Iraqi colonel: I am WMD claim source

[Newsjock]

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=470910

Iraqi colonel: I am WMD claim source
By Andrew Clennell
07 December 2003

An Iraqi colonel said yesterday that he was the source of the Government's "dodgy dossier" claim that Iraq could deploy weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes.

Lieutenant-Colonel al-Dabbagh, who said he was the head of an Iraqi air defence unit in the desert, outed himself. But he explained that the weapons he was talking about were battlefield weapons to be fired from rocket-propelled grenades, and were not for use in missiles.

"They arrived in boxes marked 'Made in Iraq' and looked like something you fired with a rocket-propelled grenade," Col al-Dabbagh told The Sunday Telegraph.

"They were either chemical or biological weapons; I don't know which, because only the Fedayeen and the Special Republican Guard were allowed to use them. All I know is we were told that when we used these weapons we had to wear gas masks."

When shown the information about the 45-minute claim in the Iraq WMD dossier issued by the Government in September 2002, he said: "I am the one responsible for providing this. Forget 45 minutes, we could have fired these within half an hour."

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And here is a link to the Sunday Telegraph story:

An Iraqi colonel who commanded a front-line unit during the build-up to the war in Iraq has revealed how he passed top secret information to British intelligence warning that Saddam Hussein had deployed weapons of mass destruction that could be used on the battlefield against coalition troops in less than 45 minutes.

... Col al-Dabbagh, who was recalled to Baghdad to work at Iraq's air defence headquarters during the war itself, believes that the WMD have been hidden at secret locations by the Fedayeen and are still in Iraq. "Only when Saddam is caught will people talk about these weapons," he said.

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And get ready for the onslaught: Here's a clip from Sunday's main editorial in the Telegraph:

... Yet it is important to be clear about what Col Dabbagh's testimony does - and what it does not - establish. There can now be little doubt that Saddam possessed chemical and biological weapons. Col Dabbagh saw those weapons for himself when they were delivered to his unit, and indeed received instructions on how they were to be used.

[arcane1]

1. damn, those must be some kick-ass RPG's, to be able to reach the US..

from Iraq!

:evilgrin:

[short bus president]

2. biotoxins by RPG?

Who were the marketing geniuses who came up with that one? While we're at it, why not give 'em nuke-yu-lar grenades, too? And some dogs, with bees in their mouths, that when they bark, they shoot bees at you?

[TeeYiYi]

4. Dogs with bees in their mouths . . . *lol*

What a perfect analogy. Thanks for the huge laugh, short bus president. And thank you Homer Simpson!

TYY:7

[rooboy]

14. Thank God that only the USA has the Robotic Richard Simmons. n/t

[JackSwift]

3. In other words

Saddam Hussein wanted the world to believe that he might have such weapons? Nothing new here.

Lt. Col's in Iraq are a dime a dozen, and this is the best that they can come up with. Jeez.

[TeeYiYi]

5. I wonder how much this guy was paid? .....n/t

TYY

[Just Me]

11. BIG BUCKS AND GUARANTEES TALKIN,..

,...I'll betcha,...this guy is like so bought and paid and guaranteed a life,...

Ohhhh,...I can just hear it: "we will ensure your safety and protected life if you give us the get on those WMDs (*real motive* we must have to justify our agenda)",...(his motive,...bought and paid for life),...

,...pure and utter caa caa,...

BU**
SH*T

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

6. My god, If the Brits knew, we knew and NO ONE tried to tell the truth...

This might start a lot of questions.

Somebody's head ought to roll with this information coming out.

[0007]

7. I guess this guy will get a bundle of money and be put in ...

the witness protection plan here in the United States. Where he'll be FOX News experts on WMD.

[NNN0LHI]

8. Well. At least Saddam stamped them with 'Made in Iraq'

Wouldn't want any type of patent infringement or anything. :crazy:

Don

[Media_Lies_Daily]

17. Were they stamped in english?

Yikes.

[TeeYiYi]

27. NNNOLHI - You're just kidding . . . right? ..........n/t

TYY

[ex_jew]

9. Now I'm REALLY scared !

Attention all cars: be on the lookout for missing WMDs marked Made in Iraq. That is all.

Seriously, Hoon should be shot for failing to clarify that the infamous WMDs were only a threat to someone within RPG range. For that we went to war ?

[NickB79]

10. But he never tested one, did he? And he doesn't have any left for proof?

"There can now be little doubt that Saddam possessed chemical and biological weapons. Col Dabbagh saw those weapons for himself when they were delivered to his unit, and indeed received instructions on how they were to be used."

So, he was told they were WMD warheads (in a friggin RPG round???) but he never tested one to see for himself? Would it be such a stretch to believe Saddam delivered ordinary, non-WMD RPG's to the general and only lied about them being more dangerous than normal to boost moral in his troops? Wouldn't have been a bad idea. Until you capture one of those rounds, though, there is no way you can verify what he said. Furthermore, if the Fedayeen now has these, why haven't they used them yet? A single chem/bio RPG round fired at a convoy of US vehicles would kill dozens, much more effective than a roadside bomb or standard RPG. Even if the attack would kill the resistance fighter, there are plenty of Iraqis devout enough to sacrifice their lives to do so. Hell, you could even package one in one of those roadside bombs and detonate it from hundreds of yards away and drive off before the fumes get to you.

