Means - We know that Syria has both the weapons in terms of VX and Sarin, as well as choking agents like mustard gas in fairly large quantities.
Just to clarify a small point Capt. - sulfur (and nitrogen) mustard belong to the category of chemical weapons called vesicants or more commonly "blister agents." Classical "choking agents" were Chlorine and the more deadly Phosgene. Incidentally Phosgene was the chemical weapon responsible for the most fatalities in the First World War around 80%, whereas sulfur mustard produced the most casualties, nearly 8x the total casualties of all the other battle gases combined.
Chemical warfare is an old tactic at least going back to the ancient Greeks and was used by the Byzantines throughout the middle ages. They used to create toxic smoke to kill or irritate their enemies.
Then in modern times (WW1), I believe it was the allies (France) who first started to use gas against the Germans, although the Germans tend to be the ones that get most of the blame (although they did run with it and used them more effectively). The British also used poison gas while taking over Palestine.
I'm not for using chemical weapons, but there is a certain amount of hypocrisy when it comes to these things. Much of Europe and the Middle East in the 20th century was carved up by victors by nations that used chemical weapons, and then those same nations outlawed them once they achieved the balance of power they wanted.
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Chemical weapons don't really need a lot of spending and research. All you need is to load up your bomb with Axe body spray. Drop that anywhere and casualties will be astronomical.
Chemical warfare is an old tactic at least going back to the ancient Greeks and was used by the Byzantines throughout the middle ages. They used to create toxic smoke to kill or irritate their enemies.
Then in modern times (WW1), I believe it was the allies (France) who first started to use gas against the Germans, although the Germans tend to be the ones that get most of the blame (although they did run with it and used them more effectively). The British also used poison gas while taking over Palestine.
I'm not for using chemical weapons, but there is a certain amount of hypocrisy when it comes to these things. Much of Europe and the Middle East in the 20th century was carved up by victors by nations that used chemical weapons, and then those same nations outlawed them once they achieved the balance of power they wanted.
You have to remember that the chemical weapons of lets say the last 40 years and even up to now are much more hideously effective and non discriminatory then they were for example in WW1. Chemical weapons have also become a more strategic weapon then they used to be where they were pretty much tactical.
Armies actually hate using them in battle because they are unpredictable in the wind, and if you fight an army that's trained in their use they're not effective at a big enough level, unless you count the new Russian gases or droplets that can go through warfare suits.
The emphasis on chemical weapons at least since the 80's is more about civilian depopulation and being used as a terror weapon then as an effective battlefield weapon..
They are no longer that different from a strategic nuclear weapon on a civilian population center. If you hit it with enough, everyone pretty much dies. I'd argue that the casualty rate on initial attack could be just as high. With persistent gases and droplets it can render an area as near fatal for days or weeks afterwards and without a proper decontamination team months (droplets under a shelf for example don't break down for a while.
Because these weapons are more designed to depopulate then fight an effective battle with, they are far different then WW1 where you basically pissed on a hanky and tied it over your mouth. Or the medieval stink bomb that made your eyes water and your stomach turn. These weapons make it near impossible to survive unless you can get into a chemical suit in mere minutes and jam an atropine injector into your leg. Of you can get into a sealed room and stay there.
I get what your saying, but I disagree because this is a discussion around degrees.
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Just to clarify a small point Capt. - sulfur (and nitrogen) mustard belong to the category of chemical weapons called vesicants or more commonly "blister agents." Classical "choking agents" were Chlorine and the more deadly Phosgene. Incidentally Phosgene was the chemical weapon responsible for the most fatalities in the First World War around 80%, whereas sulfur mustard produced the most casualties, nearly 8x the total casualties of all the other battle gases combined.
But I digress...
this post combined with your user name makes me raise an eyebrow
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Iran is declaring that any attack on Syria will trigger a retaliatory attack by Iran on Israel. What does Israel even have to do with this situation aside from nervously checking the border against refugees? Excuse for Iran to attack... NYT Link
Because it's pretty much the only thing that is holding America back from bombing the crap out of the whole Middle East.
The only place they could seek revenge is against Israel. They can't get near the States so they will try to hurt them the only place they can.
Israel = Pre WWI Austria
USA = Pre WWI Germany
Israel pumps out it's chest knowing that the US will back every move and this will bring on another great war like WWI.
Scares me to even think about it, if Israel does something to bring conflict on themselves they should accept the fight alone and the US should stay out of it.
