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Iraq-Jordan

Lab Tests Could Link Saddamâs Missing WMDs to Jordan Plot

2004-04-21

EFL
Laboratory tests on the poison gas smuggled from Syria into Jordan by al Qaeda terrorists earlier this month could determine whether their weapons came from Iraq, intelligence expert John Loftus said Monday. "What they captured was a poison gas that consisted of several chemicals to be mixed together," Loftus told nationally syndicated radio host John Batchelor. "This has to be a poison gas of what they call the G-series; Sarin, Somin, Taubin and VX." The terrorism expert noted that, "VX is the only kind of nerve gas where the chemicals could be safely mixed together in the field."

On Saturday, Jordanian officials announced that they had seized WMD components from the cars of the al Qaeda terror plotters, which had been intercepted just 75 miles from the Syrian border. Experts said that had the WMD plot succeeded, it could have killed 20,000. Jordan's King Abdullah confirmed that the al Qaeda vehicles had come from Syria. Noted Loftus: "Syria dopes not make VX nerve gas - only Saddam Hussein did. So it looks as if now that Israeli intelligence and British intelligence were right - that Syria did indeed get a hold of Saddam's weapons of mass destruction just before the war."

So it would seem. I suspect this aspect of the story may evaporate, and I'm not sure why...

Loftus said lab tests of the al Qaeda weapons would be key to establishing a link between the WMDs found in Jordan and Saddam's missing stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons.

Maybe that's why the Iraqis didn't want to give Blix and his crew the details of their "disposal." Or it could be simply that they were stashed in the Bekaa valley and went from Hezbollah to Zarqawi...

Posted by:Dragon Fly

#6 Thanks Anon4052.

Posted by: Daniel King 2004-04-21 1:20:52 PM

#5 Daniel King :

They do have the lab stuff from the chems that Saddam admitted to, and were destroyed after Gulf War I in 1991. If the same methods were used, they would create the same chemical fingerprint.

Now, you might say that other places would use the same technology. But "Made in Iraq" would be determined from the impurities, etc that are location specific.

It is the same for any chemical process whether it is chem weapons, for food or whatever.

Saddam would follow the same cookbook at restart. No need to reinvent anything if the old recipe worked. Ask Kurds and Iranians about that aspect.

Posted by: Anonymous4052 2004-04-21 12:41:38 PM

#4 "Laboratory tests on the poison gas smuggled from Syria into Jordan by al Qaeda terrorists earlier this month could determine whether their weapons came from Iraq."

Aside from the "Made in Iraq" label, how else would we be able to tell where the WMDs were made?

Posted by: Daniel King 2004-04-21 12:25:56 PM

#3 So it would seem. I suspect this aspect of the story may evaporate, and I'm not sure why...

Sarcasm, Dragonfly?

No matter what WMD are either not WMDs or not from Iraq. Why Bush, and the allies would be right (Blair, etc.), and EVERYONE ELSE would be wrong. This does not fit with the worldwide Kerry for President campaign!

Posted by: Anonymous4052 2004-04-21 12:20:25 PM

#2 I know that Debka is not always a good source, but this is what they have been saying since the war with Iraq started! Why we are not going in and securing Syria I do not know.

Posted by: Sully 2004-04-21 11:57:12 AM

#1 Wonder who gave them to the AQ types, Syria or saddam?

Posted by: Lucky 2004-04-21 11:08:33 AM

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