George,

I get the impression that George Bush will use any excuse to launch an attack on Iraq, but I really hope he doesn’t base his reason on the alleged chemical warfare munitions recently found in Iraq.

In front of me is the front page of the Washington Post for January 17. It shows a picture of a U. N. weapons inspector bending over one of the warheads. Fairly close behind him are 3 other people. None of the 4 persons is wearing any protective gear; no masks, no protective suits, no impermeable gloves. The inspector does appear to have on light gloves, but no other gear to protect him from a chemical agent. His face is about 8 inches from the munition.

Now, while chemical warheads are not supposed to leak, common sense suggests that no one in his right mind would approach a possible chemical weapon without some kind of protection. Army protocol in fact requires this. Even if the shell has been unloaded, a residue of chemical agent could remain. In the photo, I can clearly see bare hands and unprotected faces. This leads me to suspect that the inspection team does not believe the warheads ever contained chemical warfare agents; and if they did, those 4 men could well become the first casualties of a US-Iraq war.

I suggest to Mr. Bush and his minions that they not try to make his war depend on this extremely shaky, not to say totally unbelievable, type of evidence.

Virginia C. Greene (electronic mail, February 18, 2003)