TIME: Did The U.S. Drop Nerve Gas?
a
A CNN investigation charges that the U.S. used gas in 1970 to save
troops sent into Laos to kill defectors
By APRIL OLIVER AND PETER ARNETT
September 1970. Sixty miles inside Laos, where it was not officially
supposed to be, a battered and exhausted U.S. Special Forces commando
unit was in very deep trouble. Nearly every one of the Americans and
many of the Montagnard mercenaries fighting with them had been wounded.
They had just wiped out a village base camp, killing about 100 people
that included not only women and children but also what some believed to
be a group of American G.I.s who had defected to the enemy. Now their
unit was under assault by a superior force of North Vietnamese and
communist Pathet Lao soldiers.
The enemy troops had appeared suddenly on a nearby ridge, and were about
to cut off the Americans as they tried to reach a rice paddy where
rescue helicopters would land to fly them out of officially neutral
Laos, back to their base in Vietnam. “The enemy was coming at us. We
were out of ammo,” recalls platoon leader Robert Van Buskirk, then a
26-year-old lieutenant. His only recourse was to call for help from the
air. He radioed an Air Force controller above to call in two waiting A-1
Skyraiders to drop the “bad of the bad.”
Within seconds, the Skyraiders swooped over the advancing enemy and
dropped gas canisters, scoring a direct hit. The G.I.s heard the
canisters exploding and saw a wet fog envelop the Vietnamese soldiers as
they dropped to the ground, vomiting and convulsing. As the rescue
choppers lifted his unit off, Van Buskirk manned a machine gun, scanning
the elephant grass for targets, but there were none. “All I see is
bodies,” he recalls. “They are not fighting anymore. They are just
lying, some on their sides, some on their backs. They are no longer
combatants.”
Now, after an eight-month investigation, military officials with
knowledge of the mission assert to NewsStand: CNN & TIME that the gas
dropped 28 years ago in Laos was nerve gas, specifically sarin, the
lethal agent used in the 1995 terrorist attack in a Tokyo subway that
killed a dozen people. Although the nerve gas, called GB by the
military, had been in the U.S. arsenal for years and the U.S. had not
yet ratified the Geneva Protocol banning its use, the policy of the
Nixon Administration was “no first use” of lethal nerve gas in combat.
A Pentagon official has told NewsStand: CNN & TIME that the Army “has
found no documentary evidence to support CNN’s claims that nerve gas of
any type was used on Operation Tailwind.” But Admiral Thomas Moorer,
U.S.N. (ret.), Chairman of the Joint Chiefs in 1970, and other top
military officials have confirmed the use of sarin in the Laotian
operation and in other missions to rescue downed U.S. airmen during the
Vietnam War. Moorer argues the use of the gas was justified under the
circumstances. Says he: “I would be willing to use any weapon and any
tactic to save the lives of American soldiers.”
In addition to using the nerve gas to extract the Americans after their
raid, though, veteran Special Forces officers claim to NewsStand: CNN &
TIME that sarin was also used the night before the assault to “prepare”
the village for the attack the next morning. This would indicate that
civilians as well as combatants were victims of poison gas.
Just as surprising as the use of the gas is the reason for the raid: the
targeted village was believed to be harboring a large group of American
G.I.s who had defected to the enemy. The Special Forces unit’s job was
to kill them.
Based in Kontum, South Vietnam, the men involved in Operation Tailwind
were known as a SOG team, standing innocuously for Studies and
Observations Group. Officially, SOG units didn’t exist, but they were
America’s fiercest warriors, conducting classified “black operations”
with unconventional weapons and unusual targets. They did little
studying and a lot of fighting. According to SOG veterans, they had no
rules of engagement: anything was permissible as long as it was
deniable. Their motto, according to Van Buskirk: “Kill them all, and let
God sort it out.”
During its preraid briefing at Kontum, the SOG “hatchet force” was told
to kill anyone it encountered. “My orders were, if it’s alive, if it
breathes oxygen, if it urinates, if it defecates, kill it,” says Van
Buskirk. In keeping with the compartmentalization of information
necessary to protect top-secret missions, only a few of the SOG officers
knew the precise target. And very few knew the exact type of gas
available for their mission, although the unit was promised anything in
the non-nuclear U.S. arsenal it might need to complete the mission. The
commandos understood there was an agent commonly known as “sleeping gas”
available for last-resort situations; they were aware that the gas
caused respiratory distress, sudden vomiting, diarrhea, convulsions and
often death. The unit leaders were advised to equip their soldiers with
bulky but effective M-17 gas masks before the raid.
