By Judith Miller
New York Times
10 April 2003
MUHAWISH, Iraq, April 9 — Troops searching today for biological, chemical and radiation weapons in Iraq had another frustrating day as they toured four suspected sites in southern Iraq.
Although sensors registered the presence of chemical agents at what appeared to be an agricultural site in this town on the Euphrates, members of the Mobile Exploitation Team Alpha, as the weapons-hunting team is known, said the liquid sampled today was probably part of a class of chemicals called organophosphates, which are used in pesticides.
"Of course, we're disappointed that we didn't find a chemical agent," said Chief Warrant Officer Richard L. Gonzales of the 75th Exploitation Task Force who leads the mobile team. "But if we keep up this momentum, we will find it."
At the same time, the site visits revealed weaknesses in the military's methods of reporting sites where chemical, biological and other unconventional weapons might be hidden. The visits also provided hints of how the political power vacuum in Najaf and other Shiite Muslim towns in southern Iraq was being filled.
When the team arrived today to survey an abandoned Iraqi militia training school, it found a Shiite cleric supervising the removal of a giant water truck and cars. The cleric, clad in a traditional white turban and black robe, asked that he not be photographed or identified by name. But he said that the Shiite community here did not need American humanitarian or political assistance. He and others in the town had matters well in hand, he said.
While the fighting has more or less stopped here, American aid was nowhere to be seen.
Not all the sites visited today were referred to the mobile team by American troops in the field. Some visits were prompted by tips from Iraqis who said they wanted to help the Americans now that they believed Saddam Hussein was dead. For instance, people here urged the team today to inspect an abandoned office complex of Mr. Hussein's Baath Party. Team members found half-filled tea cups, uneaten food and the diary of a local official.
American military officials were initially optimistic today that chemical agents would be found here.
Maj. Brian Lynch, an officer with the 101st Airborne Division, said the agricultural site was first reported as suspicious on April 6, after soldiers became nauseated and noticed welts on their hands. But after three tests, the team concluded that the liquid in the barrels was probably an organophosphate, though a sophisticated detector showed the presence of a nerve agent. The detector, however, would probably show such a reading for organophosphates as well, experts on the team said.
Although posters and other materials suggested that the site was agricultural, the Iraqis had gone to great lengths to hide 11 or so 20-gallon drums and three 55-gallon drums of a thin clear liquid, said a team member who asked to be identified only as J. T.
Palm branches had been cut to cover the barrels in a deep trench lined with sandbags.
Despite the test results today, the team took at least two more samples from the barrels and then stored them in metal boxes and double bags and took them to an unidentified military base for further testing.
Officials said the surveys today highlighted the need to improve reporting by soldiers before weapons-hunting teams were deployed.
"What was reported and what we're seeing on the ground is sometimes totally out of sync," Mr. Gonzales said.
He cited a false report that some mortars found in an abandoned depot in Najaf had made people very sick.
The team members were also chagrined to find that the mortars had been moved to a brigade headquarters rather than secured at the site, as military rules require.
Site survey teams, which are supposed to make initial referrals to the mobile teams, are working at other places where most suspect sites are.
"Once the actual fighting stops, more forces and resources will become available to hunt for weapons of mass destruction," Mr. Gonzales said.
--------------------------
Citation: Judith Miller, "Hunt Finds Hint of How Iraqis Fill Power Void," New York Times, 10 April 2003.
Original URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/10/international/worldspecial/10CHEM.html?pagewanted=print&position=top
--------------------------