Chemical weapons have reportedly been found, finally, in western Iraq. ABC News reports today that American forces found barrels of chemicals, including a mixture of nerve gas and biological material. The US Defense Department says that only after a few weeks of testing will it be able to ascertain whether the materials are truly chemical weapons. Three preliminary tests of some of the chemicals suggested the presence of two U.N.-banned weapons - a nerve agent and a blister agent, according to CNN.
Iraqi citizens stoned American soldiers yesterday after an American raid on a weapons storehouse in southern Baghdad killed between 6 and 14 Iraqis. An exchange of fire developed, in which a number of soldiers were hurt. Several Iraqi opposition representatives have arrived in Baghdad to help the U.S. run the country until the formation of a permanent government. U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said yesterday that the U.S. plans to stay in both Iraq and Afghanistan until "democratic, representative governments" take control.
In related news, Russia, holder of the largest chemical weapons caches in the world, announced yesterday that in accordance with its international obligations, it had destroyed 400 tons of mustard gas. Another 1,200 tons of the stuff still remain in the Volga area, scheduled to be destroyed by the year 2005.