Sarin Shell

The administration's typical MO with regards to possible Iraqi WMD finds since the fall of Baghdad has ben thus: make a big amount of noise over a possible find, let that simmer in the minds of Jane and Joe America and then let the retraction come in the dark of night, probably on a weekend, in a whisper...if that. In a nutshell, that explains why:

Despite statements by Richard Clarke, David Kay, Hans Blix and others, few Americans perceive most experts as saying the contrary....Only 34% said they thought most experts believe Iraq did not have WMD, while 65% said most experts say Iraq did have them (30%) or that experts are divided on the question (35%).

So, the other day, when the news agencies were reporting the Sarin shell that had been rigged as another roadside IED, I thought it would be more of the same. Today, Sean-Paul at The Agonist posts something very interesting indeed. Seems this two chambered shell was most probably foreign, and not of Iraqi design:

FOX was reporting that the DoD says the shell tests positive for sarin and that IT WAS A TWO-CHAMBERED SHELL. That's weird. It means either:

One: it wasn't the Iraqi device I was describing, it's foreign. Even the most fearmongering sources I've seen, culling from UNSCOM, etc., admit that Iraq never could pull off in four years what it took the US twenty years to make, which is why Saddam had some poor sap in a gas mask do the things by hand.

Two: FOX screwed up and gave the Little Golden Book definition of binary, ignoring that fact. The BBC did something like this on Monday, but they were quoting some civilian official. No one is picking up FOX's story, and even FOX has moved it off their front page. WTF? Has FOX jumped the gun again?

However: The DoD quote states that the ingredients "didn't mix properly" during the explosion, so despite some sloppy wording by FOX, that means #1 is more likely.

So where the hell is this thing from?

Candidates:

As I said earlier, Soviet shells were 152mm, Stratfor's mumbling about little green rings notwithstanding. Wrong calibre, wrong markings (the shell in question had none, one of a number of things behind Kimmit's theory about the ignorance of its use). Iraqis were big on their 155mm artillery for chemical weapons for one simple reason: it throws stuff farther (40km, I think). They liked rockets even more.

Iraq bought lots of stuff from China. Can't find a reference to a 155mm binary anywhere.

The UK supposedly helped Iraq with its weapons program (and much of Iraq's 155mm artillery was from S. Africa, but I don't know how much of that was based on pre-1947 models). Can't find a reference on that.

Nope, the only one I can find is the M687, made in the USA.

Now hold on. The usual response is to say I'm saying this thing is a plant. That's stupid. I might as well plant a samurai sword on you and accuse you of assassinating Abraham Lincoln. Planted evidence has to be plausible.

More likely, I think, is another John Gunther Dean moment, only this time it isn't the Mossad that's going to get soaked. This also explains why this story has no legs and the adm. isn't pushing it they way they've pushed even weaker stuff in the recent past:
-It's one thing to move the goal posts from A Bazillion Tons of Hot Death to two duds.
-It's quite another to call unwanted attention to more direct involvement in the Iran/Iraq war than we've admitted previously.

Hmmmm.....



Oh yeah. That's right.