ON THE TRAIL OF TOXIC TERROR

Did the Iraqis intentionally target allied forces with bioweapons in Desert Storm?

While that question remains unresolved, let’s examine some relevant evidence.

1. IRAQI FORCES HAVE COMBINED chemical and biological weapons, as in 1988, when they mixed aflatoxin, a biological agent known to cause cancer, with riot gases and used them against the Kurds, killing many. Halabja, one of the cities attacked with gases that may have included aflatoxin, remains plagued with abnormally high rates of miscarriages, birth defects and cancer.

2. ACCORDING TO COLONEL GERRY SCHUMACHER, up to 52 mobile biowarfare sprayers were shipped from Italy to Iraq during that nation’s 1980-1988 war with Iran. Biological toxins were shipped to Iraq from American firms between 1985 and 1989; since the days of the Iran-Iraq War, Saddam’s inventory has allegedly contained mutated forms of virulent germs.

3. IN 1990, USING A U.S. FIRM AS A COVER, Colonel Schumacher’s CIA-sponsored team provided the same specifications used for Iraq’s biowarfare sprayers to the Italian manufacturer, seeking to obtain one of the devices. After this effort failed, two sprayers were extracted from Iraq in a secret operation.

4. JOURNALIST ETHAN GUTMANN told Freedom that approximately 15 sprayers, hidden by the retreating Iraqis in 1991, were reportedly found by allied forces.

5. FIVE OF IRAQ’S BIOWARFARE SPRAYERS, recovered by allied forces in the wake of 1991’s Desert Storm, turned up on battle damage assessment reports. Colonel Schumacher later sought to learn where the sprayers were located in relation to sick Gulf War veterans, but was stonewalled.

6. TODAY: Despite evidence of Iraqi biowarfare capabilities, and the testimony of American veterans, government spokespersons continue to deny biological warfare exposure.

BIOWARFARE SPRAYERS
Are They Still a Threat?

Compact enough to be mounted on a pickup truck or speedboat, Italian-made biowarfare sprayers posed the greatest threat to allied forces during Desert Storm, according to Colonel Schumacher. Under weather and climate conditions that existed then in the area of combat operations, Schumacher told Freedom, “we would have had an exposure in excess of 180,000 troops if just one of these sprayers was turned on.” He hopes no sprayers were used in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Although none have yet surfaced, Schumacher believes that due to their sensitive past, even if found their existence may remain buried.