BS-meter going into the red......

[dansolo]

19. They would have attacked Coalition HQ by now if they had them

If they really had WMD, they wouldn't have bothered attacking the troops with them. They would have used them on the civilian authorities, like when they nearly killed Wolfowitz.

[Cronus Protagonist]

24. Consider the source

While he's more reputable than Condi Rice or Rummy, he's still an Iraqi soldier with questionable background to say the least. He's probably on the CIA payroll as well.

FUCK BUSH Buttons, Stickers & Magnets

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

12. RPG WMDs

Well, I suppose there is (theoretically speaking) a use for such a weapon. The main problem with RPGs, and all unguided hand-held rockets, for that matter) is that accuracy is impaired by distance from target, wind, etc, making it hard to get in a good shot on something unless it's close, and not moving (or moving straight towards you)
However, a chemical charge would not have to be so accurate, hence allowing you to fire the RPG over a longer distance to obtain the desired effect. I have no idea why anyone would do such a thing for biological weapons, though, as anything that's within even looong RPG range needs to be dead NOW for it to be useful.

That said, I haven't heard of anyone deploying such a weapon before, though I'm sure they've probably been developed (on the "Hey, why not?" principle)

Now, if Iraq *had* developed and deplyed such a weapon, you'd think there'd be at least some of them laying around somewhere, eh?

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

13. RPG WMDs

edit:
duplicated myself

[mhr]

15. Just Like The RPVs That Were A Threat To The East Coast, More Bull****

eom

[quaker bill]

16. If they exist, why are they not being used?

It seems that the "Fedayeen" are implicated as the insurgents attacking out troops.

If they have these burried in the desert why haven't any shown up?

If the reports are correct then these guys are wanting to kill our soldiers and are quite familiar with how an RPG works. Wouldn't these rounds accomplish their purpose even better than the explosive rounds being used?

It doesn't seem like they have alot to lose by breaking some of them out at this time.

I suspect that they just don't exist.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

18. So, how many electric shocks did this guy take before he agreed...

...to deliver this rather interesting little story?

Rove must be hitting the eggnog pretty hard to have approved this one.

[Fridays Child]

20. When was he the head of an Iraqi air defense unit?

And wouldn't that make him an enemy of the US? Yet he's now an advisor to the Iraqi Governing Council, which means he's actually an operative for the Office of Special Plans.

More lies poorly told, as usual.

[jmcgowanjm]

21. NBC led w/ this story last night to cover story below

"Israeli intelligence was a full partner to the
picture presented by American and British
intelligence regarding Iraq's non-conventional
capabilities."

"The failures of this war indicate weaknesses
and inherent flaws within Israeli intelligence and
among Israeli decision-makers," Brig. Gen.
Shlomo Brom wrote in an analysis for Tel Aviv
University's Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A36694-2003Dec4.html

Almost feel sorry for the Mediawhores that ran this
old news again. Reminds me of Stalingrad
where peasants were just run into the hail
of gunfire from the Wehrmacht. And if they
decided to retreat Soviet rearguard shot them.

[UpInArms]

22. LOL! Holy Smokes Batman!

Weapons of Mess Grenades!

EEEEKKKKKKKK!!!

Run for your minds!!!!!

Wear a mask!!!!!

Be a Lone Ranger - or a Pioneer!!!

This stinks like a dirty sock bomb!

[Cronus Protagonist]

23. Talk is cheap. Show us the weapons.

Where are they? Show us the weapons. We have plenty of people making the claims, but not one weapon has shown up. Where are they? If they were really there, where were they then? Where did they get moved to? Where were they destroyed? Where were they deployed?

It's all a total load of bullshit.

FUCK BUSH Buttons, Stickers & Magnets

[NNN0LHI]

25. If this story had one bit of credibility why would the commanders tell...

...the US soldiers to take off their chem-bio gear?

Don

[alfredo]

26. "They arrived in boxes marked 'Made in Iraq'

Ha Ha Ha. that smells to high heaven.

this story is bullshit.

[Cronus Protagonist]

28. Is smells all the way to low hell as well :)

FUCK BUSH Buttons, Stickers & Magnets

[sam7]

30. Because

the soldiers can only stay in the suits for a limited period of time before they start dropping like flies from heat stroke.

[snippy]

31. Bush has a staffer responsible for falsifying this type of information.

The White House, long known for its catchy, attention-grabbing backdrops, had designed a gigantic banner made to look like stacked boxes stamped with "MADE IN U.S.A."

To television viewers around the country, the banner was indistinguishable from a real wall of boxes made in the good old U.S. of A., which were perfectly lined up on either side of the banner.

. . .

The problem was that the real boxes surrounding the president at the scene of his speech — a small shipping and receiving plant, JS Logistics — should have read: "NOT Made in U.S.A."

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/madeinusa_030122.html

Just another decorative turkey.

[Moderator]

29. Kick!

:dem: