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A few facts for those of you who may not be up to speed on them. Some are quite eye opening.

1. Fact: * That in the years immediately prior to the first Gulf War, Iraq produced at least 3.9 tons of VX, a deadly nerve gas, and acquired 805 tons of precursor ingredients for the production of more VX. (multiple sources, check it out on Google).

2. Fact: VX gas is one of the most dangerous chemicals created. There is a term called LD50 which means the dosage at which any substance is considered leathal in 50% of the population. VX Gas has an LD50 (dose toxic to 50% of victims) is the lowest of any known compound at only 10mg (a raindrop weighs about 50mg).

So, given these "facts", I pose the following questions;

1. What happened to the tons and tons VX and the precursor agents?

2. What "would" happen if say a couple of hundred pounds of the stuff was “aresolized” over a metropolitan area?

Not only that Hog, but when you think about the physical size of 7,800 lbs of VX, it sounds like a massive amount and in fact it is when the LD50 is 10mg. However, how easy would it be to hide 8,000 lbs of a liquid in a country the size of Iraq? Pretty darn easy I'd say. Additionally, if the dirt bags did ship any to Syria, or Al Queda, it would be very difficult to track something so small, yet so deadly. A conspicuous absence of posts from our left wing I see... Interesting. Perhaps they're pondering what death would be like after exposure to VX? As I understand it, it throws your mussels in to such contractions that you literally break your own back and cough your lungs up out of your mouth... There's a pretty picture for you mhpd, Rick, JDR? Or you could choose the ostrich approach (anticipated).

Quote from Robby:
“Perhaps they're pondering what death would be like after exposure to VX?”

I wish that were the case. Instead the left reads this post and says we warmongers who’ll follow our fellow warmonger president blindly into anything. That’s the tactic of the left. If you’re against affirmative action, you’re racist. If you’re against gun control, you’re a back yard redneck gun nut. If you’re against taxing the rich, you’re a sadist who loves to see the poor suffer.

You can post all the links and proof you want; the left will never believe this war was the answer to America’s security. The question I ask is this… what is the freakin answer then?

Rubber meeting the road and stamping out terrorism.

Anyone know the name of the 1st terror organization that dealt with terms and surrendered after 9-11? The IRA!

Iran is quaking because decades of wars have robbed them of an "elder" generation. Over 70% of that country is under 30. Seeing a free Iraq as a nextdoor neighbor will be setting the stage for the fall of the Islamic governments.

Taliban...GONE!

Libya...Hot potato! Here...take my WMD!

North Korea...Ok, so you can't blame them for trying to hold out for some freebies, but they'll be coming up to the table very soon.

Which brings me to Israel. Centuries of war. I'm willing to say that they honed the "art" of war to perfection. PLO is going belly up without Iraq's money.

No, the war on terrorism is one that NEEDS to be fought all the way to an end. Syria will be dealt with. Lebanon, Morocco, Philippines and Saudi Arabia...you're not safe either.

I agree we need to be less reliant on their oil. I'd love to see that day, but;

"To combat this probability, you need co-operation and very agressive diplomacy coupled with inspections and sanctions. You need to make friends in the reagion that are accountable to help you."

Been there, done that, it was called "the 90s under Clinton and UN 'diplomacy'" Didn't work... I say BOMB UM!

sylance: well, i'm "the left," and i don't believe any of that. i support our troops in iraq and hope that they can get the hell out of there and come home soon -- safely, swiftly and victoriously.

guess i'm just a democrat hawk. :)

It's quite possible we are the victim of a massive Pan-Arab shell game. And I'm sure that there is probably a number of Arab leaders who know what's gone on with unaccounted for WMDs. I'm sure They secrectly laugh at Bush for the way he's gone about going after WMDs. And I hope Americans will be able to see the futility of this cowboy mentality... Wanted dead or alive...
So what do you do? Invade one country and the stuff gets hidden in another.
- If they laugh, it's because of the way we were handling Iraq for TEN YEARS since the end of Desert Storm, blustering, and cajoling, but not DOING anything. That's why we had to do what we did in Iraq, our credibility needed re-establishing.

At some point the miliary options cease to be effective ways to deal with this WMD shell game. I have no doubt that somewhere, somehow, some Arab fundamentalist terrorist groups have access to WMDs (even thought they may no have enough intelligence to know how to use them yet)
- So what are you saying? That we wait until a bomb goes off in Manhatten, or L.A. dispersing VX, and say "there they are! The WMD, we finally found them!" We need to make these people understand that these items are hot potatos, and they don't want to even be suspected of holding them!

To combat this probability, you need co-operation and very agressive diplomacy coupled with inspections and sanctions. You need to make friends in the reagion (sp) that are accountable to help you.
- You mean like the Saudis, who talk one way, and the people who have money are financing suicide bombers in Israel, and probably Al Quaeda, just to cover all bases? I beleive we exercised TEN YEARS of diplomacy with Iraq, and what did it accomplish? How many terrorists were trained at the Iraqi military base south of Baghad where there was a derilict airliner fusilage, set up to teach the tactics of aircraft takeover. Oh but wait, even though Saddam and Bin Laden were in the same general area and shared the same major enimies (the US and Israel) they didn't find a guest register with both names in it so there must not have been any cooperation between them!

Also a major problem is when your Executive branch and president is completely bought by oil companies, this country will not engage in any effort that reduces oil dependencies which fundamentally ties our interests to Middle Eastern conflicts. This is the most fatal flaw on our current leadership and this flaw is at the root of our problems in Iraq and elsewhere in the region. Another reason to conside new leadership. Big Oil's influence on our current administration is the most scariest thing to me about our current leadership. It gives me the total creeps. I reckon I could even tolerate some of Bush's other failings but IMHO the Big Oil connection and its influence on Bush's policies is obvious is just too evil and scary to me.
-EXCUSE ME???? The DEMOCRATS are the ones holding up the development of known OIL RESERVES in the ANWR in Alaska. The liberals are the ones who constantly carp about nuclear power, and offshore drilling off the coast of Florida. DO NOT blame the President, or the oil companies for not devloping American reserves to reduce dependance on Arab oil, look in your left-wing mirror!

Wouldn't you rather be able to say to Arab despots....... take your oil and shove it!!!!
- I'd love to, but with people like Tom Daschle, and the like blocking things in Congress, it'll never happen, because the Democrats historically love having issues to blame the Republicans for, and so will never allow them to provide any solutions!

Homie, I never said that the ANWR was the solution by itself, nor did I say that oil was the way to go forever. I'm glad you posted that about the solar powered generator. Remember the guy who supposedly invented a carbeurator that would get 70 MPG, and "the oil companies bought it and buried it? Well, I went to a trade school with his son! He is or was (not sure he's still around) an automotive engineer in Waco Texas, The prototype car was a Chevy Corvair and it DID get 70MPG, Shell Oil bought it! Here's the rub, don't patent rights eventually run out? Maybe as grass roots campaign to get congress to enact a law based on Immenient Domain to get the patent rights released by companies and or corporations that are not using the technology incorporated therein. Then the oil companies would lose the lock on these patents, and would no longer have any motive to keep buying them up! (yes, I can see both sides of an argument, not just mine)

Clive,
I knew you could see both sides of an issue. I hope that I didn't imply otherwise. If so I am sorry.
Later
Dave (A.K.A. Homebrew)