# Did the US Furnish the Gas \[used in weapons in Iraq\]? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 19, 2014, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-us-furnish-the-gas-used-in-weapons-in-iraq/701841 "2014-10-19T19:52:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-us-furnish-the-gas-used-in-weapons-in-iraq/701841/21 "2014-10-20T14:44:47Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > But answer the real question. > > That question is not _“Did Iraq ever have chemical weapons at any time?”_ > > The real question is _“Did Iraq have active programs for making or using chemical weapons in 2003?”_ No, the real question is \*Did the US Furnish the Gas [used in weapons in Iraq]? \* To which the answer is No. [QUOTE=Ravenman] [Quote=Shodan] And it was not covered up - by the time the WMDs were discovered the MSM had settled too firmly on the “Iraq did not have any WMD” story to cover anything else. [/quote] The MSM settled on the “Iraq did not have any WMD programs” story because it is true. [/QUOTE] No, actually the story “Iraq did not have any WMD” is false, and has been demonstrated to be false. Since this is GQ, I will leave it at that. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-us-furnish-the-gas-used-in-weapons-in-iraq/701841/22 "2014-10-20T15:02:15Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > No, the real question is \*Did the US Furnish the Gas [used in weapons in Iraq]? \* To which the answer is No. > > No, actually the story “Iraq did not have any WMD” is false, and has been demonstrated to be false. Since this is GQ, I will leave it at that. No, the real question remains what I said. But you don’t want to answer it. So you pick a different question and answer that instead. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-us-furnish-the-gas-used-in-weapons-in-iraq/701841/23 "2014-10-20T16:28:33Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > No, the real question is \*Did the US Furnish the Gas [used in weapons in Iraq]? \* To which the answer is No. > > No, actually the story “Iraq did not have any WMD” is false, and has been demonstrated to be false. Since this is GQ, I will leave it at that. You’re conspicuously misstating what I wrote. I stated that the media embraced the story that Iraq had no WMD **programs** , which is what the CIA concluded in 2004. There was acknowledgment of derelict weapons being found in various locations (and sometimes in notable quantities) that were not part of any organized, active weapons program. Your response, therefore, is not accurate in reflecting what I wrote. Since this is GQ, would you like me to cite contemporaneous news stories from the MSM that state that derelict weapons were found, and accurately described as such? ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-us-furnish-the-gas-used-in-weapons-in-iraq/701841/24 "2014-10-20T17:24:02Z")
Well, the OP has been answered–the US did not furnish the gas. As for what was found, Bush and Cheney were still saying–many years later–that Iraq had the ability and intent to make WMD, and a history of using them, and that was what justified the invasion. I sat through a many-hours long interview with Dick Cheney a couple years ago. His story was “ability, intent, history.” No mention of remnant stocks. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2014, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-us-furnish-the-gas-used-in-weapons-in-iraq/701841/25 "2014-10-20T17:29:30Z")
The US furnished precursor materials, but not the actual mustard gas. > [@Maserschmidt](#): > > [http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/17/international/middleeast/17CND-SARI.html](http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/17/international/middleeast/17CND-SARI.html) > > [CNN.com - Gas shell findings a concern for Iraq arms inspector - May 26, 2004](http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/05/26/iraq.duelfer/) > > I reject your thesis. Read the NYT article. The government stopped telling people about CW finds _after 2004_ for reasons that are unclear. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-us-furnish-the-gas-used-in-weapons-in-iraq/701841.md?page=1)