Several days before the operation began, a small reconnaissance force
was dropped into a lush Laotian valley near the town of Chavan. As Jay
Graves, a SOG recon-team leader, put it, “We went in, snooped and
pooped, moved around.” Through a special field telescope, Graves’ men
spotted the prize—several “roundeyes,” Americans, in the village. That
report was radioed back, and the recon team was told to
“groundhog”—remain silent and in hiding until the hatchet force arrived.
The sighting of defectors is confirmed today by Air Force “rat-pack”
commando Jim Cathey. “I believed that these were American defectors,” he
says, “because there was no sign of any restraint. They walked around as
though they were a part of the bunch.”
On Sept. 11 the 16 SOG-team members and about 140 Montagnard tribesmen,
who had been hired to fight the communists, were loaded aboard four big
Marine helicopters at Dak To, near the border with Laos. The sight of
the assault force, which included 12 Cobra helicopter gunships and two
backup Marine choppers, alerted Jack Tucker, one of the Marine pilots,
that trouble lay ahead. “I saw them walking across the tarmac, loaded
down with those grenade clips,” he says. “And there were these little
bitty Montagnards humping so much stuff. I just went ‘Oh, man’ and knew
we were in for some real deep shit.” Tucker and the other pilots had
also been equipped with special gas masks to protect against chemical
warfare.
As soon as the helicopters approached the landing zone near Chavan, they
came under heavy fire. “It was a hairy situation from the time we got
there, “ recalls Jimmy Lucas, a squad leader. “Ground fire on insertion
is something you are not supposed to get.” The SOG team hit the ground
several miles from the targeted base camp and spent the next three days
fighting its way toward it. “I feel like in them three days I just
cheated death,” says Lucas. “We never expected to come out. I didn’t.”
On the third night the commandos hunkered down near the village as the
Air Force A-1s “prepped” the target. In the morning the SOG forces
attacked. Van Buskirk’s platoon led the charge. “I went hi diddle
diddle, right up the middle. I was on the offensive,” he says. Tossing
grenades into the hootches in the village and spraying machine-gun fire
ahead, the assault force met little resistance. “It was minimal, nothing
like you would expect for the amount of people there,” says Craig
Schmidt, a fighter in Van Buskirk’s platoon. “It was very unusual, kind
of eerie.”
Suddenly Van Buskirk spotted two “longshadows,” a name for taller
Caucasians. One was sliding down a “spider hole” into the
underground-tunnel system beneath the camp. The other was running toward
it. “Early 20s. Blond hair. Looks like he was running off a beach in
California,” remembers Van Buskirk. “Needs a haircut. This is a G.I.
Boots on. Not a prisoner. No shackles. Nothing.” The lieutenant gave
chase but just missed the blond man as he slipped into the tunnel. He
shouted down the hole, identifying himself and offering to take the man
home. “Fuck you,” came the reply. “No, it’s fuck you,” answered Van
Buskirk as he dropped in a white phosphorus grenade, presumably killing
both longshadows.
The village raid lasted no more than 10 minutes. The body count,
according to Captain Eugene McCarley, the officer in charge, was
“upwards of 100.” Sergeant Mike Hagen says “the majority of the people
there were not combat personnel. The few infantry people they had we
overran immediately. We basically destroyed everything there.” The
Montagnards searched the camp for documents and booty. They reported to
Hagen and Van Buskirk that there were “beaucoup roundeyes” dead in the
hootches. Says Van Buskirk: “A dozen, 15, maybe 20.” But the SOG team
says no bodies were identified or recovered.
With the camp destroyed, spotter planes overhead ordered the SOG unit to
the rice paddy where the rescue helicopters would land. As the enemy
closed in, the commandos were told to don their “funny faces,” the M-17
gas masks. Then came the explosions of the gas canisters. “To me it was
more of a very, very light, light fog. It was tasteless, odorless, you
could barely see it, “ recalls Hagen.
The gas spread toward the Americans even though the downwash of the
chopper blades was pushing it away. Some of the gas masks had been
damaged in the four-day battle, some had been discarded, and some were
too big for the diminutive Montagnards. “Everything got sticky,” says
squad leader Craig Schmidt. “We turned our sleeves down to cover
ourselves as much as possible. It doesn’t surprise me in the slightest
bit that it was nerve gas. It worked too well.” Some of the Americans
began vomiting violently. Today Hagen suffers from creeping paralysis in
his extremities, which his doctor diagnoses as nerve-gas damage. “Nerve
gas,” says Hagen, “the government don’t want it called that. They want
to call it incapacitating agent or some other form. But it was nerve
gas.”
