Danes find suspicious Iraqi shells

[Barrett808]

Danes find suspicious Iraqi shells
Saturday, January 10, 2004 Posted: 11:41 AM EST (1641 GMT)

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Danish troops have found suspicious mortar shells in southern Iraq and officials are checking to see if they are chemical weapons, according to Coalition officials.

Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, a U.S. Army spokesman, said Saturday 30 to 40 120mm mortars containing liquid were discovered south of Al-Amara, north of Basra.

The shells are being examined, and Kimmitt said it is suspected that the ordnance could be left over from the Iran-Iraq war in the mid-1980s.

"Most were wrapped in plastic bags, and some were leaking," he added.

"The first inspections have shown that the mortars contain some liquid," said a Danish official in the city of Basra. "We don't now what sort of liquid or the age of the mortars."

(more)

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/01/10/sprj.irq.chemicals/

[leftchick]

1. perhaps they should ask rummy....

what sort of "liquid" he was chatting with saddam about in the 80s...

[oneighty]

2. Exudate

from cheap explosives..Happens with age to many explosives. Very dangerous. Sand bag and blow in place.

If they are handling chemical weapons already they are in deep trouble. More BS.

180

[45th Med]

4. LOL, good call!

Like they would have even lasted long enough to report anything suspicious without them showing signs of exposure to NBC.

[RC]

6. Not necessarily

Biological weapons degrade with time. Anywhere from 5 to 10 years max useful life. It's been almost 20 years. I don't mean to imply they are safe, by their punch is all but gone.

[oneighty]

8. Article

refers to chemical not biological. Old explosives will often leak out liquids referred to as "Exudates".

180

[Fovea]

24. agreed

if it were Vx, no one would be alive there right now.

This is nitro sweat, and the first person to sneeze in that room blows the lot of them to Asgard.

[Darwin2002]

3. yawn again n/t

*

[IbeaMoran]

11. *yawn*?

What if is to be true?

[leftchick]

13. hmmmmm

and what if it is not, like uh say, every other of the last hundred times they cried WMD?! :eyes:

[IbeaMoran]

14. I know it's too early for the WMD

Next September when it's time to remember the grass was green and the enemy was mean. You know of what I speak?

[leftchick]

29. no...

I have no clue what any of your posts mean. Talk about obtuse....
:crazy:

[IbeaMoran]

38. I believe in power to the people

The people in the end are the begining of the future.

[qanda]

35. You sure do be!

eom

[RedSock]

18. remember these are the master plans

remember these are the master plans according to *



http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A60340-2004Jan6.html

oooooooo, scary!!!!!

[IbeaMoran]

19. What does it all mean?

Are we ready for some scaredball?

[alphafemale]

52. If wishes were horses

we would all watch our step

[LiberalFighter]

46. Having 5 holes in a circle is 1 too many holes making it WMD

Which hole or holes in bush makes him a WMD?

[are_we_united_yet]

44. what?

[Cocoa]

5. CNN bravely fighting to the end

they SO want there to be WMD. It's kind of sad.

[underpants]

9. Butdon'tyathink it's possible

Sorry I had to throw that little Judy Woodruff-esque line in there.

Fighting to the end indeed. I bet they grabbed the booster seat and called Wolf in for a live broadcast.

[IbeaMoran]

16. Who is "they" of which you do speak?

Are they us or them?

[matcom]

17. um....CNN

them

welcome to DU btw. hope you stick around. sorta

[Rex]

21. Depends...no not the diaper

Who do you think they are? Are we them or we us?

You decide, I recant.

[IndianaGreen]

22. "Iran-Iraq war in the mid-1980s"

Even the news report admits that this is all ammo left over from the Iran-Iraq war. Heck, they are probably our own shells that Rumsfeld brought with him when he met with Saddam on behalf of the Reagan Administration.

[SmokeyBlues]

7. Mysterious liquid?

Nah, not really. If the Danish inspectors look really closely, they will see that the mysterious liquid is just more BushCo bullshit!

