Revelation casts doubt on Iraq find (botulinum WMD wrong strain 10 yrs old

[papau]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1057558,00.html

Revelation casts doubt on Iraq find

Julian Borger in Washington Tuesday October 7, 2003 The Guardian

The test tube of botulinum presented by Washington and London as evidence that Saddam Hussein had been developing and concealing weapons of mass destruction, was found in an Iraqi scientist's home refrigerator, where it had been sitting for 10 years, it emerged yesterday. <snip>

It was cited in justifications of the invasion by President George Bush and by Britain's foreign secretary, Jack Straw, who described botulinum toxin as "15,000 times more toxic than the nerve agent VX". <snip>

The US state department even argued that the discovery of the test tube meant that Mr Kay's Iraq Survey Group (ISG), contrary to its own claim, had found a weapon of mass destruction. However, newly disclosed details about the circumstances in which the botulinum vial was found, have raised fresh questions about its significance.<snip>

It is also unclear whether the vial contained the bacteria botulinum, from which the toxin is drawn, or the toxin itself, as Mr Kay claimed in interviews over the weekend. Furthermore, the most lethal form of the germ is the A strain, while the form found by the ISG was the B strain. <snip>

The refusal to allow ISG experts to read a report on their own work adds weight to suspicions that the report has been manipulated. "They're under huge pressure to come up with whatever," the ex-colleague said. Mr Kay has said privately the report's publication was held up for about two weeks while more work was done on it at CIA headquarters. <snip>

[Stephanie]

1. At what point with they actually STOP lying about Iraqi WMDs?

Can they ever give it a rest, or will they continue lying forever?

[Barrett808]

2. All the way to the witness stand

When they find themsleves on trial for crimes against peace.

[Skip Intro]

3. As if the Titanic's captian would say the iceburg is a flotation device

as the "unsinkable" sinks...

These morons lie because that's all they have. That's all they've really ever had.

[Guaranteed]

4. If it's the "B" strain....

...then it's bacteria.
Some of these journalists are idiots. That's the second stupid article I've read today. Did anyone else read the Bush babysitter getting killed article? Pure nonsense.

[lfairban]

10. I think I get it.

If it were just the toxin, it would be impossible to tell what strain it came from.

You must forgive them, they must not have been thinking.

[Evanstondem]

5. No surprise here

There are no WMD to find.

[karlschneider]

6. The thing is, botulin (even the toxin) is NOT a WMD. It would be a folly

to imagine it could be used to kill huge numbers of people, and even if it could be, it still would not be a weapon of mass destruction. I don't understand how these idiotic people cannot admit that the ONLY WMDs are those that, well, wreak Mass Destruction. As in Nuclear or MOAB types. It is certainly possible to kill a lot of people (but not really 'destroy' much of anything) with chem/bio agents, but such deployment puts the deployers at essentially the same risk as the intended 'victims.'

[ewagner]

7. I knew it, I knew it, I knew it...........

why else would they delay the report for two ^$%$^&*%#@ Weeks!

They wouldn't know the truth if it came up and bit them on the ASS!

[DuctapeFatwa]

8. So does this mean Saddam is stuck with frown lines?

bummer

[jab105]

9. Isnt this Botox??

Saddam wanted to be pretty for Dan Rather, that's all...

[annagull]

11. Thousands of lives for a test tube of botox?

This is just unbelievable. Just f*cking unbelievable. When are they going to admit their lies, especially when they are so obvious.