W.M.D. to IRAQ from US too?

December 7, 2004 6:26 PM

Check out the stuff WE gave Saddam... In light of the recent news about the prosecution for supplying Saddam w/ WMDs, I was reminded of the Senate report that revealed what we were giving him at the same time. Scroll down to the "U.S. Exports of Biological Materials to Iraq" section. SCARY STUFF!!! - Bacillus Anthracis - Clostridium Botulinum - Brucella Melitensis... Check it out! We even sent him West Nile Fever Virus in 1985.
posted by samlam (14 comments total)

Just breaking on Drudge...

U.S. military intelligence officials have concluded that the Iraqi insurgency is being directed to a greater degree than previously recognized from Syria, where they say former Saddam Hussein loyalists have found sanctuary and are channeling money and other support to those fighting the established government, the WASHINGTON POST is reporting in Wednesday editions...

So now it looks like Syria's card has come up. Is this a sign of strikes into yet another mid-east country or another possible invasion? I would bet based on how the War on Terror has progressed so far that we'll be on the ground in Syria this year. Overstretched or not Beka Valley here we come...
posted by TetrisKid at 7:06 PM on December 7, 2004

Onward, Christian soldiers! I expect to see those of you who voted for Bush first in line, or your children. Surely no sacrifice is too great to help spread Freedom across the globe, from sea to shining sea and back again.
posted by The Card Cheat at 7:15 PM on December 7, 2004

Did we keep the receipt?
posted by Soliloquy at 7:21 PM on December 7, 2004

Yes, the time is nigh to support your President. He is calling more troops to duty (my bro just got sent home!). So call up your recruiter today and go bring democracy to Iraq. I'll put a sticker on my car to show how much I support you.
posted by strangeleftydoublethink at 7:24 PM on December 7, 2004

I would like to point out that this post works well with the list from the preceding post.
posted by mexican at 7:28 PM on December 7, 2004

I didn't mean to hijack samlam's post... just thought the current news was something consider in light of his WMD points.
posted by TetrisKid at 7:31 PM on December 7, 2004

Don't worry, there's more than enough crappy news to go around.
posted by The Card Cheat at 7:44 PM on December 7, 2004

Soliloquy-
At the end of the link there is basically a receipt...
or at least an accounting complete with addresses and amounts.
posted by samlam at 8:15 PM on December 7, 2004

This was a terrible idea when we did it, and it remains terrible, but unfortunately the world is still way behind the curve in preventing proliferation of bioweapons...

Unlike its nuclear or chemical counterparts, the [Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention] has no formal means of monitoring treaty compliance.

1) weaponization of pathogens by terrorists is not now an international crime; (2) weaponization of pathogens is not a national crime under the laws of all but a handful of nations; (3) no aspect of international law authorizes any law enforcement activity to detect or interdict preparation of bio-weapons; and (4) even if such law enforcement activity were authorized, there is no international organization and scant national capability to carry out law enforcement obligations. Without laws that criminalize bio-weapons preparations, there is no basis for law enforcement to investigate disease weaponization or for legal assistance and cooperation to combat trans-national bio-weapons production and smuggling.
posted by ibmcginty at 8:30 PM on December 7, 2004

ya ya ya, but back in the day, saddam was our bro?
we hook all our homies up with the good shit...

(this planet is doomed)
posted by jimjam at 2:39 AM on December 8, 2004

Not to downplay this at all, but I believe that the problem with biological weapons has always been a short shelf life (except for anthrax and some toxins). The Soviets had massive bioweapon factories for this reason; they wanted to be able to produce large amounts of a given agent in a short period of time. Many infectious agents are also not easy to weaponize or deploy (wind shifts can be a bitch if you have an army on the ground, and anthrax has a nasty way of hanging around in the place you want to invade, thus infecting your own forces), though the technology is catching up, and it's nothing to get complacent about.

But yeah, we were still idiots to give anything like this to anybody, especially Saddam.
posted by emjaybee at 6:39 AM on December 8, 2004

But clearly, this is how we knew, KNEW he had biological weapons of mass destruction. We sold them to him.

We have the receipts to prove it.
posted by zoogleplex at 12:52 PM on December 8, 2004

Biological weapons are biological. Lyophilize or stick them in a fridge. When needed, just add water.

(yes, some microorganisms are difficult to store, but the vast majority of bacteria and viruses are *really* easy to store for decades - heck, panspermia [bacteria traveled through space, colonies Earth] isn't an "out of the question" idea)
posted by PurplePorpoise at 1:37 PM on December 8, 2004

Emjaybee, I think you're missing some of the brilliance of a weapon like anthrax as a component in a larger war effort. These things are most effective in locations were the population is stressed and malnurished, and where normal sanitation and water purification systems have broken down.

Rear echelon areas.

Major cities your troops are going to bypass.

Refugee camps.
posted by Ptrin at 8:51 PM on December 8, 2004