[killbotfactory]

10. Reminds me of all the "possible" and "suspected" weapon finds

During the early stages of the war.

"Rockets contain mysterious liquid, possible anthrax!"
"Oh wait, it's just rocket fuel..."
"Ooh, ooh! Mysterious barrels could contain illegal WMD!"
"Oh wait, it's just insecticide..."

[nadinbrzezinski]

12. Yuo think?

20 year old shells... hmmm exudate...

Damn these people are DESPERATE, expect all RW sites to blare this to the world

Oh and why CNN? IF they did it with Fox we would all be screaming PROPAGANDA.. CNN still has some good name left... not for long if they keep this shit going.

[XNGH]

15. Sure

I wondered how long it would take Shrub/Haliburton to plant WMDs ... now we know

[w13rd0]

34. Haha, these shells have been buried for more than a decade...

...BushCo didn't plant them, well, unless you mean Rummy buried them after shaking hands with Saddam. That's possible given the time frame.

[Sagan]

20. chip chip chipping away at the truth

The neocons and the media whores figure if they run enough of these quasi-hemi-demi-semi vague reports about ancient "suspicious" weapons finds, that the sheeple will figure that WMD's have indeed been found in Iraq.

Sad thing is that it seems to be working.

[JusticeForAll]

23. What the Hell? How many fricking Danish troops are over there?

God, I am burning mad :mad: with this so called news story. :tinfoilhat:

I don't mean to fly off the handle without knowing full details, but from this article, for God sakes, how probable is it that Danish troops found these suspected weapons before American troops did??

Isn't it convenient that those trustworthy Europeans found it, instead of someone in Bushit-head's forces? I don't deny that they found something, but how credible can ANY so-called evidence be at this point?

How long have covert American operations been over there with plenty of time to scour the cities, with access to stockpiles of Iraqi WOD, and convert these WOD into WMD? Then plant the weapons so that allied troops can find them and justify the ends with these planted means?

I'm preaching to the choir here, but the longer this goes on the more sinister it gets. I hope this f***ing vile Administration implodes on itself.

:puke: I'm sorry my language is not the nicest...I'm seething.

[KDLarsen]

36. If I remember correct..

.. around 200 - and a couple of snow plows (though I'm still not sure what they're supposed to be good for :D)

As for the US, I thought they had pulled their weapons search inspectors out VEEERYYY quietly?

[pinto]

25. BBC reporting 10 year old, buried shells, mustard gas (per Danish military

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3386357.stm

[truthisfreedom]

26. old leaking junk.

probably forgot where it was buried.

[zbird]

30. These look really, really scary, don't they?

from:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/040110/photos_wl/mdf443251

Yep, like these mortars could go anywhere without disintegrating.

[chenGOD]

53. Do you think the BBC is calling it "mustard gas" because of

the slightly mustard coloured liquid in the picture to the right?

That would be too much.

[durutti]

27. Iran-Iraq War?

Could it be that they were buried during the Iran-Iraq war, then forgotten? Just a thought.

Of course, this could all just turn out to be another false alarm.

[TacticalPeek]

28. The only threat these present

is to anyone dumb enough to try to actually use them.

[qanda]

31. Or anyone stupid enough to dig them up after 10 years!

eom

[DRoseDARs]

33. I need a tetnus shot after just looking at them...

...Damn they sure look rusty and unusable after being buried for ten years.

(Yahoo! News has pictures that CNN.com is too lazy to show)

[JusticeForAll]

32. More updated information from Yahoo

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=578&e=1&u=/nm/20040110/ts_nm/iraq_chemicals_dc


Not sure why this later thread was locked, since the Yahoo story has more updated, detailed, and pertinent late breaking information about the issue...

???

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=308315

[pacifictiger]

37. timing is everything

especially since the 60 minutes interview expose is airing tomorrow.

[priller]

39. "Blister gas", is that not mustard gas?

Or something much like it? Yes, illegal now, but certainly not WMD.

