U.S. Troops Being Decontaminated?

[Lost Cause]

CBS Radio just reported that an embedded reporter with the 101st Airborne for Knight Ridder, has filed a report that around 100 soldiers, 1 journalist for CNN, and two Iraqi prisoners are undergoing decon, and nerve agent reaction.
The troops are being evacuated out of the area at a military complex 60 miles South of Baghdad.

I know, I know, wait until more people report it.
Heads up for it.

 

[HeavyStick]

It's a good post LC.

I'm just waiting on the link.

 

[patient1]

Thanks, Lost Cause, I'll look into it.

 

[Spinaroonie]

It's called a shower.

Try it sometime.

 

[Problem Child]

It's pesticide. Somebody knocked over a jug of roundup and everybody freaked out.

Well, just the media, actually.

 

[Lasher]

Al Jazeera is claiming that the US gassed itself.

Iraq's Minister of Information just said that there is no war in Iraq.

 

[EllieTalbot]

Al Jazeera is claiming that the US gassed itself.

Iraq's Minister of Information just said that there is no war in Iraq.

LOL!
See what I mean?!

Laughing in Laos,
Ellie

 

[Lasher]

LOL!
See what I mean?!

Laughing in Laos,
Ellie

You're just taunting me now... I can feel it, lol.

Back to the actual thread topic for a second... Something must have happend - my wife is swearing up a storm cause they just broke into the end of Alias for a special report. She's pissed.

 

[Bobmi357]

I wouldn't shrug off pesticide all that easily. Its nasty shit, the germans in WWII used zyklon B, a pesticide as their gassing agent in the concentration camps.

The media might be over reacting as usual, but I'm glad to see the military is still taking it seriously and decomtaminating the troops.

Bob

 

[Lost Cause]

The first link I found.....

Troops, journalists undergo cleanup for nerve gas exposure
By TOM LASSETER
Knight Ridder Newspapers

ALBU MUHAWISH, Iraq - U.S. soldiers evacuated an Iraqi military compound on Sunday after tests by a mobile laboratory confirmed evidence of sarin nerve gas. More than a dozen soldiers of the Army's 101st Airborne Division had been sent earlier for chemical weapons decontamination after they exhibited symptoms of possible exposure to nerve agents.

The evacuation of dozens of soldiers Sunday night followed a day of tests for the nerve agent that came back positive, then negative. Additional tests Sunday night by an Army Fox mobile nuclear, biological and chemical detection laboratory confirmed the existence of sarin.

Sgt. Todd Ruggles, a biochemical expert attached to the 2nd Brigade of the 101st Airborne said, "I was right" that chemical agents Iraq has denied having were present.

In addition to the soldiers sent for decontamination, a Knight Ridder reporter, a CNN cameraman and two Iraqi prisoners of war also were hosed down with water and bleach.

U.S. soldiers found the suspect chemicals at two sites: an agricultural warehouse containing 55-gallon chemical drums and a military compound, which soldiers had begun searching on Saturday. The soldiers also found hundreds of gas masks and chemical suits at the military complex, along with large numbers of mortar and artillery rounds.

Chemical tests for nerve agents in the warehouse came back positive for so-called G-Series nerve agents, which include sarin and tabun, both of which Iraq has been known to possess. More than a dozen infantry soldiers who guarded the military compound Saturday night came down with symptoms consistent with exposure to very low levels of nerve agent, including vomiting, dizziness and skin blotches.

A hand-held scanning device also indicated the soldiers had been exposed to a nerve agent. Two tests at the compound were negative, but further testing indicated sarin was present.

Sarin can be inhaled or absorbed through the skin and is considered one of the most feared but also the most volatile of the nerve agents, chemical weapons experts have said. A cloud of sarin can dissipate after several minutes or hours depending on wind and temperature.

The soldiers, journalists and prisoners of war who tested positive were isolated as everyone else evacuated the area. After about 45 minutes, the group was walked, single-file, down a road for about a city block to where two water trucks awaited them. The men stepped between the two trucks and were hosed down as they lathered themselves with a detergent containing bleach.

