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Sarin Attack in Iraq?

sleazenation

13:51 / 17.05.04

Listing to the radio now and I'm hearing reports that Iraqi insurgents have used a shell containing Sarin nerve gas on a convoy of US troops - no details as yet...

pointless and uncalled for

14:06 / 17.05.04

CNN are running with it here

sleazenation

14:09 / 17.05.04

It seems to have been an old shell wired up to act as an improvised explosive device - its uncertain where this shell came from or even If the the people who set up the device were even aware of its contents.

sleazenation

14:11 / 17.05.04

and on the bbc here.

Experts are emphasizing that this is a very old fashioned delivery system...

pointless and uncalled for

14:13 / 17.05.04

More importantly, the language is indicating that it wasn't "used" a much as it was found. The military being unusually circumspect in this instance.

Sarin is a bit of an odd one for artillery usage. Wouldn't put it as ex-army myself.

sleazenation

14:56 / 17.05.04

From the updated story on the BBC

However, a senior coalition source has told the BBC the round does not signal the discovery of weapons of mass destruction or the escalation of insurgent activity.
He said the round dated back to the Iran-Iraq war and coalition officials were not sure whether the fighters even knew what it contained.

pointless and uncalled for

15:08 / 17.05.04

My guess is that when it was announced that all of these rounds were destroy (i.e. model type) there was a caveat that excluded any that might have been diverted by half-assed zealot.

Sad fact is that it appears not to have been used as part of a hostile event but just not diffused properly.

sleazenation

15:38 / 17.05.04

If it dates back to the Iran/Iraq war it could even be that this was considered spent ordinence that went astray in the field of battle...

Shanghai Quasar

16:28 / 17.05.04

According to Fox News this is the second chemical weapon discovered recently, the first being mustard gas.

Two weeks ago, U.S. military units discovered mustard gas that was used as part of an IED. Tests conducted by the Iraqi Survey Group (search) and others concluded the mustard gas was "stored improperly," which made the gas "ineffective."

That said, the running official story seems to be, correct me if I'm wrong, that the insurgents were unaware it contained sarin gas. The shell wasn't marked and the way it was rigged limited the dispersal of the gas.

Of course, in theory, the official story might just be covering the fact that a terrorist organisation might have access to chemical weapons.

pointless and uncalled for

07:01 / 18.05.04

I would doubt that the US military would cover stories about the level of threat presented by any counter-occupation body, particularly with one where they can't diffuse a bomb-properly. While the brass will want to make sure that the current abuse allegations are investigated and handled properly, they still want to bolster their current image and the White House PR machine is desperately looking for items to bolster ratings.

I can see the tactical benefits of running a story like that but this is not the MO of the US Army.

Our Lady Has Left the Building

11:58 / 18.05.04

FOX News are running the story, though they aren't going crazy yet, but in their story do mention weapons which Saddam failed to declare before invasion and the fact the road it was used on leads to Syria, so they're obviously prepared to go mental depending on the report on the material.

pointless and uncalled for

13:04 / 18.05.04

All bow down before the mighty integrity of FOX and its affiliates for they are a guiding light in this time of moral and ethical darkness.

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