Chemical Agents Found Near U.N. HQ

Potentially Dangerous Chemicals Removed From Iraq A Decade Ago Found At U.N. Office In NYC

(CBS/AP)  U.N. weapons inspectors said Thursday that vials of potentially hazardous chemical agents removed from Iraq more than a decade ago were discovered near the world body's headquarters in New York.

"There is no immediate risk or danger," U.N. deputy spokeswoman Marie Okabe said.

She said there was no evacuation of the office of the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission, known as UNMOVIC, about a block north of U.N. headquarters on New York's east side, and U.S. authorities were called in to dispose of the material.

Okabe said one of the substances, identified Wednesday, was phosgene suspended in oil, "whose present state is unknown but which could be potentially hazardous."

Phosgene can be used as a chemical weapon - and was used extensively in World War I - as a choking agent. Both phosgene gas and liquid can damage skin, eyes, nose, throat and lungs.

UNMOVIC spokesman Ewen Buchanan said the phosgene was in liquid form, suspended in the oil, in a soda-can-sized container. It was found in a sealed plastic bag that included "unknown liquid substances contained in metal and glass containers ranging in size from small vials to tubes the length of a pen," she said.

"The only information we have of the contents of that bag is from an inventory of a 1996 inspection, which indicates that one of the items may contain phosgene, an old generation chemical warfare agent," Okabe said.

Okabe said the material was immediately secured by UNMOVIC experts and the U.N. sought assistance from U.S. authorities in having the material safely removed. The U.N. was informed that the FBI was going to the office Thursday to remove and dispose of the material, she said.

"The office area was screened using UNOMVIC's chemical weapons detection equipment. No toxic vapors were found. There is no immediate risk or danger. UNMOVIC staff are still working on the premises," Okabe said.

Buchanan said a second sealed package contained tiny samples of chemical agents in sealed glass tubes shaped like pens that are used by inspectors to identify chemical agents. Each of these reference standards contained less than a gram of chemical material, he said.

Buchanan said the material was discovered Aug. 24, put in double zip-locked bags, and locked in a safe in a room that is double-locked. The only marking on the material was an inventory number, he said.

UNMOVIC has 1,400 linear feet of files, and it took until Wednesday to find the inventory the number matched which indicated that the material was from Iraq's main chemical weapons facility at Muthana, near Samarra.

The State Department said it had learned of the discovery late Wednesday and had immediately contacted the FBI to deal with the disposal.

Deputy spokesman Tom Casey also said a joint U.S.-U.N. investigation would be made into why the samples had been stored in the office but stressed that the chemicals had been there for at least a decade and did not pose any health risk.

"One of the things we want to do is make sure that the U.N., working with the FBI, does conduct a full investigation of this, so we're absolutely certain how they in fact got there, how long they were there, and the kind of exact nature of how this came about," he told reporters.

"There is no threat that these items currently or in the past have posed to public health and safety in the area," Casey said.

White House press secretary Tony Snow said the chemical agents "were brought over as a result of U.N. weapons inspections during the UNMOVIC era" and had been at the UNMOVIC facility for over a decade.

"They've done some testing of the air, and there's no danger to the folks involved," Snow said.

The agents should have been transported to an appropriately equipped lab for analysis, he said, adding: "I'm sure that there are going to be a lot of red-faced people over at the U.N. trying to figure out how they got there."

U.N. inspectors pulled out of Iraq just before the March 2003 U.S.-led invasion and were barred by the U.S. from returning. The U.S. and Britain said they were taking over responsibility for Iraq's disarmament. In June 2003, the Security Council voted to shut down UNMOVIC and the U.N. nuclear inspection operation in Iraq.

Okabe said the United Nations has launched an investigation to determine how and why the material was in UNMOVIC files.

Brian Mullady, a senior UNMOVIC official, told reporters that the staff did an immediate sweep of the rest of its archives to see if there was any more material but there was none.

[lars008-2009]

it is fascist nazi terrorislam stupid%u2026.

non muslims of the world unite... fight against the tyranny of the fascist nazi terrorslam imperialist empire of the darkside...

I was a fanatic...I know their thinking, says former radical Islamist
By blaming the Government for our actions, those who pushed this "Blair''s bombs" line did our propaganda work for us.
More important, they also helped to draw away any critical examination from the real engine of our violence: Islamic theology.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=465570&in_page_id=1770
Bless the Beasts and Children
Fascist nazi terrorslam kills every man woman and child in the village again%u2026 typical mo for terrorslam%u2026
http://www.michaelyon-online.com/wp/bless-the-beasts-and-children.htm

Our Prophet commanded us to fight the kaafirs when we are able and to attack them in their homelands and to give them three choices before we enter their lands: either they become Muslim and be like us, sharing our rights and duties; or they pay the jizyah (poll tax) and feel themselves subdued; or they fight, in which case their wealth, women, children and homes become permissible as booty for the Muslims.
http://islamqa.com/index.php?ref=13759&ln=eng&txt=before%20islam%20arabia%20pagan

[zootallures2]

S_temper, Lars008, One_american, Jankebenz, where are ya? I need my daily dose of ridiculous humor.

Posted by brianbwb at 05:06 AM : Aug 31, 2007

The ashkenazis are known for their humour... but Groucho, with his movies trailing, stands alone with his punchline failing.

[brianbwb-2009]

C''mon war lovers, let''s hear you blame this one on the Iraqis, the Afghanis, and the other Arabs.

Oh yeah, and the liberals.

S_temper, Lars008, One_american, Jankebenz, where are ya? I need my daily dose of ridiculous humor.

Are ya out there?

[tbweb]

Ahhh! So that''s why we couldn''t find WMDs in Iraq, they hid them near the U.N., so that explains everything, I knew they had them, they hid them right under our nose!

