Results From Second Test of Suspected Blister Agent in Iraq May Be Ready

[rodbarnett]

By Jan M. Olsen Associated Press Writer
Published: Jan 12, 2004

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) - Results are expected by the end of the week from a new series of tests to determine whether 36 shells found buried in the Iraqi desert contain a liquid blister agent, the Danish army said Monday.

<snip>

Preliminary tests on the plastic-wrapped but damaged shells showed they contained a liquid blister agent.

The shells were found near Qurnah, north of the southern city of Basra, where Denmark's 410 soldiers are based.

<snip>

Gruenberger told The Associated Press that the second round of testing could begin Tuesday.

"We hope to get results as soon as possible. A good guess is at the end of week," he said.

Before the war, the United States asserted that Iraq still had stockpiles of mustard gas, a World War I-era blister agent that is stored in liquid form. The chemical burns skin, eyes and the lungs.

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGAXAKWICPD.html

[cspiguy]

1. Notice AP will not call these "Chemical Weapons" -

'cause they aren't - anymore.

[olacan]

2. What

are they then?

[htuttle]

3. They are rusty containers of ten year old toxic waste

Chemical weapons have an expiration date. After the expiration date, they are no good as weapons anymore, and are simply industrial waste. They are no longer a threat at that point (other than an environmental threat, like any industrial waste).

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

4. Artifacts.

Artifacts of a failed Bush41 foreign policy that supplied those blister agents to Iraq, during the Iran/Iraq war.

Ancient, corroded and useless-as-intended artifacts. Nothing more.

[trogdor]

8. Yeah, these look like REALLY EFFECTIVE weapons.

Yessiree!

[pansypoo53219]

11. ooh i am scared of

the corroded batteries of mass destruction.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

17. I hadn't seen those pictures before!

Man, that is HYSTERICAL!

Over on the AOL boards folks were screaming bloody murder about the WMDS the Danes found -- damn, I wish I'd seen/had those pix.

Oh yeah, I can see how those babies could have been heading our way ANY moment. :eyes:

[bowens43]

7. Discarded pieces of junk from 15 years ago.

[cspiguy]

10. the "were" chemical weapons at some point in the past.

now if they keep finding stockpiles of these buried all over the place, and some of those are fire-able, then I would get a bit worried. Ain't gonna happen though.

[JanMichael]

5. 10, or more, year old buried, rusted, corroded, shells...

...do not an imminant threat to the US/UK make. A few shells are not massive stockpiles like the lying UK/US governments claimed either.

No way, no how.

[Riptide]

6. On Netscape this morning, they were calling it...

"Evidence of WMD found". It has been changed now, but that is what it said this morning.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

9. they are old weapons disposed of by Iraq over 11 years ago..

the pronouncement of these ...ahem "found chemical weapons" as proof of WMD's shows just how pathetic and desperate bush co is!

[Gin]

12. maybe the cannisters say...Made in USA

gin

[yellowcanine]

13. I doubt if even Bush has the nerve to latch unto this as evidence of WMD

though I must say I wouldn't be terribly surprised to see him try. He has no shame.

[saigon68]

14. With the mind of a CHIMPANZEE

I wouldn't be terribly surprised to see him try.

With my apologies to CHIMPANZEES

[yellowcanine]

15. Well at least chimpanzees are "socialized"

That is more than you can say for Bush, who treats social interactions as an opportunity to insult and condescend.

[kayell]

16. These are about as effective as WMD

as the mustard gas from WWI that were founded buried all over NW DC in 1993. At least the Iraqis disposed of their weapons in the desert rather than in a (then) suburban neighborhood.

[underpants]

18. Are those part of the Malawi space program?

_Until now I thought that consisted of a bucket and one man's dreams.

[daleo]

19. I would like to know what tipped the Danes off

I suspect that there is plenty of this junk buried here and there in Iraq, and we will see more of these 'discoveries' as the election draws near. The headline will be WMD Found! and paragraph 16 will mention that they are 15 year old pieces of junk.

[Ganja Ninja]

20. I would have been surprised if they didn’t find this type of stuff.

This is what I expected them to find in the beginning of the war. I expected them to find some in better shape and then display them, move them to another area, find them again, display them again and so on. Old stockpiles of weapons that are well beyond their “Best if used by: Date” buried in a bunker that was bombed and forgotten in either the Iran/Iraq War or the first Gulf War, don’t count as WMD. They are at best toxic waste.

I’m betting Bush will cite this as proof that Sadam had WMD in the up and coming STOU speech.