Below the headlines: CBW matters (6)
(A weekly digest from the internet on chemical and biological warfare issues. Emphasis is on incidents and perspectives, but inclusion of an item does not equal endorsement or agreement with the contents. This issue covers items collected between 20 – 26 March 2017.) CBW disarmament Poroshenko replaces Ukrainian ambassador to the Netherlands (Interfax, 18 March 2017): Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has dismissed Oleksandr Horin from the post of Ukrainian Ambassador to the Netherlands and the post of permanent representative of Ukraine in the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. King to attend OPCW’s 20th anniversary commemoration in The Hague …
Below the headlines: CBW matters (5)
(A weekly digest from the internet on chemical and biological warfare issues. Emphasis is on incidents and perspectives, but inclusion of an item does not equal endorsement or agreement with the contents. This issue covers items collected between 13 – 19 March 2017.) Chemical warfare in Iraq Iraq says there is no evidence of ISIS chemical attack in Mosul (Rudaw, 12 March 2017): Iraq has “no evidence” that ISIS had used chemical weapons in Mosul, the country’s ambassador to the United Nations Mohamed Ali Alhakim told reporters on Friday. Alhakim made the remarks as the UN Security Council was briefed …
Below the headlines: CBW matters (4)
(A weekly digest from the internet on chemical and biological warfare issues. Emphasis is on incidents and perspectives, but inclusion of an item does not equal endorsement or agreement with the contents. This issue covers items collected between 6 – 12 March 2017.) Chemical warfare in Iraq Iraq: ICRC strongly condemns use of chemical weapons around Mosul (ICRC, 3 March 2017): The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) condemns in the strongest possible terms the use of chemical weapons during fighting around the Iraqi city of Mosul. UN: Alleged Mosul chemical attack amounts to war crime (Al Jazeera, 4 …
Below the headlines: CBW matters (3)
(A weekly digest from the internet on chemical and biological warfare issues. Emphasis is on incidents and perspectives, but inclusion of an item does not equal endorsement or agreement with the contents. This issue covers items collected between 27 February – 5 March 2017.) Assassination of Kim Jong-Nam Killing Kim Jong Nam With VX Nerve Agent Crossed a ‘Red Line’ (Brian Barrett, 24 February 2017): That this particular chemical weapon would be used in a political assassination in a third country is very alarming. It’s a red line. It should be considered a new threshold that’s been crossed in terms of …
VX assassination and ALT+Reality
The assassination of Kim Jong-nam with—according to Malaysian authorities—the nerve agent VX unsurprisingly yielded many press articles, expert commentaries and other opinion pieces. Equally unsurprising is how uninformed several commentators are about the basics of all things chemical warfare. And I am not even referring to the ignorati who characterise VX (or mustard agent, for that matter—courtesy Dan’s unrelenting aspiration to educate the Twitterati) as a gas (it is a liquid with the viscosity of motor oil). It is about not checking basic facts or the accuracy of sources (which may quickly become outdated), as well as copy-and-paste work—particularly from …