MAY 8th, 2003

U.S. MILITARY FINDS PROOF OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS IN IRAQ

Baghdad, May 8, 2003 - U.S. military officials today confirmed they had found sophisticated chemical weapons in an abandoned industrial factory in the northwest corner of Baghdad.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, sources close to the Pentagon said U.S. troops on a routine patrol had found weapons-grade chemicals and also the systems used for their delivery.

But in an admission that could be more damning than the discovery of the material itself was information suggesting the weapons could be traced back to a corporation based in a southern U.S. state.

The list of deadly chemicals found in the compound includes:
Acetaldehyde, Acetic acid, Acetone, Acetonitrile, Acetylene, Acrolein, Acrylonitrile, 3-aminobiphenyl, , 4-aminobiphenyl , 1-aminonapthlene, 2-aminonapthlene, Ammonia, Anabasine, Anatabine, Aniline, Anthracenes (5), Argon, Arsenic, Benzene, Benzo[a]antracene, Benzo[a]pyrene, Benzo[b]fluoranthene, Benzo[j]fluoranthene, Benzo[k]fluoranthene, Benzofurans (4), Bipyridyls (4), 1,3-Butadiene, Butraldehyde, Cadmium, Campestrol, Carbon dioxide, Carbon monoxide, Catechols, Cholesterol, Chromium, Chrysene m+p-Cresol, o-Cresol , Crotonaldehyde, Cyclotenes (10), Dibenz[a,h]acridine, Dibenz[a,j]acridine, Dibenz(a,h)antracene, 7H-Dibenz[c,g]carbazole, Dibenzo[a,i]pyrene, Dibenzo[a,l]pyrene, Dihydroxybenzenes (other) , 1,1-dimethylhydrazine, Fluoranthenes (7), Fluorenes (7), Formaldehyde, Formic acid, Furans (5), Glycerol, n-Hentriacontane, Hydrazine, Hydrocarbons, Hydrogen, Hydrogen cyanide, Hydrogen sulfide, Hydroquinone, Indenol[1,2,3-cd}pyrene, Isoprene, Indoles (14), Ketones (3), Lactic acid, Lead, Limonene, Linoleic acid, Linolenic acid , Maleic hyrazide, Mercury, Methane, Methanol, Methylamine, Methyl formate, 5-Methylchrysene, Methyl ethyl ketone, 4-(Methylnitrosoamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK), n-Methylpyrrolidine, Naphthalenes (24), 2-Naphthylamine, Neophytadienes (4), Nickel, Nicotine, Nitric oxide, Nitriles (10), Nitrogen oxides, 2-Nitropropane Nitrosamines, N-Nitrosoanabasine (NAB), N-Nitrosoanatabine (NAT), N-Nitrosodiethanolamine, N-Nitrosodiethylamine, N-Nitrosodimethylamine, N-Nitrosomethylethylamine, N-Nitrosomorpholine, N-Nitrosonornicotine (NNN), N-Nitrosopyrroldine, Oxygen, Palmitic Acid, Phenanthrenes (7), Phenols (46), Picolines, Polonium-210 (Radon), Polyphenols, Propionaldehydye, Propionic acid, Pyrazines (volatile) (18), Pyrenes (6), Pyridines (26), Pyrrole, Pyrrolidene, Quinolines (7), Quinones, Resorcinol, Selenium, Scopoletin, Sitosterol, Skatole, Solanesol, Stearic acid, Stigmasterol, Styrene, Tar, Terpenes (200-250), Toludines, Toluene, ortho-Toluidine, Urethane (Ethyl Carbamate), Vinyl Chloride and 3-Vinylpyridine.

Experts in chemical weaponry said when these ingredients are mixed in the proper proportions and deployed through the delivery device, those exposed to the mixture — whether U.S. or Iraqi troops or civilians — would likely experience a slow and agonizing death. As proof of the secrecy of the weapons system, the experts said, it can often be difficult to trace such deaths back directly to the chemicals or to the devices used to deliver them — commonly known as cigarettes.

The U.S. company that provided Iraq with the means and formula for the deadly weapons program is Altria Group Inc., the Richmond, Virginia-based parent company of Philip Morris International, Philip Morris USA and Philip Morris Capital Corporation. Altria also owns Kraft Foods Inc. and is the largest shareholder in the world’s second-largest brewer, SABMiller PLC.

The Philip Morris companies are the largest maker of cigarettes in the United States and hold a significant share of the cigarette market worldwide.

An Altria Group spokesperson defended the company’s actions, saying: “Phillip Morris provides cigarette formulas and manufacturing knowledge to both good and bad dictators and there was no specific intent to target one segment of the world population. We are an equal-opportunity chemical weapons provider.”

c. 2003 Loonienews.com

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