[tnt1954]

do you think we should ban, ban ki moon as
general secretary of the united nations.
earlier this week i suggested that mick
jagger would be the best general secretary
of the united nations. he has the academic
credentials and also super-experience, has
been around the world, thousands of times.
everyone knows him, and he knows everyone else.
anglo-american rule is best. not just cause
we are the west, but because we know how to jest.
but its the chest, the treasure chest. having
minorities rule the henhouse is like the fox
and cheese story of reynard. i''d rather
see mick jagger in there than ban ki moon.
go mick go. nice icing on the cupcake, for him.

[erasmus6]

j-whitman

"You haven''t been following Putin much or their cooperation with China..."

And how did you come up with that conclusion?

"China isn''t so much of a threat on our food sources."

Not now that they have been found out.
When they poisoned the pet food the animals died right away. It damaged their kidneys. But if they did the same thing to the people''s food it would take YEARS to kill people. It would be a gradual thing. Gradually more and more people would die of say "kidney disease" or whatever. No one would clue in until it was too late.

I don''t think that that would be their MAIN plan anyways. No one knows what they would do but I do agree that one of the things they would try to do is destroy your economy. China is in the perfect position to do so. It just amazes me that the U.S. would borrow all that money from China. Why would you want to put yourselves in that position?

I have said before that China would like nothing better than to take the U.S.s position in the world. They have made a good start. And no they have a buddy, good old Russia!

[j-whitman]

rhs648,,, It means we have now created stategic problems this country has never seen & can''t handle... . And an agressive threat to half the world if not more.. That we can no longer defend against.

[rhs648]

All of the arguments about who hit who first, weapons of mass destruction, is the war legal, etc. don''''t mean much. People believe what they want to believe. They jump on all kinds of conspiracy theories. Sadly, people live in make believe worlds, hear what they want to hear, pick and choose what they want to believe, and ignore reality. Right becomes wrong and wrong becomes right.

[toolmangler-2009]

Posted by j-whitman at 11:06 PM : Aug 30, 2007



total agreement, j''. g''nite see ya tomorrow.

[j-whitman]

Tool,,,, China could very well bust us financially it''s a long term goal they''ve made steady progress on.... The greater threat is a jumbo conglomeration of foreign policy failures destabelizing the entire region even more & Pakistan are immediate threats. UAE, Venezulia, South America, Iraq, Iran & the Soviets could drop the Petrodollar.

[j-whitman]

Neither Russia or China does things without a strategic purpose,,,,, Foreign Policy Magazine is a excellant source also,,,, I''ve got some DOD sources also, but I''ve got dinner on the stove.

[toolmangler-2009]

Posted by erasmus6 at 09:47 PM : Aug 30, 2007


See, we make a great team. You made it sound ''so much'' better than I did. I knew you couldn''t stay mad at me. (grin)

[j-whitman]

erasmus6,,, Thanks for replying,, I haven''t listened to much if anything Bin Laden''s said in quite a while, It''s not hard to see he''s gained influence...

China isn''t so much of a threat on our food sources, Al Quida or a nut job yes that is.... It isn''t the way they do things... They are a military nation & value thier military more than the people.

You haven''t been following Putin much, or thier cooperation with China, I''m looking for my naval & defense source''s on the subject... Here it is GlobalSecurity.org for a start on the Jin class submarine & they have newer ones.

[toolmangler-2009]

What no, retaliation on my comments ?? -- I hope I didn''''''''t scare anyone
Posted by j-whitman at 09:25 PM : Aug 30, 2007


Sorry j'', You were giving me ''old news'' I''ve been reporting this since it started. But it does cause some concern even though they cannot take us on without disarming us first. It just makes me wonder ''which way will they try to get at us?'' Probably financially.

thoughts?

[erasmus6]

"The recent joint exercises in the Artic of the Soviet Union and China wasn''t a simple race to the North pole-It is very much a stratigic threat and they mean business." posted by j-whitman

"if you read osama bin ladens confession, he talks about getting america into a war that makes its publics will waiver and draining the money from the treasury so that we obtain an enourmous debt." posted by nggr

The U.S. owes China a great deal of money. China has been poisoning your food for who knows how long. Russia is now pissed at the U.S. Maybe this is all part of a bigger "PLAN" between Russia and China? Maybe it has been going on for longer than you think. Little incidents that seem like nothing, when added up......:)

[j-whitman]

What no, retaliation on my comments ?? -- I hope I didn''''t scare anyone

[j-whitman]

libsluvsuvs ,,,,, The recent joint excersises in the Artic of the Soviet Union & China wasn''t a simple race to the North pole ---- It is very much a strategic threat & they mean business.

[j-whitman]

libsluvsuvs,,,, Other things to worry about ---
1... UAE is not happy with what we have done in Iraq & lack of accomplishments
2... Bush attacks Iran all muslim countries will respond & Iran is allied with China & the Soviet Union
3.... President Pervez Musharraf in Pakistan might lose power then Pakistan will become a bigger threat than both Iraq or Afaganistan.
4.. Our Military''s Strategic Reserves are gone.

[nggr]

if you read osama bin ladens confession, he talks about getting america into a war that makes its publics will waiver and draining the money from the treasury so that we obtain an enourmous debt.
he knows how to do this, he did it to russia.
russias war with afganistan was one of the major reasons for the fall of the USSR. and bin laden was right there in the middle of it, as an general no less. look at the situation now, bush quotes bin laden for several reasons, but i doubt he would quote him on this. but he should.

[j-whitman]

libsluvsuvs,,,, You should be worring about China, the Soviet Union also,,, our submarines can''t find thier new ones. And they deal with the Soviet Union in keeping both countries strategicly updated ---- We are to both of them an agressor nation now & a threat.