1st Lt. Elena Aravjo of the 63rd Chemical Company said she thought there might well be chemical weapons at the site. "We do think there's stuff in this compound and the other (agricultural warehouse) compound, but we think it's buried," she said. "I'm really suspicious of both of those compounds."

The suspicions, or at the very least concerns, were widespread. The 2nd Brigade's commander, Col. Joseph Anderson, toured the site on Sunday, as did Brig. Gen. Benjamin C. Freakley, the assistant commander of the 101st Airborne for operations. Shortly after, the division commander, Maj. Gen. David H. Petraeus, also visited the site.

The ranking officers made no official comment about suspected nerve agents. Troops not wearing chemical protection suits later reoccupied the military complex, while sections of the agricultural warehouse remained taped off.

http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/5573683.htm

 

[Problem Child]

MSNBC is still saying it's pesticides.

 

[Dantetier]

CNN isn't saying anything (that I've seen in 5 minutes) about it.

 

[Worm]

I studied pesticides for a semester for a science project in biology.

Common pesticides such as roach and ant killers are in the same class of chemicals as the chemical nerve agents. When altered slightly to make it easier to absorb through the human skin or easily inhaled it can cause all major organs to shutdown. Nasty stuff.

 

[Cheyenne]

Anyone else see anything on this?

 

[Bobmi357]

All I can find in reference to this is the one link thats been already posted. So it probably was pesticides and not chemical weapons.

 

[bknight2602]

Al Jazeera is claiming that the US gassed itself.

Iraq's Minister of MisInformation just said that there is no war in Iraq.

 

[Guest]

On another subject - the Canadian coverage of the latest "friendly fire" incident was much more extensive than CNN.
A BBC reporter filmed almost the whole thing. They lost their translator.

It looked like Hell.

 

[Somme]

bugger the pesticides...cocktail hour?
http://www.zianet.com/boje/peace/facts_and_myths_about_iraq_war.htm

 

[phrodeau]

bugger the pesticides...cocktail hour?
http://www.zianet.com/boje/peace/facts_and_myths_about_iraq_war.htm

Is that your only tune?

 

[Lost Cause]

Chemical Ali is dead!

Live news..U.K. forces report confirming Ali's body found, outfuckingstanding!
This one's for the Kurds.

 

[patient1]

I found nothing else last night, but today on NPR's Morning Edition I heard a story about this topic.

A reporter with the Marines ,citing the commanding officer, said that the 101st Airborne found 20 missles ready to fire in a warehouse southwest of Bagdahd.

Medium range( about 300 miles), unguided .

Some warheads contained Sarin nerve gas

Others contained Nitrogen Mustard blistering agent.

Complete with mobile launcher.






The difficulty of finding mobile missile launchers was proven in Dessert Storm with SCUDS. That would explain why both UN and Coalition people were unable to find them before now.


Confirmation, anyone?

 

[Lovelynice]

Al Jazeera is claiming that the US gassed itself.

Iraq's Minister of Information just said that there is no war in Iraq.

The Pentagon says that they already control Baghdad, and have installed a new government.

CNN is claiming that 4 million Iraqi soldiers were killed during the latest battle against a single US platoon, without the US losing a single casualty.

 

[8ball]

I don't know about any missiles, but, I had heard on Fox and MSNBC this morning that they did find over 30 barrels of sarin, tabun and one other agent.

And I haven't heard anyone here talk about the terrorist training camp, in the north, on the Iranian border, where they found chem and bio agents in the top soil. This was last week sometime.

 

[Guest]

 

[Starblayde]

On another subject - the Canadian coverage of the latest "friendly fire" incident was much more extensive than CNN.
A BBC reporter filmed almost the whole thing. They lost their translator.

It looked like Hell.

Did you hear the report from their World Affairs Editor (John Simpson) who was in the convoy at the time?

Just after they'd been hit, he was on the air, and a special forces medic came up to him. Simpson was like 'Shut up! I'm broadcasting.... what, am I bleeding? Oh its just shrapnel in the leg, i thought you were going to try and stop me'. the medic's like "continue, sir" so Simpson carries on with his report