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Thank you for everything CP. Good memories and thankful for everything that has been done to help me out. I will no longer take part on these boards. Take care, Go Flames Go.
Prediction - whatever military strikes are used against Assad later this week will kill more children than the false flag operation that started this.
People lumping all ME dictators together are being, as Jay Feaster would say, intellectually dishonest. Find out more about his background. He is educated. His old man was much worse on the tyranny scale, and Bashar has taken steps to democratize the nation.
The Syrian Al-Qaeda rebels were most likely promised air cover from the very start....like they were in Libya. That was not popular with the world, especially Russia and China who had economic contracts with Libya. They learned their lesson, and Libya is a total chaotic dump now. This is all because Assad's army began to kick the #####e (heh) out of the foreign mercenaries, so the west needs to salvage this and get those air strikes in.
The west needed to create an incident to exploit that would justify the air strikes/no fly zone in Syria and this chemical/gas attack was it. We all knew it was coming when Obama came out a year ago and declared Syria using wmd's as a "red line not to be crossed".
Is this seriously the newest and greatest conspiracy theory? The "the chemical attack never happened"? I guess you loonies needed something else considering it's been a while since the last major event.
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But living an honest life - for that you need the truth. That's the other thing I learned that day, that the truth, however shocking or uncomfortable, leads to liberation and dignity. -Ricky Gervais
Is this seriously the newest and greatest conspiracy theory? The "the chemical attack never happened"? I guess you loonies needed something else considering it's been a while since the last major event.
Israel pumps out it's chest knowing that the US will back every move and this will bring on another great war like WWI.
Scares me to even think about it, if Israel does something to bring conflict on themselves they should accept the fight alone and the US should stay out of it.
Awesome. Iran threatens Israel, so if Israel does anything it is "bringing conflict upon themselves".
At what point do you realize the governments that surround Israel are the problem? How many deaths in every other country will it take to open your eyes?
Concerning these phone calls that are "proof positive" of Assad regime guilt, why would the Syrian Minister of Defense make panicked phone calls "demanding answers" if they ordered the attack in the first place. I dont buy the rogue military unit conspiracy theories. The rebels are more likely the guilty party.
Remember back in 2003 Mossad and the CIA fabricated evidence for use against Saddam Hussein, and they don't exactly provide impartial evidence.
Largely forgotten and ignored by western media, but back in May the rebels themselves had already used a small scale chemical weapon against civilians.
To undermine Iran, which is predominantly #####e, the Bush Administration has decided, in effect, to reconfigure its priorities in the Middle East. In Lebanon, the Administration has coöperated with Saudi Arabia’s government, which is Sunni, in clandestine operations that are intended to weaken Hezbollah, the #####e organization that is backed by Iran. The U.S. has also taken part in clandestine operations aimed at Iran and its ally Syria. A by-product of these activities has been the bolstering of Sunni extremist groups that espouse a militant vision of Islam and are hostile to America and sympathetic to Al Qaeda.
Awesome. Iran threatens Israel, so if Israel does anything it is "bringing conflict upon themselves".
At what point do you realize the governments that surround Israel are the problem? How many deaths in every other country will it take to open your eyes?
Not at all, if Israel is attacked they and their allies should kick ass. But if they start a war or a fight they should fight on their own. That is all that I'm saying.
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Thank you for everything CP. Good memories and thankful for everything that has been done to help me out. I will no longer take part on these boards. Take care, Go Flames Go.
Awesome. Iran threatens Israel, so if Israel does anything it is "bringing conflict upon themselves".
At what point do you realize the governments that surround Israel are the problem? How many deaths in every other country will it take to open your eyes?
Do you think it was right for Israel to just go and launch air strikes in Syria last month..
Is this seriously the newest and greatest conspiracy theory? The "the chemical attack never happened"? I guess you loonies needed something else considering it's been a while since the last major event.
I think the discussion has been about who did it, not whether it happened or not. Try to keep up.
You'd be surprised what the Saudis can get away with due to the influence their oil reserves create. The Saudis are by far the biggest funders of islamic militant groups. They not only fund Chechens, they also fund Al Queda, the Taliban, and Hamas, among many others.
They create wars for America and then sell them oil to fight them.
Saudi Arabia has also been trying to clear the middle east of its secular leaders for decades. They'd love nothing more than to have Assad replaced with a Sunni fundamentalist government.
The Saudis have very little power of their own. They are controlled by the Western elite. I use that term because its not just America, but the UK also. They use Saudi Arabia as a proxy. The Saudi intelligence and that of other western powers have close ties.
