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Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2002

That al-Qaeda is seeking such capabilities is nothing new, a CIA official said.

More than two years ago, CIA Director George Tenet told the Senate in public testimony that Osama bin Laden was experimenting with chemical weapons.

"Although terrorists we've pre-empted still appear to be relying on conventional weapons, we know that a number of these groups are seeking chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear agents. We are aware of several instances in which terrorists have contemplated using these materials,” Tenet said Feb. 2, 2000.

"Among them is bin Laden, who has shown a strong interest in chemical weapons. His operatives have trained to conduct attacks with toxic chemicals or biological toxins."

CNN is sharing the al-Qaeda videotape library it obtained this month with "appropriate government officials" as they are aired on the television news network. Parts have already been given to the Pentagon and State Department, a CNN spokeswoman said.

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Parts of the tapes, which show gruesome chemical gas experiments on dogs, how to construct TNT and how to assassinate leaders and take hostages in an urban setting, were previewed for government officials.

"We shared portions of the tapes with officials so they could comment on authenticity and significance, and also out of concern for the safety and well-being of people around the world,” said Ali Zelenko, public relations director for CNN. "Copies of all videos will be made available to appropriate officials once they are broadcast."

The CIA has not yet been offered the tapes, an official at the agency said.

"If they choose to contact us about this, we'll take a look at them. We're interested in everything they've got," he said.

Pentagon officials say the tapes, though interesting, reveal little new information about the terrorist network that has been the target of a U.S.-led war in Afghanistan since October.

UPI reported in October that military intelligence satellite photos revealed dog carcasses that appear to have been gassed.

Six countries are known to have active offensive chemical weapons programs: Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Russia and Syria. Ten more are believed to be pursuing them, if they are not already counted in their arsenals. The list includes China, Egypt, Ethiopia, Israel, Myanmar (Burma), Taiwan, Algeria, Cuba, Sudan and Vietnam, according to the Monterey Institute for International Studies Center for Non-proliferation. Other nations, such as the United States, Canada, France, Britain and Germany, have ceased their chemical weapons programs.

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Making its debut in World War I, mustard gas remains the most common chemical weapon worldwide. Others include tabun – first used by Iraq in 1984 against Iranian soldiers – sarin, VX, phosgene and incarnations of cyanide.

Exactly what substance was used in the al-Qaeda experiments depicted on the videotapes that killed three dogs is unknown. Weapons experts suggested Monday on CNN that the substance could have been either sarin or hydrogen cyanide gas, made by mixing cyanide crystals and acid. These so-called binary weapons have the advantage of being stable and relatively safe until mixed together.

Raymond Zilinskas, a senior scientist with Monterey Institute and a former U.N. arms inspector in Iraq, believes three agents were used. He believes the first white dog, which did not resist the gas as it crept across the floor, was a victim of a nerve agent such as sarin, which produces no strong smell.

Zilinskas told UPI Monday the second dog's desperate attempt to escape his poison suggested it was chlorine, arsenic or tear gas. The third dog resisted but not as violently, suggesting it could have been cyanide gas.

Ahmed Rassam, an al-Qaeda-trained terrorist who pleaded guilty in 2001 to attempting to bomb Los Angeles International Airport, admitted in court last year he had witnessed the gassing of a dog with cyanide.

If a nerve agent was used in any of the experiments, Zilinskas said, it indicates a sophisticated production capability but gives no clue how proficient al-Qaeda is at dispersing the toxin, a critical piece of a terrorist attack.

They may have the agent but lack a method of spreading it, he said.

"To produce mass casualties is very difficult; to produce local casualties is pretty easy," he said.

The greater danger from terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda is that they would orchestrate an attack on a chemical factory that legally stores toxic gases and substances, allowing the prevailing winds to spread the agent over populated areas.

A Repeat of Bhopal?

The scenario Zilinskas fears would be similar to the Dec. 2, 1984, disaster that occurred in Bhopal, India, when a tank in a pesticide plant at Union Carbide leaked 5 tons of poisonous methyl isocyanate gas into the air. The accident killed more than 3,000 people and permanently injured tens of thousands. Victims’ groups now put the fatality toll as high as 8,000.

Other possible targets would be the mass quantities of toxins transported daily on roads and railroad cars, which could be hijacked and used against civilians.

Chemical weapons were outlawed on the battlefield in 1925 with the signing of the Geneva Protocol, which prohibits the use in war of asphyxiating, poisonous or other gases, and bans bacteriological warfare. Nearly 150 nations have ratified or acceded to the accord.

Nevertheless, chemical weapons have been used in at least nine conflicts since 1925, according to CNN.