Only one shell

Yes, so far they have only found one shell containing sarin in Iraq...that's nothing.Joe Carter would beg to differ (via Rick):

For all those who would downplay this finding, I offer the following lesson in “terror math”:

It takes 1 drop (100 mg) of sarin to kill an average person.

The artillery shell that was found contained 3 to 4 liters of sarin.

1 drop (mg) equals 0.0001 liters (1/10000 of a liter).

3-4 liters equates to roughly 50,000 drops, enough sarin to kill 50 thousand people.

Obviously, it would be impossible to distribute 50,000 drops of sarin in an effective enough manner to kill tens of thousands of people. But consider this:

The artillery shell that was found contained enough sarin that it could be divided up into 16 separate doses.

Each dose could kill 3,000 Americans, the number that died on 9/11.

From that single artillery shell, 16 "new 9/11s” could be attempted.

Many, if not most, would likely fail. But how many would succeed? How many American deaths lay waiting in that one “WMD?” One shell, sixteen “9/11s”. Now ask yourself how many more deaths are waiting in shells that were “overlooked” or “misplaced?”

The terrorists don’t need “stockpiles of WMDs.” To accomplish their goals, a handful of artillery shells is all that is required. For, unlike critics of the war, the terrorists know how to do the math.

I had to rush to Merck Index to confirm all of Joe's numbers, and they are roughly accurate. Military grade Sarin is nasty stuff.

Now where did those stockpiles go?

Oh, I know what the media is saying: Saddam voluntarily disarmed and just didn't want to tell anyone.

Or perhaps, his advisors had been lying to him all along.

Both assume - optimistically - that the threat of these weapons is gone.

Uh huh.

I'm more inclined to believe that Iraq was swept clean, and the stuff is either in Syria, Lebanon or - more frighteningly - in the hands of Al Qaeda.

Remember, it only takes a little bit: a sinlge truck could hold enough to kill millions, if Al Qaeda can find a way to disperse it.

Unlike our media, I prefer to proceed to conclusions with caution here.

- posted by total @ 5/19/2004 07:27:00 AM .