As many as 60 of the Montagnards died in Operation Tailwind, but all 16
Americans got out alive, although every one of them suffered some
wounds. Van Buskirk and McCarley earned the Silver Star for valor. Van
Buskirk personally briefed General Creighton Abrams, the top U.S.
commander in Vietnam, on the mission. But when the lieutenant wrote his
after-action report, a superior officer, now deceased, advised him to
delete the part about dropping the white phosphorus grenade—a “willy
pete,” in Army lingo—on the American defectors in the tunnel.
Confirming the use of sarin, Moorer says the gas was “by and large
available” for high-risk search-and-rescue missions. Sources contacted
by NewsStand: CNN & TIME report that GB was employed in more than 20
missions to rescue downed pilots in Laos and North Vietnam. Concludes
Moorer: “This is a much bigger operation than you realize.”
Melvin Laird, Secretary of Defense at the time of Operation Tailwind,
says he has no specific recollection of GB being used, but adds, “I do
not dispute what Admiral Moorer has to say on this matter.” And the
admiral points out that any use of nerve gas would have had approval
from the Nixon national-security team in Washington. Henry Kissinger,
National Security Adviser at the time, declined to comment.
As for the defectors and the policy of killing them, Major General John
Singlaub, U.S.A. (ret.), a former SOG commander, confirms what was the
unwritten SOG doctrine in effect at the time: “It may be more important
to your survival to kill the defector than to kill the Vietnamese or
Russian.” The defectors’ knowledge of U.S. communications and tactics
“can be damaging,” he explains.
“There were more defectors than people realize,” says a SOG veteran at
Fort Bragg. No definitive number of Americans who went over to the enemy
is available, but Moorer indicated there were scores. Another SOG
veteran put the number at close to 300. The Pentagon told NewsStand: CNN
& TIME that there were only two known military defectors during the
Vietnam War.
--Additional reporting by Amy Kasarda, associate producer for NewsStand,
and Jack Smith, senior producer for NewsStand
APRIL OLIVER is a producer for NewsStand, and PETER ARNETT Is a CNN
international correspondent
http://www.pathfinder.com/time/magazine/1998/dom/980615/world_did_the_us_drop.html
a
Coral Sea .
a wrote in message <357B95...@c.com>...
>Did The U.S. Drop Nerve Gas?
>
>A CNN investigation charges that the U.S. used gas in 1970 to save
>troops sent into Laos to kill defectors
>
<SNIP Article>
It is a good read and very possible, However 2 points. Adm Thomas Moorer
was impicated in the secret bombing of Cambodia and was held in contempt of
congress in 1971.
He is also the "missile expert" that has been claiming that TWA 800 was shot
down by a US Navy Missile. Even when the physics of such an attack have
been proven impossible.
He is also around 85 years old.
So much of what you hear attached to his name needs a great deal of
corroborating evidence.
-H King, EWC, USN (ret.)
coral_sea@mindspring<DOT>com
**************
"What are we going to do tonight Brain?"
"Same thing we do every night, Pinky. Try and take over the world!"
Frank Kuschnereit
In article <357B95...@c.com> a <b...@c.com> writes:
>From: a <b...@c.com>
>Subject: TIME: Did The U.S. Drop Nerve Gas?
>Date: Mon, 08 Jun 1998 03:42:08 -0400
>Did The U.S. Drop Nerve Gas?
>A CNN investigation charges that the U.S. used gas in 1970 to save
>troops sent into Laos to kill defectors
Indications from former joint chiefs lead me to beleive that the US did drop
sarin in Laos. My god what were they thinking! I think the UN should
consider an inquiry leading up to a war crime trial.
fk
Coral Sea .
Frank Kuschnereit wrote in message ...
>In article <357B95...@c.com> a <b...@c.com> writes:
>>From: a <b...@c.com>
>>Subject: TIME: Did The U.S. Drop Nerve Gas?
>>Date: Mon, 08 Jun 1998 03:42:08 -0400
>
>>Did The U.S. Drop Nerve Gas?
>
>>A CNN investigation charges that the U.S. used gas in 1970 to save
>>troops sent into Laos to kill defectors
>
>Indications from former joint chiefs lead me to beleive that the US did
drop
>sarin in Laos. My god what were they thinking! I think the UN should
>consider an inquiry leading up to a war crime trial.
>
I finally got a chance to see the CNN/Time show on Operation Tailwind, and I
have more than a few problems with the story.
1) There seems to be a inconsistancy as to the actual mission. The Lt. says
that the target was defectors. The Captain commanding the mission, said
that the target was supply bases. This is a small point
2) The discription of the actual attack. First the base was hit, later when
the team moved into the target area, they reported fire and survivors. One
reported that he saw a hooch with anglo bodies in it that were "hamburger".
What was the cause of these injuries.
3) Sarin can kill on contact with the skin. An amount the size of a pin head
can kill an adult man. However, they reported that they only had mark 19
gas mask. No protective clothing at all.
4) The use of Sarin as a Close Air Support Weapon. It's use in close
proximity to troops. What "military genius" thought that one up?
5) They reported that they could see a fog near the LZ. Yet the Helocopters
landed there and stirred up the gas. Was the Pilots effected? Moving through
the prop wash they reported symptoms, but concentrations in the area would
have killed normal persons. (Special Forces? How Special?) Still the Pilots
were un effected. Or the Air crews.
6) The Persistance of GB is farily high, yet they were able to move through
the area without protective suits.
7) Adm Thomas Moorer stated that he came forward because he has respect "For
History". I about lost my lunch when he said that. At times he appeared to
know too much detail, then he became vague about others. He appeared very
intellegent, but almost like a braggart. I doubt that age has affected him,
but has an axe to grind. Why didn't CNN report his involvement in the
Secret bombing of Cambodia. His lying to Congress in 1971. Why did they
obmit his insistance that TWA 800 was zapped by a US Navy Missile.
--
-H King, EWC, USN (ret.)
coral_sea@mindspring<DOT>com
**************
"What are we going to do tonight Brain?"
"Same thing we do every night, Pinky. Try and take over the world!"
>fk
Server Zero
To those of you who have been following the story of the CNN-TIME article on
SOG participation in 'Operation Tailwind', the following may be of interest.
===============================================================
TO: Rudy Gresham
FROM: John Plaster
SUBJECT: CNN Allegations of Gas Warfare and the Killing of American
Defectors by SOG Personnel
1. The report aired last night on CNN's "Newstand" is filled with distruths,
half-truths, rumors, and mistakes. In contrast to what CNN alleged,
A. The studies and Observations Group (SOG) never employed nerve
agent in combat;
B. American defectors were not targeted on SOG's 1970 Operation
Tailwind, and no such defectors were killed on this operation.
2. My Personal Experience: As a Special Forces NCO, I spent 36 months in
SOG:
Two years as a SOG Long Range Recon Team Leader (1968-70), operating in
Southern Laos and Northern Cambodia, and a third year as an Airborne
Controller (1970-71) accumulating 450 combat flights aboard USAF FACs over
Southern Laos calling air strikes on a daily basis. I am intimately aware
of
the U.S. ordinance employed in Laos and at some time or other, directed the
delivery of almost every non-nuclear, air-dropped ordinance in the U.S.
inventory. At no point did we ever employ nerve gas; however, on rare
occasions we did employ CBU-19 tear gas bomblets.
3. My Historical Research: In addition to serving in SOG, I spent two full
years researching available records and interviewing nearly 100 SOG Veterans
so I could author a history of this organization. My book, SOG: The Secret
Wars of America's Commandos in Vietnam, was published last year by Simon &
Schuster. The true story of Operation Talwind is contained in my history,
pp. 263-71.
4. Another Researcher Who Can Verify My Findings: Under DoD contract,
Professor Richard Shultz of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts
University, has spent three years researching SOG for a strategic policy
study. He has had unfettered access to all available SOG documents,
classified and unclassified, as well as interviewed every significant
military and CIA official ever involved in SOG. I am certain his findings
will support my own.
5. CNN's Earlier Attempt to Smear SOG: During a CNN Impact show in
September,
1997, there was a purposeful fuzzying of the distinction between SOG's
employment of non-lethal CS gas, and toxic chemical agents such as nerve
gas.
After claiming that when used in high concentrations, tear gas is deadly,
the
narrator began referring to tear gas as a "potentially lethal gas", then a
"lethal gas". The viewer could no longer tell that the gas in question was
mere tear gas - it was a "potentially lethal gas" with all those evil
connotations.