[TacticalPeek]

40. True.

Chemical munitions are 'area denial' weapons.

Nukes and bio are the true WMD.

All three, of course, can ruin your afternoon.

Probably none of the three are as dangerous as a crazed POTUS.

[daleo]

41. A few day ago Danes were not contributing to the cause

There was an article a few days ago about how Danes were hardly ever leaving their camps, not really contributing to the coalition, etc. Now suddenly they discover mustard gas shells. Pretty lucky.

[AngryAmish]

42. Yeah right

The crooks will plant anything.

[snippy]

43. Oh what those wily Danes dig up with their snow shovels.

Or maybe they used the lawn mower.

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Danish security forces in Iraq, struggling with temperatures around 120 degrees, are prepared for the worst -- even a blizzard.

The almost 400 soldiers from the chilly Nordic are equipped with snow shovels, brooms and a lawnmower as they work to restore law and order in the war-torn country.

http://news.excite.com/odd/article/id/339476%7Coddlyenough%7C07-10-2003::11:04%7Creuters.html

[are_we_united_yet]

45. My goodness Bush was right!

Rumsfeld Perle Condi Colin and Wolfowitz were telling the truth all along. Thank you for saving our lives. Can you ever forgive us for doubting you?

[onehandle]

47. Mustard Gas...

State of the art in WW1. Limited use beyond the battlefield.

Regardless, Expect this to be a highlight in the state of the union.

[Wonco_the_Sane]

48. mmmmm I feel like danish food now...

Could this be useless crap or the beginning/continuing of another LIE???

Not sure what to make of this yet, but I would like to think the Danes wouldn't be dupes for shrubby. Likely this will quietly disappear.

whoo-hoo major poster now :)

[lebkuchen]

49. Exactly what we'll find when US bases are moved to Cold War countries

Poland, Romania and Bulgaria will be littered with the stuff. They don't have the money to clean up their countries, so the US will have to do it for them, eventually, one day, soon, for, you know, the "safety" of our troops.

[Devils Advocate NZ]

50. Wait a minute!

Wasn't there just a report a few days ago of a Danish soldier who wrote a letter complaining that the Danish troops never left camp?

Is my memory mistaken? Or was he lying?

[imax2268]

51. I don't know...

but you know it seems funny to me that a bunch of soldiers that were sent a snowplow, lawnmowers, road salt, and no stakes for thier tents can find a bunch of old outdated mortars that were buried for almost 20 years or so...

[johnfunk]

54. BWAHAHAHA! American Politics Journal's "Hot Headline" on Danish find

Hey, Richard Perle, you want some mustard with your crow?
Danish soldiers embarrass American "experts" and find 36 buried, corroding artillery shells possibly containing mustard gas* that even Saddam had tried to account for after the Gulf War (* they're not WMDs -- the shells can't be fired, so they're not weapons)

[Barrett808]

55. Chemical Found in Iran-Iraq War Shells (thought to be from Iran-Iraq war)

Chemical Found in Iran-Iraq War Shells
Sun Jan 11, 9:35 AM ET
By ROBERT H. REID, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Danish and Icelandic troops have uncovered a cache of 36 shells buried in the Iraqi desert, and preliminary tests showed they contained a liquid blister agent, the Danish military said.

The 120mm mortar shells are thought to be left over from the eight-year war between Iraq and neighboring Iran, which ended in 1988, U.S. Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said Saturday.

The shells were found by Danish engineering troops and Icelandic de-miners near Al Quarnah, north of the city of Basra where Denmark's 410 troops are based, the Danish Army Operational Command said in a written statement.

The shells were wrapped in plastic but had been damaged, and they appeared to have been buried for at least 10 years, the statement said.

It said British experts did a preliminary test and said the shells contained "blister gas," but did not elaborate.

(more)

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=ap/iraq_mortar_shells

[underpants]

56. Icelandic troops?

REally?

[are_we_united_yet]

57. ZZzzzzzzzzzzzzz

WMD Terrusts ZZZzzzzzz

ZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzz