwait City International Airport
U.S. Department of State -- February 25, 2001
Saddam has nothing but rhetoric and shooting his mouth off.
Secretary Colin L. Powell
Press Briefing Abroad Aircraft En Route to Cairo, Egypt
U.S. Department of State -- February 23, 2001
I think it's important to point out that for the last 10 years, the policy that the United Nations, the United States has been following, has succeeded in keeping Iraq from rebuilding to the level that it was before. It's an army that's only one-third its original size. And even though they may be pursuing weapons of mass destruction of all kinds, it is not clear how successful they have been. So to some extent, I think we ought to declare this a success. We have kept him contained, kept him in his box.
Secretary Colin L. Powell
Press Remarks with Foreign Minister of Egypt Amre Moussa
U.S. Department of State -- February 4, 2001
We had a good discussion, the Foreign Minister and I and the President and I, had a good discussion about the nature of the sanctions -- the fact that the sanctions exist -- not for the purpose of hurting the Iraqi people, but for the purpose of keeping in check Saddam Hussein's ambitions toward developing weapons of mass destruction. ... And frankly they have worked. He has not developed any significant capability with respect to weapons of mass destruction. He is unable to project conventional power against his neighbors.
[See also The Memory Hole.]
Bush Ordered Aid To Iraqi Military
Center for Nonproliferation Studies -- August 3, 1992