http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/16/world/....html?_r=0

Quote:The Central Intelligence Agency, working with American troops during the occupation of Iraq, repeatedly purchased nerve-agent rockets from a secretive Iraqi seller, part of a previously undisclosed effort to ensure that old chemical weapons remaining in Iraq did not fall into the hands of terrorists or militant groups, according to current and former American officials.

The extraordinary arms purchase plan, known as Operation Avarice, began in 2005 and continued into 2006, and the American military deemed it a nonproliferation success. It led to the United States’ acquiring and destroying at least 400 Borak rockets, one of the internationally condemned chemical weapons that Saddam Hussein’s Baathist government manufactured in the 1980s but that were not accounted for by United Nations inspections mandated after the 1991 Persian Gulf war.

Quote:Many rockets were in poor condition and some were empty or held a nonlethal liquid, the officials said. But others contained the nerve agent sarin, which analysis showed to be purer than the intelligence community had expected given the age of the stock.

A New York Times investigation published in October found that the military had recovered thousands of old chemical warheads and shells in Iraq and that Americans and Iraqis had been wounded by them, but the government kept much of this information secret, from the public and troops alike.

Quote:“Without speaking to any specific programs, it is fair to say that together with our coalition partners in Iraq, the U.S. military worked diligently to find and remove weapons that could be used against our troops and the Iraqi people,” Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, said in a written statement.
Continue reading the main story

Retired Army Lt. Gen. Richard P. Zahner, the top American military intelligence officer in Iraq in 2005 and 2006, said he did not know of any other intelligence program as successful in reducing the chemical weapons that remained in Iraq after the American-led invasion.

Through the C.I.A.’s purchases, General Zahner said, hundreds of weapons with potential use for terrorists were quietly taken off the market. “This was a timely and effective initiative by our national intelligence partners that negated the use of these unique munitions,” he said.

Quote:The analysis of sarin samples from 2005 found that the purity level reached 13 percent — higher than expected given the relatively low quality and instability of Iraq’s sarin production in the 1980s, officials said. Samples from Boraks recovered in 2004 had contained concentrations no higher than 4 percent.

The new data became grounds for concern. “Borak rockets will be more hazardous than previously assessed,” one internal report noted. It added a warning: the use of a Borak in an improvised bomb “could effectively disperse the sarin nerve agent.”

Quote:The Americans believed the weapons came from near Amarah, a city not far from Iran. It was not clear, however, if rockets had been retrieved from a former forward firing point used by Iraq’s military during the Iran-Iraq War, or from one of the ammunition depots around the city.

We weren't sold the war on chemical weapons Kaplony! Quit reading those liberal rags too. We all know anything associated with the New York Times can't be trusted.

No wmd's eh?

We weren't sold the war on weapons. But it was part of the discussion. We were told they were there. And they were.

Glad we were able to get them and remove them, considering Obama's JV team that is running rampant over there as we speak. Obama is probably pissed Isis wasnt able to get their hands on them to fire on an Israeli school.

(02-17-2015 08:51 AM)Paul M Wrote:  We weren't sold the war on weapons. But it was part of the discussion. We were told they were there. And they were.

that would be your fault.....

(02-17-2015 08:51 AM)Paul M Wrote:  We weren't sold the war on weapons. But it was part of the discussion. We were told they were there. And they were.

Regime Change
WMD's
Iraqi Freedom
Al Queida

It doesn't matter what excuse the administration used. It was a blunder. It's the reason why American's are unwilling to go to war against ISIS.


Thanks Bush

(02-17-2015 01:31 PM)Fitbud Wrote:  

(02-17-2015 08:51 AM)Paul M Wrote:  We weren't sold the war on weapons. But it was part of the discussion. We were told they were there. And they were.

Regime Change
WMD's
Iraqi Freedom
Al Queida

It doesn't matter what excuse the administration used. It was a blunder. It's the reason why American's are unwilling to go to war against ISIS.


Thanks Bush

Why is going to war against ISIS better than fighting Al Queida and killing Saddam?

(02-17-2015 01:40 PM)vandiver49 Wrote:  

(02-17-2015 01:31 PM)Fitbud Wrote:  

(02-17-2015 08:51 AM)Paul M Wrote:  We weren't sold the war on weapons. But it was part of the discussion. We were told they were there. And they were.

Regime Change
WMD's
Iraqi Freedom
Al Queida

It doesn't matter what excuse the administration used. It was a blunder. It's the reason why American's are unwilling to go to war against ISIS.


Thanks Bush

Why is going to war against ISIS better than fighting Al Queida and killing Saddam?

We were fighting Al Quieda in Afghanistan. We took our focus off off them however to fight Saddam. We had Saddam in check. Removing him simply created a vaccum that eventually led to all the unrest in the Middle East which in turn created ISIS.

(02-17-2015 01:48 PM)Fitbud Wrote:  

(02-17-2015 01:40 PM)vandiver49 Wrote:  

(02-17-2015 01:31 PM)Fitbud Wrote:  

(02-17-2015 08:51 AM)Paul M Wrote:  We weren't sold the war on weapons. But it was part of the discussion. We were told they were there. And they were.

Regime Change
WMD's
Iraqi Freedom
Al Queida

It doesn't matter what excuse the administration used. It was a blunder. It's the reason why American's are unwilling to go to war against ISIS.


Thanks Bush

Why is going to war against ISIS better than fighting Al Queida and killing Saddam?

