Sarin Shell Confirmed

FoxNews is reporting that Defense Department sources are confirming that the CW shell found in Baghdad did contain the nerve agent sarin. This isn’t any surprise, as the soldiers who found the IED suffered from the classic symptoms of low-level sarin exposure.

Hopefully the military will be able to locate the origin of this shell and prevent any more shells from being used. Had the nearly four liters of sarin been properly mixed and dispersed those two soldiers and anyone in the immediate area could have been killed.

7 thoughts on “Sarin Shell Confirmed

  1. What fox news did not report is that the shell is from 1980-88. David Kay a former wepons inspector was on several radio shows and a few news networks saying that the single case was not enough evidence to support a case for wepons of mass distruction, considering that the shell was made most likely between 1980-88.

  2. Except that isn’t necessarily true. Sarin has a very short shelf life, even in binary form. It would have degraded had it been that old. Also, Iraq didn’t have the technology to make a binary device like that during the 80’s (at least not that we know of). It’s quite possible that it dates from just prior to the First Gulf War.

    In any event, under the Gulf War cease fire Saddam was prohibited from possessing any kind of chemical weapons, so no matter what the date of this shell, if it came from Iraq it was in violation of both the cease-fire and Resolution 1441.

  3. Hear it for yourself http://www.npr.org/features/feature.php?wfId=1901043
    also they did have the technology to develop sarin. check out this story that confirms that they were developing sarin and other binary wepons.
    http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/world/8690931.htm?1c
    quite saying things if you are not sure if they are true. sight your source and back it up.
    I am also just pointing out that finding one container that dates back from the 1980’s does not prove that sadam was stock piling wepons of mass distruction. I am also not saying that he does not have any, all I am saying for right now, so far there is not alot of strong evidence to support this claim. But if you truly believe that saddam did have these weapons, then you can wait until they are found, more then one case, and labs to back up your argument.

  4. Here’s a backgrounder on Iraq’s CW munitions as of the first Gulf War.

    Iraq had difficulty manufacturing sarin with sufficient purity and shelf-life to be stored. They did have a very primitive binary system that they reported to UNSCOM in 1991 that involved manually mixing the two chemicals in the shell (often leading to fatal results for the troops using them).

    This sarin could have been pre-Gulf War, but it wouldn’t date back to the 1980’s. Iraq didn’t have this kind of advanced binary design until at least 1989-1990, and even binary agent of that age would have likely generated so much corrosive hexoflouride compounds that it would have ruptured the shell.

    If I had to guess on the date of this weapon, I’d guess no earlier than 1990. I could be wrong, granted, but in any case Iraq was specifically banned from possessing any chemical weapons no matter when they were made or how much there was.

  5. “Iraq was specifically banned from possessing any chemical weapons no matter when they were made or how much there was.”

    We didn’t invade to retroactively punish him for weapons we helped him get in the 80s, BEFORE the ban. We supposedly went to war because he had “100-500 tons” of usable weapons LAST YEAR, not a stray shell from 15 year old war the US supported. Isn’t it interesting that it took the fall of Saddam for a terrorist to finally get a hold of such a thing?

  6. >and even binary agent of that age would have likely generated so much corrosive hexoflouride compounds that it would have ruptured the shell.

    Ever pondered that might be one of the reasons, apart from lack of mixing, that so little Sarin was developed?

    >Iraq was specifically banned from possessing any chemical weapons no matter when they were made or how much there was.

    Please cite the provisions which state that every single test round ever fired had to be dug out and declared.

    By this argumentation, Germany is planning a major bomb attack, because of all the explosives they are ‘hiding’ underground.

  7. From UN Resolution 687:

    8. Decides that Iraq shall unconditionally accept the destruction, removal, or rendering harmless, under international supervision, of:

    (a) All chemical and biological weapons and

    all stocks of agents

    and all related subsystems and components and all research, development, support and manufacturing facilities;

    (b) All ballistic missiles with a range greater than 150 kilometres and related major parts, and repair and production facilities;

    Furthermore, there’s absolutely no evidence to support the concept that this was a test shell. The chances of a terrorist randomly coming on a shell in the middle of the desert and not in a bunker with other shells is remote. Furthermore, the shell would have likely degraded had it not been protected from the elements.

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