6. The Credibility of Robert Van Buskirk: He is the CNN story's sole source
for claims that American defectors were present, whom he killed, and that
their killing was the major objective of this operation. Further, he seems
to
be the primary source for claims that nerve gas was used. In about 1990,
Buskirk authored a book about this mission, Tailwind, in which neither
claim
ever appeared - indeed, at that time the thrust of his claim was that this
operation had been a disaster (which it had not), and was almost
scapegoated.
His book gives the false impression that he was more than a mere
lieutenant, just another of several platoon leaders under the company
commander Captain Eugene McCarley. Van Buskirk's book was published by the
Christian Press as a testament to how he had been Born Again - in the 1970s,
he was arrested, convicted, and imprisoned on illegal weapons charges in
West
Germany. As I recall it, the specific charge was either smuggling or
illicitly selling fully-automatic weapons, and he spent several years in a
German prison. (His book admits, but minimizes his criminal conviction).
7. The Credibility of Jay Graves: During the CNN piece, a short clip was run
of Jay Graves, a former Special Forces NCO, who seemed to agree that nerve
agent was employed on SOG operations. However, Jay Graves did not serve in
SOG - SOG was a compartmented, top secret unit - so he had no personal
knowledge whatsoever on this subject. His (erroneous) opinion was presented
as if it were factual, first-hand experience.
8. The Technical Impossibility: Gas masks were not sufficient protection
against the nerve agents (Tabun & Sarin) of this era, but masks were suited
for operating in CS (tear) gas, which is the agent that actually was
employed. Merely putting U.S ground personnel and aircrews in gas masks
still
left the rest of their bodies exposed and even one drop of nerve agent is
fatal.
9. The Illogic of It All: The military benefit of employing nerve agent
could
not possibly balance the potential political fallout for its use. What
compelling reason would there have been to employ nerve agent at this time,
mere months after Kent State, during the height of the anti-war movement?
10. Confusion About CBU-19: Much of this affair, I am convinced, arose over
confusion about the admitted use of CBU-19 non-lethal CS gas, and the
existence of CBU-15, which apparently contained a nerve agent. I flew
hundreds of missions in support of SOG elements, in Laos and Cambodia, and
on
several occasions directed the employment of CBU-19, but never even once
had
the possibility of employing CBU-15 been suggested. Put simply, nerve agent
never was used and it was not available on-call even if we'd wanted to use
it.
The story is wrong.
JOHN L. PLASTER
MAJOR, Special Forces
USAR, ret.
Allen Thomson
In article <6lmq0d$5e$1...@samsara0.mindspring.com> "Server Zero" <None@<NO SPAM>.com> writes:
>
>To those of you who have been following the story of the CNN-TIME article on
>SOG participation in 'Operation Tailwind', the following may be of interest.
>===============================================================
>TO: Rudy Gresham
>FROM: John Plaster
>SUBJECT: CNN Allegations of Gas Warfare and the Killing of American
>Defectors by SOG Personnel
[lotsa snippage of this interesting post]
>
>2. My Personal Experience: As a Special Forces NCO, I spent 36 months in
>SOG: Two years as a SOG Long Range Recon Team Leader (1968-70), operating
>in Southern Laos and Northern Cambodia, and a third year as an Airborne
>Controller (1970-71) accumulating 450 combat flights aboard USAF FACs over
>Southern Laos calling air strikes on a daily basis. I am intimately aware
>of the U.S. ordinance employed in Laos and at some time or other,
>directed the delivery of almost every non-nuclear, air-dropped ordinance
>in the U.S. inventory. At no point did we ever employ nerve gas;
>however, on rare occasions we did employ CBU-19 tear gas bomblets.
>
>5. CNN's Earlier Attempt to Smear SOG: During a CNN Impact show in
>September, 1997, there was a purposeful fuzzying of the distinction
>between SOG's employment of non-lethal CS gas, and toxic chemical
>agents such as nerve gas.
>After claiming that when used in high concentrations, tear gas is deadly,
>the narrator began referring to tear gas as a "potentially lethal gas",
>then a "lethal gas". The viewer could no longer tell that the gas in
>question was mere tear gas - it was a "potentially lethal gas" with all
>those evil connotations.
