CIA 'bought chemical weapons from a secret seller in Iraq' | World Defense

CIA 'bought chemical weapons from a secret seller in Iraq'

Redheart

SENIOR MEMBER
Joined
Dec 26, 2014
Messages
1,239
Reactions
319 0 0
Country
USA
Location
USA
The Independent

The US Central Intelligence Agency between 2005 and 2006 bought hundreds of nerve-agent rockets from a secret seller in Iraq as part of an effort to keep chemical weapons out of the hands of terrorists, according to a New York Times investigation.

In an effort dubbed Operation Avarice, the CIA worked with American troops in Iraq to buy and destroy at least 400 Borak rockets. Saddam Hussein’s government manufactured the rockets in the 1980s, along with other chemical weapons.

It is not known how much the US government paid for the weapons or who the seller was, though the Times did report that the seller was eager to get rid of his stash.

Many of the rockets were in poor condition and some were empty or held a nonlethal liquid, the report said. Other rockets contained the nerve agent sarin, which is among the most dangerous chemical weapons and was developed as a pesticide in Germany in 1938.

Further details of the purchase were difficult to come by, as Operation Avarice is still classified.

“Without speaking to any specific programs, it is fair to say that together with our coalition partners in Iraq, the U.S. military worked diligently to find and remove weapons that could be used against our troops and the Iraqi people,” Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, said in a written statement, according to the Times.
 

gmckee1985

MEMBER
Joined
Jan 23, 2015
Messages
97
Reactions
17 0 0
Country
USA
Location
USA
I have no problem with this. I think the most dangerous threat to America is a terrorist organization getting their hands on a nuclear weapon and detonating it in an American city. The loss of life would be astounding. Our government must do whatever is necessary to prevent this.
 
Top