Saddam’s Mustard Gas in Syria? Israel Warned Us – Iraq Warned Us

Remember the rumors that Syria had Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction? The State Department is warning neighboring countries that some of Syria’s WMD might cross their borders. Probably also quietly warning them that he, Assad, might decide to use them, but State isn’t owning up to that. Oh, well actually they did – far down in the article. And there is no mention of Saddam, who actually did use Mustard and Sarin gases and maybe others, killing tens of thousands. Israel’s top General, Lieutenant General Moshe Yaalon, Chief of Staff of the Israeli Defense Force, told the U.S. that Saddam moved his chemical weapons to Syria some six weeks before we invaded. We know the exemplary nature of Israel’s intelligence. After all, they were right there, but the General said “no one went to Syria to find it.” Iraqi General Georges Sada said the same. See a FLASHBACK UPDATE BELOW and I have added the Jon Stewart video of his interview with Sada.

Saddam Hussein

Syria is believed to have a substantial chemical weapons program, which includes mustard gas and sophisticated nerve agents, such as sarin gas, as well as biological weapons. Syria has also refused IAEA requests to make available facilities that were part of its nuclear weapons program and may still be in operation…

“The U.S. and our allies are monitoring Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile. These weapons’ presence in Syria undermines peace and security in the Middle East, and we have long called on the Syrian government to destroy its chemicals weapons arsenal and join the Chemical Weapons Convention,” the State Department official said…

In addition to the danger of proliferation, there is a concern that Assad could actually use his WMDs if his situation becomes desperate. Read it all at The Cable.

Assad has held out for many months now. Obama has boasted that he must step down. He didn’t. Just this month Hillary Clinton said we could not put troops on the ground unless Bashar Assad gave permission.  Good grief. We can’t even get Russia and China to agree to humanitarian aid. Why would any sane person think Assad would not use his chemical weapons? Why would we ever think any Islamic dictator will not use whatever means he has to maintain power? After 11-1/2 years, we should have a much better understanding of Islam and Muslim countries. Let’s hope the Republican President elected this November gets it. Thanks to BadBlue.com.

FLASHBACK UPDATE – Fall 2005 – Middle East Forum:

…the Syrian regime has continued its attempts to acquire sophisticated surface-to-surface missiles. Second, U.S. intelligence officials remain concerned that the Syrian government has become custodian to Iraq’s biological and chemical weapons…

Several different intelligence sources raised red flags about suspicious truck convoys from Iraq to Syria in the days, weeks, and months prior to the March 2003 invasion of Iraq.

These concerns first became public when, on December 23, 2002, Ariel Sharon stated on Israeli television, “Chemical and biological weapons which Saddam is endeavoring to conceal have been moved from Iraq to Syria.” About three weeks later, Israel’s foreign minister repeated the accusation.The U.S., British, and Australian governments issued similar statements. Rather than exculpate the Syrian regime, such a scenario makes the presence of Iraqi weapons in Syria more worrisome, for it suggests that Assad might either eschew responsibility for their ultimate custody or may not actually be able to prevent their transfer to terrorist groups that enjoy close relations with officials in his regime.

Two former United Nations weapon inspectors in Iraq reinforced concerns about illicit transfer of weapon components into Syria in the wake of Saddam Hussein’s fall. Richard Butler viewed overhead imagery and other intelligence suggesting that Iraqis transported some weapons components into Syria.

At about 5 minutes into the video begins the conversation of Saddam’s WMD.

Thanks to ToddyLittman for the video – read more here.

General Georges Sada interview with Jon Stewart (video)

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Posted by Maggie @ Maggie’s Notebook

Tags: Chemical Weapons, Iraq, Mustard Gas, Sarin Gas, Syria, Syria WMD, Weapons of Mass Destruction, WMD