NATO Ground Forces May Face Chemical Warfare In Kosovo

http://www.drudgereport.com/matt1.htm 4-9-99

Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic may be planning to use or threatening to use, as a last resort, chemical weapons in Kosovo or in greater Serbia, especially if NATO ground troops enter the conflict, according to information made available in Washington on Thursday afternoon.

The FEDERATION OF AMERICAN SCIENTISTS has confirmed that there are four known Chemical Warfare facilities operating in the former Yugoslavia, specifically in Serbia. The four known facilities currently involved in the research, production, and storage of chemical warfare agents in the Serbia are: Prva Iskra in Baric, Serbia; Miloje Blagojevic in Lucani, near Casak, Serbia; Milojie Zakic and Merima in Krusevic, Serbia; and the Military Technical Institute in Potoci near Mostar.

The chemical weapons concern has gone unreported in the press.

Chemical Warfare may be the only "trump card" Milosevic has to even the odds in an asymmetrical ground war with NATO.

The development of chemical agents and weapons in the former Yugoslavia began in the late 1960s. According to a public document, "Yugoslav Army Involvement With Chemical Weapons," prepared by the Yugoslav Federal President's office in September 1991, thousand of rockets for the 262mm multiple rocket launcher system, were produced with chemical weapons warheads filled with phosgene and BZ.

Manufacturing was slowed after the dissolution of Yugoslavia, according to information made public on Thursday, but stockpiles which are in control of Milosevic have remained viable and have not been destroyed.

The U.S. State Department refused immediate comment.

The United States has known about chemical weapons production capability in the Balkans since 1993, but has been reluctant to release the information to the public, charges the group HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH.

Developing...

-- Andrei-hung-lo (2000EOD@prodigy.net), April 10, 1999

Answers

Andy,

you might want to check that reference to BZ, as it would be really weird if that was in fact what they were producing.

BZ = concentrated aerosol LSD. no kidding - US tested and discarded it as a chem warfare possiblity back in the '60's due to the fact that it has some rather unpredictable effects. Specificly, while about half the people exposed to it decide to sit down and listen to the flowers grow, the other 50% are most likely to suddenly believe that they are superhuman; proceeding to attack their enemies with extreme ferocity and total disregard for their own safety. There is no way to predict any individual's reaction in advance.

wow, combat use of BZ, now *that* would be first.

Arlin

-- Arlin H. Adams (ahadams@ix.netcom.com), April 10, 1999.

Oh poop,

-- Ivan (ivan1776@aol.com), April 10, 1999.

I recall that a few days back, CNN was running a live Serb TV news broadcast which struck me as odd at the time. The film was of some massive flames and explosions and the announcer was translated as saying things like "massive environmental damage with severe human consequences for years to come". I was wondering "What has NATO done, hit a nuclear power plant or something?"

I can tell you my ears perked up then and this bit of info tells me why. What might cause such "massive environmental damage..."? Bombing a chemical weapons plant releasing a chemical agent and/or its equally dangerous precoursor chemicals? Maybe hitting a chemical weapons storage facility and releasing the chemical agents on the surrounding countryside?

Now I hope there certainly are no ground troops sent into Yugoslavia. We don't need those folks coming home with some "officially denied" Balkans War Syndrome disease, like the guys from Desert Storm who got into the residue from Saddam's chem warfare stockpiles.

WW

-- Wildweasel (vtmldm@epix.net), April 10, 1999.

WW -

well if they run into phosgene they'll be easily identifiable - go back and read any of the historical accounts of WWI attacks which used that stuff - a.k.a. Mustard Gas.

FWIW: phosgene is still used throughout Europe in a number of industrial processes as well as in Germany to make soft serve icecream...and no, that last bit is NOT a joke.

Arlin

-- Arlin H. Adams (ahadams@ix.netcom.com), April 11, 1999.