Iraq chemical weapons 'too old to use'

http://www.theadvertiser.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,19562407%255E1702,00.html

Iraq chemical weapons 'too old to use'

THE chemical weapons that have been recovered by US forces in Iraq were all made before the 1991 Gulf War and were too degraded for their intended use, US intelligence officials said today.

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But the intelligence officials, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity, said the weapons were too degraded to have posed a threat to US forces in March 2003.

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"Generally they are in poor condition," one official said.

"We assess that they are not in condition to be used as designed. And detailed analysis of the toxic agents shows they are degraded and represent a much lower hazzard," he said.

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The weapons were found "in small numbers over time" since 2003, an official said.

They were recovered in one, two or three at a time - not in large caches, the officials said.