So they finally found WMDs in Iraq

[Bucky]

Close, but no cigar. They've been buried for 10+ years, were to be used in the war against Iran (or the Kurds Poppy hung out to dry in '88) and they came from...?

Well, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3386357.stm">the BBC story doesn't speculate on their source. But I've got a pretty good guess as to who might have given Iraq those bombs.

Suspect shells examined in Iraq
Coalition experts are examining dozens of mortar shells found in southern Iraq which could contain chemical weapons

...Danish troops who found them said they showed traces of blister gases - compounds which include mustard gas. However, US officials played down the find, saying the shells were probably left over from Saddam Hussein's 1980-88 war with Iran.

The coalition has yet to uncover proof that Iraq was still developing weapons at the time of the war last spring. The 36 120mm shells appear to have been buried for at least 10 years, the Danes said.

[Philosophy]

1. Reason they "played down the find"

Is probably because they have USA stamped on them. If they didn't, Bush* would be all over this claiming that these are the WMDs he knew Saddam had all along, the same way he did for other much less spectacular things, like that "mobile weapons lab" truck that made hydrogen for weather balloons.

[buycitgo]

8. a big, hot AMEN, bro to that one!

bin GOH!

what else could be the reason they aren't spreading that all over the place, especially in the face of the ONeill revelations?

nothing else makes sense, does it?

they've used the tiniest snips of garbage to advance their point, ALL of which have come up empty.

now, with tangible evidence of LOTS of ordnance, they don't talk about it at ALL?

what gives?

this makes no sense at all, other than the possibility that it's identifiable as OURS

[PaDUer]

15. The WMD

are in the WH.

[Ilsa]

2. How long is mustard gas good for?

Does it degrade into something inert, or does it maintain its strength and viability for a long time, I wonder? (Not that it matters.)

[Bucky]

3. That mustard was intended for hot dogs

Kurdish hot dogs. The ones we didn't give a damn about in 1988 but were willing to avenge 15 years later when it turned out that, um, Iraq was about to start paying its oil-for-debts in Euros instead of dollars.

[governmentgoodies]

4. The expiration date...

:shrug:

is probably something on the order of actual Mustard. Probably about 2 years. Which is about the same time that hot dogs usually take to pass through my system which is why I usually don't eat them.
Peanut Butter lasts a bit longer so maybe that gas is next on the list.

Alarming, no?

gg

[Deja Q]

7. Welcome to DU!!!

:party: :bounce: :yourock:

[governmentgoodies]

11. Thanks HypnoToad.

:bounce:

Happy to be here!

gg

[Silverhair]

5. Very long shelf life on that stuff. There have been French

farmers in modern times that have been killed when they plowed up a pocket of mustard gas still there from WWI. Sorry, no link. Just remembering a newspaper story from some years back.

[solinvictus]

6. Chemical Weapons

Much like the Chinese who dug up Japanese artillery shells from the Manchurian occupation. That stuff is lethal for a long time.

[buycitgo]

10. doesn't matter what the shelf life is.....you need LOTS and LOTS

With regard to biological weapons, the assessment by Professor Anthony H. Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies should be taken seriously: "The shelf-life and lethality of Iraq's weapons is unknown, but it seems likely that the shelf-life was limited. In balance, it seems probable that any agents Iraq retained after the Gulf War now have very limited lethality, if any" (Iraq's Past and Future Biological Weapons Capabilities, 1998, p.13).

There are two potential exceptions for materials that would not be expected to have deteriorated if produced before 1991. Mustard gas has been found to persist over time, as shown when Unscom discovered four intact mustard-filled artillery shells that would still have constituted a viable weapon. Unscom oversaw the destruction of 12,747 of Iraq's 13,500 mustard shells. The Iraqi regime claimed that the remaining shells had been destroyed by US/UK bombardment. This claim has not been verified or disproved. However, as former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter notes, "A few hundred 155 mm mustard shells have little military value on the modern battlefield. A meaningful CW attack using artillery requires thousands of rounds. Retention of such a limited number of shells makes no sense and cannot be viewed as a serious threat."

The other potential exception is VX nerve agent. It became clear to Unscom during the 1990s that Iraq had succeeded before 1991 in producing stabilised VX in its laboratories - that is, VX agents that would not deteriorate over time. However, to produce significant stocks of VX requires advanced technology that Iraq did not have. Iraq did have some elements of the production equipment for developing VX on a large scale. Unscom tested this equipment before destroying it in 1996, and found that it had never been used. This would indicate that Iraq, despite its attempts before 1991, had never succeeded in producing VX on a significant scale.

[Rattlesnake]

9. So they found old, useless mustard gas, eh?

That's all they're going to find. There's no other WMDs in Iraq.

[Dr Fate]

13. If there were, Saddam would have used them to keep from being captured

...or he would have used them on the troops.

[spanone]

12. yeah, I read the Danes(?) found something. The Danes???????

[fabius]

14. Now that's a modern weapon...

If I'm not mistaken a 120 mm mortar has a range of about 5000 KM. Really a big threat to the US. Not to mention being pretty rusty and unlikely to be usable.

Same stuff they shot at my grandfather back in the "Great War".

[Coldgothicwoman]

16. Also, the immediate effects of Mustard Gas

are nil. The MSDS sheets on Mustard Gas specifically state this. Also, Atrios has a picture of the 'find' on his site. Laughable, to say the very least.

[Cooley Hurd]

18. Very scary (if you're easily frightened by corrosion)...

It's hard to make out the "USA" stenciled on the side, though... ;)

[Cooley Hurd]

17. The story has dropped from sight...

My guess is that the shells they found were American-made. The good thing about this is that the Danish troops found them, so there's a good chance we'll find out the true origin of the missiles.