We were fighting Al Quieda in Afghanistan. We took our focus off off them however to fight Saddam. We had Saddam in check. Removing him simply created a vaccum that eventually led to all the unrest in the Middle East which in turn created ISIS.

so, one creates another.....you forgot about Iran and the ayotollah.....

just another stupid yepper in the clapping of the yapper of stupid warfare....

thank you reagan/bush/bush/cheney for all the above.....fkn morons.....

Reagan created OBL when he withdrew from Beruit
Bush Sr. angred OBL when he left troops in Saudi Arabia
Bush Jr. created Iran when he removed Saddam

(02-17-2015 02:00 PM)Fitbud Wrote:  Reagan created OBL when he withdrew from Beruit
Bush Sr. angred OBL when he left troops in Saudi Arabia
Bush Jr. created Iran when he removed Saddam

...and cheney was behind it all.....

(02-17-2015 01:48 PM)Fitbud Wrote:  

(02-17-2015 01:40 PM)vandiver49 Wrote:  

(02-17-2015 01:31 PM)Fitbud Wrote:  

(02-17-2015 08:51 AM)Paul M Wrote:  We weren't sold the war on weapons. But it was part of the discussion. We were told they were there. And they were.

Regime Change
WMD's
Iraqi Freedom
Al Queida

It doesn't matter what excuse the administration used. It was a blunder. It's the reason why American's are unwilling to go to war against ISIS.


Thanks Bush

Why is going to war against ISIS better than fighting Al Queida and killing Saddam?

We were fighting Al Quieda in Afghanistan. We took our focus off off them however to fight Saddam. We had Saddam in check. Removing him simply created a vaccum that eventually led to all the unrest in the Middle East which in turn created ISIS.

But there was no winning strategy for Afghanistan save for creating chaos and disorder that would happen the Taliban and other terrorist groups from organizing and reduce their power projection capabilities. Much like Cuba, keeping Saddam in check wasn't getting him to change and the people of Iraq were just as miserable and destitute as they could be. The vacuum was supposed to be filled by the US moving CENTCOM to permanently occupy the region. Now Miko argues that world wasn't facing such global threats that such nation building was required. But that was the plan and executing the it proved to be unpalatable.

(02-17-2015 02:03 PM)stinkfist Wrote:  

(02-17-2015 02:00 PM)Fitbud Wrote:  Reagan created OBL when he withdrew from Beruit
Bush Sr. angred OBL when he left troops in Saudi Arabia
Bush Jr. created Iran when he removed Saddam

...and cheney was behind it all.....

Cheney might have encouraged Bush Jr. to invade Iraq but he was just the V.P. His hands are clean.

(02-17-2015 01:53 PM)stinkfist Wrote:  so, one creates another.....you forgot about Iran and the ayotollah.....

just another stupid yepper in the clapping of the yapper of stupid warfare....

thank you reagan/bush/bush/cheney for all the above.....fkn morons.....

I think we can all agree the Cheney is a Sith Lord. And while I don't consider myself a hawk, do you really think Bush Jr. would have been reelected after 9/11 if he didn't commit to some sort of military action?

(02-17-2015 02:06 PM)vandiver49 Wrote:  

(02-17-2015 01:53 PM)stinkfist Wrote:  so, one creates another.....you forgot about Iran and the ayotollah.....

just another stupid yepper in the clapping of the yapper of stupid warfare....

thank you reagan/bush/bush/cheney for all the above.....fkn morons.....

I think we can all agree the Cheney is a Sith Lord. And while I don't consider myself a hawk, do you really think Bush Jr. would have been reelected after 9/11 if he didn't commit to some sort of military action?

If he did it just to get re-elected, then he's scum of the earth.

We were already in Afghanistan.

(02-17-2015 02:00 PM)Fitbud Wrote:  Reagan created OBL when he withdrew from Beruit
Bush Sr. angred OBL when he left troops in Saudi Arabia
Bush Jr. created Iran when he removed Saddam

If that's your theory, then there isn't any rhyme or reason to Middle Eastern responses to US action in that region.

(02-17-2015 01:48 PM)Fitbud Wrote:  We were fighting Al Quieda in Afghanistan. We took our focus off off them however to fight Saddam. We had Saddam in check. Removing him simply created a vaccum that eventually led to all the unrest in the Middle East which in turn created ISIS.

Announcing when we were leaving and not completing the mission by training Iraqi forces and leaving a contingent security force created the vacuum. Actions taken very deliberately I might add.

(02-17-2015 02:08 PM)vandiver49 Wrote:  

(02-17-2015 02:00 PM)Fitbud Wrote:  Reagan created OBL when he withdrew from Beruit
Bush Sr. angred OBL when he left troops in Saudi Arabia
Bush Jr. created Iran when he removed Saddam

If that's your theory, then there isn't any rhyme or reason to Middle Eastern responses to US action in that region.

it's not a theory....

and you got it....

(02-17-2015 02:06 PM)vandiver49 Wrote:  

(02-17-2015 01:53 PM)stinkfist Wrote:  so, one creates another.....you forgot about Iran and the ayotollah.....

just another stupid yepper in the clapping of the yapper of stupid warfare....

thank you reagan/bush/bush/cheney for all the above.....fkn morons.....

I think we can all agree the Cheney is a Sith Lord. And while I don't consider myself a hawk, do you really think Bush Jr. would have been reelected after 9/11 if he didn't commit to some sort of military action?

Well he needed to go after OBL in Afghanistan. He didn't need to go after Hussein though.