April 8 — U.S. military forces in Iraq were reported Monday to have uncovered at least two caches of what may be banned chemical weapons — barrels of chemicals buried outside an agricultural compound near Karbala and medium-range rockets found in a warehouse south of Baghdad. More sophisticated U.S. tests later indicated that the chemicals in the barrels were not chemical weapons agents, but U.S. troops found more barrels of suspicious substances on Tuesday.
SAMPLES FROM the sites investigated Monday were sent to laboratories in the United States for more definitive tests. If any of the discoveries were confirmed, it would be the first find of chemical weapons during the war.
The barrels of chemicals discovered Monday were buried at a pesticide plant in Hindiya, 20 miles southeast of Karbala, by troops of the Army’s 101st Airborne Division. The barrels initially tested positive for the nerve agents sarin and Tabun, as well as mustard agent, a blistering chemical first used in World War I.
NBC’s Dana Lewis said the 15 barrels appeared to have been recently buried in a pit and indicated that troops also found weapons in the pesticide plant, suggesting that it might have been a disguised military facility. He said the troops were led to the site by an Iraqi.
Subsequent, more sensitive, tests turned out to be negative, U.S. military sources officers said Tuesday.
The military sources said it was not yet clear what the substances were, but one officer had said Monday that they might turn out to be simple pesticides.
Soldiers with the 1st Brigade of the 101st Airborne on Tuesday discovered an unknown number of barrels near Najaf, south of Karbala, NBC News reported. Soldiers who opened one barrel experienced nausea, vomiting and a rash. Preliminary testing of the substances was under way.
MISSILES STILL UNDER SUSPICION Suspicions remained open about warheads found south of Baghdad in a warehouse near Baghdad International Airport, which was seized last week by coalition forces. National Public Radio reporter John Burnett said an officer with the U.S. 1st Marine Division told him that the warheads contained sarin and mustard agent.
The officer, who said he heard of the discovery over a military intelligence network, told Burnett that the warheads were on about 20 Iraqi BM-21 unguided rockets. Those rockets are about 10 feet long, with a range of about 15 miles. The BM-21 is a 40-year-old truck-mounted system with 40 rocket tubes, intended for close support of troops.
The Marine officer said the rockets appeared to be ready to fire, Burnett said.
Separately, The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. military officers had told troops that soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division had captured an Iraqi BMP Armored Personnel Carrier that was believed to contain sarin gas and mustard gas.
That information was issued over the military secure radio network, according to several Marine officials who heard the broadcast at about 11 a.m. local time. They relayed the advisory to a reporter who was standing with them.
The radio advisory included no other details, including how much of the material was found or where the discovery occurred.
RUMSFELD DECLINES COMMENT Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld noted Monday that first reports from the battlefield often were incorrect.
“We have to take our time and look at it,” Rumsfeld said, adding that getting samples back to the United States and completing testing could take days.
A senior intelligence official who discussed the reports with NBC News also noted that previous suspicious finds had not been confirmed.
“Often, the first test is wrong, the second as well,” the official said on condition of anonymity. “And believe me, if it turns out to be chemical weapons, you won’t miss the story.”
Iraq acknowledged making tons of sarin, Tabun, mustard gas and other chemical weapons. Iraq used mustard gas and sarin against Iran during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war and is believed to have used the chemicals against Kurdish Iraqis.
Sarin and Tabun are related nerve agents that can kill when absorbed through the skin or inhaled as a gas. They kill by causing convulsions, paralysis and asphyxiation.
Mustard gas begins dissolving tissue on contact and is particularly harmful to eyes and lungs. It does not usually kill, but it causes painful injuries that can linger for a lifetime. Lewisite, another World War I-era creation, acts as a systemic poison, causing pulmonary edema, diarrhea, restlessness, weakness, subnormal temperature and low blood pressure.
New tests see no chemical weapons [ed: The only way Bush will ever find chemical and biological weapons to justify this illegal and unjust war would be to plant them. No question about it.]
Conclusive testing still to be done on barrels; other finds are also being studied April 7 -- NBC's Dana Lewis reports from the site where U.S. troops found suspicious barrels that had been buried.
NBC NEWS AND NEWS SERVICES April 8 — Conclusive testing is still under way, but the latest tests indicate that barrels found in central Iraq do not contain chemical weapons agents as first suspected, U.S. military sources said on Tuesday. Other suspicious finds — especially rockets potentially packed with sarin and mustard gas — were also still being investigated.
SAMPLES FROM the sites investigated Monday were being sent to the United States for more definitive tests. If any of the discoveries were confirmed, it would be the first find of chemical weapons during the war.
The barrels discovered Monday by troops of the Army’s 101st Airborne Division had been buried at a pesticide plant in Hindiya, 20 miles southeast of Karbala. The barrels initially tested positive for the nerve agents sarin and Tabun, as well as mustard agent, a blistering chemical first used in World War I.
NBC’s Dana Lewis said the 15 barrels appeared to have been recently buried in a pit and indicated that troops also found weapons in the pesticide plant, suggesting that it might have been a disguised military facility. He said the troops were led to the site by an Iraqi.
Subsequent, more sensitive, tests turned out to be negative, U.S. military sources officers said Tuesday. “The latest tests turned out negative,” one source said.
In a separate find, soldiers with the 1st Brigade of the 101st Airborne on Tuesday discovered an unknown number of barrels near Najaf, south of Karbala, NBC News reported.
Soldiers who opened one barrel experienced nausea, vomiting and a rash. Preliminary testing of the substances was under way.
MISSILES STILL UNDER SUSPICION Suspicions remained open about warheads found in a warehouse near Baghdad International Airport, which was seized last week by coalition forces. National Public Radio reported that an officer with the U.S. 1st Marine Division had said the warheads contained sarin and mustard agent.
The officer, who said he heard of the discovery over a military intelligence network, said the warheads were on about 20 Iraqi BM-21 unguided rockets. Those rockets are about 10 feet long, with a range of about 15 miles. The BM-21 is a 40-year-old truck-mounted system with 40 rocket tubes, intended for close support of troops. The Marine officer said the rockets appeared to be ready to fire.
Separately, The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. military officers had told troops that soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division had captured an Iraqi BMP Armored Personnel Carrier that was believed to contain sarin gas and mustard gas.
That information was issued over the military secure radio network, according to several Marine officials who heard the broadcast. They relayed the advisory to a reporter who was standing with them.
The radio advisory included no other details, including how much of the material was found or where the discovery occurred.
RUMSFELD DECLINES COMMENT Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld noted Monday that first reports from the battlefield often were incorrect.
“We have to take our time and look at it,” Rumsfeld said, adding that getting samples back to the United States and completing testing could take days.
Earlier reports about possible chemical weapons finds have turned out to be false alarms. Last week, for example, troops searching the Qaa Qaa military complex south of Baghdad found a white powder that was found to be an explosive.
Iraq acknowledged making 3,859 tons of sarin, tabun, mustard and other chemical weapons, though United Nations inspectors suspected Iraq could have made much more. Iraq used mustard and sarin against Iran during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war and is believed to have used the chemicals against Kurdish Iraqis.
Sarin and Tabun are related nerve agents that can kill when absorbed through the skin or inhaled as a gas. They kill by causing convulsions, paralysis and asphyxiation.
Mustard gas begins dissolving tissue on contact and is particularly harmful to eyes and lungs. It does not usually kill, but it causes painful injuries that can linger for a lifetime. Lewisite, another World War I-era creation, acts as a systemic poison, causing pulmonary edema, diarrhea, restlessness, weakness, subnormal temperature and low blood pressure.
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