STORM2K

This came from the National Public Radio site:

Apr. 7, 2003


Soldiers with the Army's 101st Airborne Division discover what they believe to be an Iraqi storage site for chemical warheads, U.S. commander says. Describing the discovery as a potential "smoking gun," the official says soldiers found in a warehouse outside Baghdad about 20 medium-range rockets with warheads containing sarin and mustard gases.
http://www.npr.org/news/specials/iraq2003/index.html

Just got home from work and turned on msnbc, major find they say one of their reporters went to the site and they did another test and levels were high. Looking really suspicious now across the street a at a camando location also levels were high, and they said down the road at another location they have heard that some soilders have rashes and are sick to their stomachs and have been decontaminated. I'll keep watching and report any changes. I really hope the soilder thing is not true.

Update according to Fox News Channel: Initial test show banned chemical weapons have been found

Uh oh! Let's hope we get to it all before it gets used! :o

Premilinary tests are positive for sarin and a "lewisite" blistering agent (this was developed originally in WW I) and another agent of a type developed in the 1940's. Some of the soldiers are nauseous, vomiting, showing blisters on their skin, and are being treated.

These are in 55-gallon drums, and were discovered when an Iraqi POW told coalition forces where they were, and led them to the stockpile.

Most noteworthy is that the site is either within, or very near the ancient ruins of Babylon, south of Baghdad on the Euphrates River...another example of Saddam's indifference to cultural, religious and other "protected" sites.

One more quiche in Hans Blix's face, and where are the French who SAID they'd assist if we found the s#!+? Well, we found it.

If we catch Saddam we should take him there for some real tests! Let's see how long he denies that there are WMD in Iraq then!

LOL Marshall!

I believe that the punishment should fit the crime!

Ok experts - what are these chemicals they found and as streetsoldier listed some of the effects - can our soldiers be treated if they indeed were affected by these chemicals? Are there antidotes for them?

Lets hope we found them before they used them.

AMEN.

Patricia

I have stated that this would happen in another thread and was hoping the troops would be alerted to past tactics that Saddam has used concerning chemical warfare. When the Kurds retaliated in 1988 and moved to Baghdad, it was lights out, lights on and then chemical release. Same scenario used here it seems.

The Iraqi people are not fleeing because US forces are entering Baghdad. They are leaving because they know Saddam will use those chem weapons not only on our forces inside Baghdad, but on the people of Baghdad as well.

Great point Linda...the man is a creature of habit.

I keep thinking back to statements made I think it was friday night after we first entered Iraq. Somebody out there back me up on this but it was on Fox, and it was some high ranking Iraqi official who said that "before the night was over..the coalition forces will be dealt a devasting loss, the likes of which they have never seen."

This is the night the lights went out

j wrote:Great point Linda...the man is a creature of habit.

I keep thinking back to statements made I think it was friday night after we first entered Iraq. Somebody out there back me up on this but it was on Fox, and it was some high ranking Iraqi official who said that "before the night was over..the coalition forces will be dealt a devasting loss, the likes of which they have never seen."

This is the night the lights went out

Yes j, I remember that too. And then nothing really happened, or so we thought.

J that same Iraqi official said that the airport was controled by Iraq and that the US forces are far from Baghad.

About the possible WMD found the samples are being transported to the US for more close examination.

Lets just hope and pray that he is as stupid as he sounds. I have to admit...it doesn't make much sense to warn of impending doom, if the actual intent is meant to be a surprise hit...But at the same time..does anything these people do surprise any of us?

He is spewing so much dis/mis-information that we will readilly accept anything this jerk says as being a lie. Hope its not all just part of the plan to catch us off-guard.

While it looks like they had the intent to use their chemical weapons I haven't seen of any reports of them actually being used. If anyone has please let me know.

Of the agents I've seen so far reported, all are treatable based on the dosage and time to initial treatment. While all are capable of causing death, the most serious threat is probably the Sarin and VX nerve agents. These cause asphyiation with minimal exposure. Real nasty stuff.

No J I think that the Iraqi forces are not organized anymore but only some scattered spots of resistance may be found in Baghad but once the leaders of the regime are killed or captured word will spread quickly and the war will be over but I may be too optimistic about it but that is the way I see things now.

No Marshall nothing that I haved seen suggest that the iraqies haved used WMD.

Yes, I haven't seen any reports that say chemicals have been used in attacks, but it ain't over yet. There still is some fierce fighting going on, and will be for awhile yet I'm afraid.

They just sais on MSNBC that we would know for sure within 24-48 hours.

Debbie

This could herald a new and insidious kind of urban guerrilla war; imagine random "hits" of small vials of this stuff being thrown at or near our forces by "civilians"...spot-killing wthout firing a shot.

Time to issue flame throwers! Bar-b-que terrorist anyone?