Posted by
Georgiaboy on Tuesday, July 25, 2006 10:46:57 AM
In the coverage of the Israel-Hezbollah war, Iraq has been forgotten over the last two weeks. But, national review has the good news from Iraq here. Several sections caught my eye.
"A recent story about the 500 WMDs found in Iraq since its liberation ignores the other findings:
Former weapons inspector David Kay declared on Oct. 2, 2003, that U.S. personnel discovered “a vial of live C. botulinum Okra B. from which a biological agent can be produced.”
In January 2004, according to a New York Sun editorial published that June 1, a block of cyanide salt popped up in Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s Baghdad safe house.
On May 2, 2004, U.S. forces in Iraq found a mustard-gas shell, rigged as an improvised explosive device. The Iraq Survey Group sent in by coalition forces to find WMD dismissed this as “ineffective” due to improper storage. Of course, the effectiveness of Saddam’s weapons was not the issue.
“The Iraqi Survey Group confirmed today that a 155-millimeter artillery round containing sarin nerve agent had been found,” also reworked as an explosive device, Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt told reporters that May 15. Two soldiers exposed to the device “displayed ‘classic’ symptoms of sarin exposure,” Fox News reported.
Weapons sleuth Charles Duelfer told Fox News on June 24, 2004: “We found, you know, 10 or 12 sarin and mustard rounds.”
That July 6, the Department of Energy announced that a joint effort with the Pentagon removed 1.77 metric tons of low-enriched uranium from Iraq “that could potentially be used in a radiological dispersal device or diverted to support a nuclear weapons program.”
The number of tips from Iraqis continues to grow:
As Iraqis see their own countrymen defending them against the terrorists and Saddamists, they are stepping forward with needed intelligence. General Casey reports that the number of tips from Iraqis has grown from 400 in March 2005 to over 4,700 last month.
And finally, good news on casualties. After averaging around 2 per day for Dec 2005-Mar 2006, casualties spiked in April up to 2.7. But, they have steadily decreased over the last few months down to 1.4 for July. Additionally, wounded in action have been holding steady at around 400 per month, down from 2005 and 2004.