U.S. Forces Raid Iraq Chemical Facility

[ECH1969]

BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. forces raided an insurgent facility that may have been producing an unspecified type of chemicals, the U.S. military said Saturday. It was unclear what was being produced or whether the materials were intended for weapons, the statement added.

U.S. troops, acting on a tip from detainees under interrogation, raided a "suspected insurgent chemical production facility" in northern Iraq last Tuesday, the statement said, without specifying the location.

However, the military cautioned that ongoing testing at the facility was "insufficient to determine what the insurgents had been producing." The military said it also was investigating which insurgent group was operating the facility.

"We are continuing to investigate the production and storage facilities to determine what type and quantities of chemicals were produced at the facility," said Col. Henry Franke, a nuclear, biological, and chemical defense officer with the multinational force.

http://myopr.com/articles/2005/08/13/ap/headlines/d8bv0n480.txt

[bemildred]

1. Grabbin at straws. nt

[hobbit709]

2. Probably a janitorial supply closet

Remember all the other WMD sites they "found"

[R Hickey]

3. I bet its a drug lab for making heroin out of opium

Just a guess.

[Maestro]

4. Probably found cleaning supplies

that could have been used in the manufacture of WMD's. :sarcasm: :eyes: I feel so sorry for the troops over there that are just going the motions because of this stupid admin. Meanwhile we know exactly where Bin Forgotten is in the wilds of Pakistan.

[oneighty]

5. poop on a pointy stick bio-weapon?

Easy, inexpensive, effective.

Anybody can do it.

180

[pfitz59]

6. Fertilizer plant...chicken farm....bat-cave....

Rotting pile of garbage! Let me count the ways!

[frylock]

31. 50 tons of mustard gas in a turkey farm..

hold the mayo.

[54anickel]

7. Even if it is found to be intended for weapons - it would be quite a reach

to pin it on Saddam, wouldn't it? Will Rummy say this proves there were WMD? They are getting desperate these days, aren't they?

Shrub's down in the polls, wants the image of a war president that is right in every decision he makes - trust him, God told him to go after Iran too...:eyes:

[tanyev]

8. "insurgent chemical production facility"

It probably didn't exist until after we invaded.

[54anickel]

20. Here's a pic of what they found. Notice they do bring up "the reason"

One of the main reasons stated for the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 was to destroy Saddam Hussein's purported weapons of mass destruction. None were ever found.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2005-08-13-iraq-chemical-facility_x.htm


A handout made available by the US Army shows a major chemical production facility suspected to have been built by insurgents.

[MadisonProgressive]

9. Another 'baby milk' factory?

[nookiemonster]

13. LOL. We know our enemy, and it is Enfamil

:silly:

[Judi Lynn]

19. God, that's a great Steve Bell 'toon, N.M.

I adore how he has nailed the sentiments governing our Neocon masters. Isn't it sad that he is so damned ACCURATE?

God Bless Steve Bell. Too bad our domestic stock of political cartoonists can't get right on them like Steve does.

[mbperrin]

10. OK, they don't know what was produced if anything,

because "insufficient" chemicals are there. They don't know who it belongs to. They don't know if it ever produced anything at all. May never know.So here's the conversation with the findee:

"Good work, Barney! This is the kind of headline news that keeps us going! You only left out three words in the report: terra terra terra! Now here's another bullet."

On the basis of this evidence, I found evidence that King Solomon's mines are located very near my house. Or maybe it was just change on the nightstand....

[IndianaGreen]

11. Story was first broken by MSNBC's Mike Boettcher

Here is the link to the story that I started on another forum:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2006372

The raid took place a couple of days ago. Isn't it curious that the Pentagon releases this info today?

On edit:

The MSNBC reporter said that the military found a chemical factory near Mosul and that the chemicals are similar to some found in Jordan during a raid at a house in which Al-Qaeda suspects were arrested. The reporter said that the US military fears that Al-Qaeda wants to detonate a chemical weapon to cause mass casualties and panic in Iraq, as the people arrested in Jordan wanted to do in Jordan.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2006372#2006465

[leftchick]

29. Curious indeed...

PR photos of the "factory: from the Military...



The U.S. military released on Saturday photographs of chemical containers found in a Tuesday raid.

[City Lights]

12. "may have been producing"

:eyes:

[Stil]

14. U.S. military finds chemical site in Iraq

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Coalition forces have found more than 1,500 gallons of various chemicals in what officials believe is an insurgent chemical production facility and storage sites, the U.S. military said Saturday.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/08/13/iraq.chemicals/index.html

(But it may be stuff the insurgency was making.)

[HockeyMom]

15. You KNOW the Bush supporters will say

this is SADDAM'S stash.

[brainshrub]

16. So the insurgency has more chemical weapons than Saddam had?

Oh that's just great.

[Barrett808]

17. Suprising the pentagon would mention this at all, because it's a bad sign

Either the story is a total fabrication, which suggests the Pentagon is desperate.

If it's true, it mean an insurgency in its "last throes" has developed a significant production capacity beyond bomb factories. This implies that the insurgency is well-funded and proceeding nicely toward its goals.

[barb162]

18. Well since we know the "deadenders" are in their "last throes"

for way too long now, we have to assume it's well-funded and proceeding along. Guerilla warfare

[54anickel]

21. See the pic in post 20 - Not sure I'd say well-funded, but extremely

resourceful.

[Barrett808]

23. Hard to see what's going on in that photo

Looks more like a computer shop than a chemical lab to me.

[54anickel]

27. Computer shop? I thought it looked like a homemade laundry-mat

Reminds me of the old pitcures of the moon-shine stills they were running here in WI during prohibition.

[teryang]

34. The insurgency is well funded

I'm sure Saudi Arabia and Pakistan (our putative allies) are financing it.

[arwalden]

22. And They Have ALUMINUM TUBES!! (Gasp!)

[IndianaGreen]

24. and they have crop dusters!

Rush LImbaugh will tell the jerks he has for a radio audience that this proves how right Bush was in invading Iraq before it was able to get chemical weapons.

Time to let Judith Miller out of jail so that she can go on another WMD hunt in Iraq.

[arwalden]

26. Crop Dusters? CROP DUSTERS??!!

:rofl:

I had missed hearing that! What idjits!

[Karenina]

33. Balsa wood and duct tape

The LATEST technology!

[ticapnews]

25. Relax. It's just McGyver on vacation

:)

[Thor_MN]

28. "We don't want to speculate"

Col. Henry Franke, the multinational corps' nuclear, biological and chemical defense officer, was quoted as saying, "We are continuing to investigate the production and storage facilities to determine what type and quantities of chemicals were produced at the facility, and the specific threat posed to our forces.

"We don't want to speculate on any possibilities until our analysis is complete."

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/08/13/iraq.chemicals/index.html

Well, gee then, Hank, Why the fuck are you speculating? It looks like my garage, except neater. A chop saw, a dust collector and some jugs.

BFD.

PS. you guys are slipping, you are supposed to release this crap on Wed/Thursday, so that when the "oops, we fucked up, nothing there." comes out a few days later, it's on the weekend when no one will notice. I guess you dumbasses ARE incapable of learning from past experience.

[ticapnews]

30. We don't want to speculate...

but we're going to anyway...

[Roland99]

32. Had to invade in order for chemical weapons factories to start production?

:rofl: