The vials were discovered not in the main UN building, but a block away at a UN office set up to look for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq after U.S.-led defeat of that country in the 1990-91 Gulf War and before the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, Herland reported.

The inspectors unearthed various chemical weapons in Iraq in the 1990s and found this particular lot in 1996, he said.

According to the police statement, the phosgene was found at an Iraqi chemical weapons facility and "inadvertently shipped to United Nations administrative offices, instead of a chemical laboratory."

The inspectors famously found no weapons of mass destruction in the run-up to the 2003 invasion, which U.S. officials justified partly on grounds that they believed Iraq threatened the world with chemical or nuclear arms.

But the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein repeatedly used poison gas against restive groups of his own people, and both sides used chemical weapons in the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s.

Vials' storage a mystery

Herland said it's a mystery why the vials were stored in a bureaucratic office in New York.
"It's not normally where you would send a dangerous chemical product; normally these substances were secured and put in a locked-down, secure facility," he said.

The discovery came after the UN Security Council voted to end the work of the weapons inspection office, he said.

"UNMOVIC has confirmed that normally such items would have been transported directly to appropriately equipped laboratories for analysis and not sent to UNSCOM/ UNMOVIC headquarters in New York. In the past, UNSCOM chemical samples were sent via military transport directly to Edgewood labs."

After the UN's "Oil for food" program scandal where they recieved billions in bribes...makes you wonder what else they were hiding

so many people doubted the WOMD. There ya go. The truth.

Look at the year barbie!!

phos·gene (fŏsjēn′, fŏz-)
n.



A colorless volatile liquid or gas, COCl2, used as a poison gas and in making glass, dyes, resins, and plastics.

Fanta I'm sure weapons inspectors were holding samples in the kind of chemicals for "making glass, dyes, resins, and plastics." I'm sure that is exactly what Iraq was using them for

how dare someone try to besmerch Saddam's good name, we all know what a wonderful humanitarian he was. Right up to the end

The biggest point is that was from the first Gulf war, not this one so it does not constitute the WMD that Bush said was his reason for invadeing!

Another thing, its a common chemical found in a lot of manufacturing processes!
Prove it was for use in chemical warfare! You cant, and it was in the UN building, supposedly, for 13 years! Why all of a sudden did it appear now?

This is not a smoking gun for the WMD Bush said was his reasons for war. At best it is evidence of government incompetence!

Fanta..yes some dangerous chemicals are used in manufacturing process...but these are weapons grade...note :

"According to the police statement, the phosgene was found at an Iraqi chemical weapons facility and "inadvertently shipped to United Nations administrative offices, instead of a chemical laboratory."
Found at chemical weapons facility is key point here.
Also with such a strict protocol that is followed by inspectors the "inadvertently" shipped to UN building seems a bit of a stretch.

After all the coruption at UN regarding the Iraq oil for food scandal....seems they "might" want to hide other things too....thats all I'm saying here bud

OK, redwine I found information that in fact both Iraq and Iran were using phosgene gas during their war! As late in fact as 1987.
It was mostly used by Iran, because Iraq was receiving mustard gas from the US!

Phosgene gas is easy to produce by passing chlorine through a bed of Charcoal! Pressurized and cool it is a liquid but at room temp becomes a gas which since heavier than air it hugs close to the ground!

I will still stand by the statement that this discovery does not constitute the smoking gun for proof of WMD Bush used to invade Iraq this time!

It was found after the first Gulf War, but Government incompetence caused it to be improperly stored for all these years!

You would think someone back then would have noticed it missing before now!

Isn't it just convenient that it appears right now??

Fanta..the "government" didn't lose this info...this is strictly UN...who were using billions of "bribe money" from oil for food program, Maybe thats why UN inspectors didn't want to "find" WMD...however...Most intel agencies..including Russia's and independent sources from defecting Iraqi's thought there were WMD..having said all that..WMD was not the only factor leading up to war in Iraq..don't forget the 12 years of saddams violations of UN mandated "no fly" zone where he shot at US and British pilots almost daily,the uncooperative nature of not allowing inspectors into sensitive places, I Know you are aware that these were all conditions from the first Gulf war "cease fire"and that ANY violation of these agreements would constitute a re-engagement of the "first gulf war".

Yes and we all know that Bush is a stickler for falling the rules to the letter!!!

Actually to produce phosgene all you have to do is heat Freon to the right temperature.

Well Fanta..whether its Bush or our next president, I hope they operate out of the UN's global take over. We have our own constitution, laws and our own interests. The UN wants the US to fall under its own "international" laws and interests and with members in the human rights council like Cuba, China and Sudan among other notorious violaters...then UN has become a global socialist and marxist operative.

What are we talking about?

Not sure Bud Lost track of my own thread...think its all the drinks you been buying me

look at the year

yep 96 after they were not supposed to be developing


interesting

sounds like a reason to wonder why they would not let inspectors in to me

if ya got nothing to hide after you been found to done it

then why block the looking


iraq was on probation and they broke the terms of it


i don't like the u s being there any more than the next guy

but facts are facts

they refused access and that lead to suspecting wrong doing
there rufusing access violated the terms

and no warrent was need to go in to search

basic fact

cmo people, isnt it time to give up on the blame game? letskeep our eyes on the prize.... how do we win? this bush bashing is counter productive and a waste of time.

We are winning Ram