Just as the Americans reach the outskirts of Baghdad, the Republican Guard launches a massive Sarin and Mustard gases attack?
If GW Bush believed that Iraq had a serious wmd capacity would he have started the war?
Given what WMDs were actually found, any realistic ATL would feature sporadic, small-scale use (individual shells, frex) that might not have all that much effect beyond killing some soldiers unprepared for it.
(I remember Michael Moore wishing Bush's daughters were in Iraq wearing chemical suits, so somebody was expecting it, but I read a book about the assault on Baghdad and I don't remember any references to chemical gear.)
If GW Bush believed that Iraq had a serious wmd capacity would he have started the war?
Well that didn’t take long for this to wander into conspiracy land.It is a good question... Probably not...
The troops were still wearing the suits, with masks and gloves within reach until after Bagdad was taken.Could be by the time they got to Baghdad that they had removed them.
The diffence was that in 1991 Saddam had a choice: use chemical weapons and you die (by the magic of nuclear weaponry). Don't use them and take your chances and maybe survive (which he did).
In 2003 he had a slight different choice. Don't use them and we will come to kill you versus use them and we come to kill you. Knowing the charming person Saddam was he probably would have used them if he had them. I have always been convinced that the lads in the pentagon must have been aware of this. I find it hard to imagine theywould have pushed through with the attack if they expected chemical retaliation.
Given how one sided both Iraq wars were, I'm having a hard-time believing that the Iraqi army would have done much better if they'd been able to put chemical instead of HE shells in their artillery. It's not like the Iraqis would have been firing at a static mass of Iranian teenagers with no CW protection.... Just how many Coalition troops were hit by conventional Iraqi artillery anyway in either war?
Another thing to remember, is that the most effective use of chemicals in the Iran-Iraq war was from low-flying aircraft flying straight and level using something akin to a crop duster. Good luck with that one against the USAF...
Meanwhile Hussein Kamil, who oversaw the program told the UN and CNN that much of the material was destroyed by the Iraqis themselves. In addition, all the sites the inspectors went to after Saddam resumed allowing inspectors from 2002-the invasion found no traces of WMD.Well that didn’t take long for this to wander into conspiracy land.
Since every intelligence agency in the World, including people who’d defected from the Iraqi intelligence agency were sure that Saddam hadn’t completed the destruction of his chemical weapons when he’d expelled the UNSCOM chemical destruction team from Iraq in 1998 it is safe to accept that George Bush Jnr. fully believed Saddam still had significant stockpiles of chemical weapons.
George Bush Snr. went into Iraq in 1991 when he was very well aware of the enormous chemical weapons capacity Iraq had at the time and the enthusiasm Saddam had for using the stuff during the Iran-Iraq war and the Kurdish insurrection.
A total of 56,281 chemical weapons; mortar shells, aerial bombs, artillery shells, rockets and missile warheads were destroyed by the United Nations Special Commission between 1991 and 1999. UNSCOM also the located and disposed of 411 tonnes of bulk Chemical weapons agent and 2,850 tonnes of precursor agents, the ingredients needed to manufacture the chemicals for the weapons, were also destroyed.
The troops were still wearing the suits, with masks and gloves within reach until after Bagdad was taken.
I recall at least one referance to troops wearing chemical gear in the initial assault. (on CNN).
Could be by the time they got to Baghdad that they had removed them.
(snip)Of course, OTL almost no one cares about torture anyway.
Speak for yourself.
I didn't say I was one of the people who didn't care about torture. Just pointing out that it happened and there were no real consequences.