tsujigiri

The editorial comments of Chris and James, covering the news, science, religion, politics and culture.

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Monday, April 07, 2003

CNN, Reuters, MSNBC, et al have been pushing this story about chemical weapons potentially found in Iraq:
Major Michael Hamlet of the U.S. 101st Airborne Division told Reuters that initial investigations of 14 barrels found at a military training camp on Sunday revealed levels of nerve agents sarin and tabun and the blister agent lewisite. He said the find could be the "smoking gun" which proved U.S. and British charges that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had been hiding banned weapons of mass destruction -- the central plank of their case for military action to overthrow him. [Reuters]
I'm having trouble reconciling this with a report from Yahoo News that the materials were confirmed to be pesticides:
A military intelligence officer for the US 101st Airborne Division's aviation brigade, Captain Adam Mastrianni, told AFP that comprehensive tests Monday determined the presence of the pesticide compounds. Initial tests had reportedly detected traces of sarin -- a powerful toxin that quickly affects the nervous system -- after US soldiers guarding the facility near Hindiyah, 100 kilometres (60 miles) south of Baghdad, became ill. Mastrianni said: "They thought it was a nerve agent. That's what it tested. But it is pesticide." He said a "theatre-level chemical testing team" made up of biologists and chemists had disproved the preliminary field tests results and established that pesticide was in fact the substance involved. Mastrianni added that the dozen sick soldiers, who had become nauseated, dizzy and developed skin blotches, had all recovered. The belated correction was an embarrassment for the US forces in the region, who had been quick to say that they thought they had finally found the proof they have been actively looking for, that Iraq (news - web sites) was hiding weapons of mass destruction. A spokesman for the US army's 3rd Infantry Division, Major Ross Coffman, had told journalists at Baghdad's airport that the site "could be a smoking gun". [Yahoo]
So are these not the same sites? Or are CNN and the gang just clinging to a sensationalized story before all the facts are in? "Chemicals Found" is the big bold headline on cnn.com right now. Even the military isn't sticking to that story at this point.

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