This is kind of reminiscent of reports of Soviet use of chemical weapons
in the Afghan war. Turns out that (a lot of details are obscure) it was
"Cheremukha," CS or a close equivalent, allegedly used against people in
caves and other closed shelters. I.E., an ordinarily non-lethal agent
used -- perhaps without overt intent to kill --in deadly circumstances.
Lee Russell
It appears that CNN, in its desire to find a hot new story to promote its
newsmagazine (YAWN) show, overreached. It appears that the show's
producer interviewed ADM Moorer for over eight hours and simply edited out
things he said about Area 51, Elvis or TWA shootdowns. Some odd thoughts
about the so-called Tailwind mission itself:
If the goal was to simple kill the US defectors, than why go in on the
ground? An ARCLIGHT B-52 strike would be quicker and more effective.
If the Hatchet Force spent three days attacking toward its target, why did
the North Vietnamese not move the targeted personnel?
The US made extraordinary efforts to recover US bodies, or at least
photograph the remains. This unit overruns a North Vietnamese base camp,
kills all the "longshadows" and NO ONE has a camera? And no one looks for
documents?
John DeLaGarza
>If the goal was to simple kill the US defectors, than why go in on the
>ground? An ARCLIGHT B-52 strike would be quicker and more effective.
Wasnt the encampment, In Laos, we werent supposed to be there, so B-52
strike would have been a bit more obvious.
Server Zero .
John DeLaGarza wrote in message <6lnun8$dg6$1@nnrp1>...
We were not supposed to be in Cambodia at the time either, but we were
bombing the Hell out of it. As well as extensive operations on the ground.
John Sessoms
I haven't seen the story on CNN; no cable, no TV. I've read the
on-line version on CNN's Web site. I too have some problems with the
story.
I've been MOSQ as a 54E, later 54B, for the last 15 of my 23+ years of
military service. (That's NBC Operations NCO if you don't understand
US Army Military Occupational Specialty codes - MOS. The Q means
Qualified.)
A nerve agent employed in the manner described in the article would
have killed the soldiers taking part in the raid. Somehow, I don't
think CNN/Time ran their story past anyone trained in NBC operations.
==================================================
On Tue, 9 Jun 1998 16:33:38 -0400, "Coral Sea ."
<coral_sea@mindspring<dot>com> wrote:
>I finally got a chance to see the CNN/Time show on Operation Tailwind, and I
>have more than a few problems with the story.
>
>1) There seems to be a inconsistancy as to the actual mission. The Lt. says
>that the target was defectors. The Captain commanding the mission, said
>that the target was supply bases. This is a small point
>
>2) The discription of the actual attack. First the base was hit, later when
>the team moved into the target area, they reported fire and survivors. One
>reported that he saw a hooch with anglo bodies in it that were "hamburger".
>What was the cause of these injuries.
>
>3) Sarin can kill on contact with the skin. An amount the size of a pin head
>can kill an adult man. However, they reported that they only had mark 19
>gas mask. No protective clothing at all.
>
The masks were M17's (w/probably M24's for the aviators), but I agree
that without additional protective clothing, masks alone would not
provide adequate protection from GB. Nerve agents are designed to
kill after skin contact with an aerosol or small droplets.
I also saw nothing in the article to indicate that decontamination was
performed by the team after the operation, nor that anyone required
treatment as a chemical casualty.
Decontamination would have been absolutely mandatory for the safety of
the troops participating in the operation, as well as the safety of
personnel at the base they returned to after the operation.
>4) The use of Sarin as a Close Air Support Weapon. It's use in close
>proximity to troops. What "military genius" thought that one up?
>
REMFs. I could believe that.
>5) They reported that they could see a fog near the LZ. Yet the Helocopters
>landed there and stirred up the gas. Was the Pilots effected? Moving through
>the prop wash they reported symptoms, but concentrations in the area would
>have killed normal persons. (Special Forces? How Special?) Still the Pilots
>were un effected. Or the Air crews.
>
Doctrine calls for the use of smoke in conjunction with chemical
agents.
>6) The Persistance of GB is farily high, yet they were able to move through
>the area without protective suits.
>
While GB is classified as a non-persistant agent, that means it breaks
down in hours rather than in days.
I found this page with chemical data on GB:
http://www.mitretek.org/offer/energy/cw_page/sarin.htm#decon
The LD50 for liquid GB for a 70 kg man is reported as 1.7 g (24 mg
kg^-1). GB has a half-life of 0.5 minutes at pH 11 at 25°C.
I copied the following from the CNN Web page, and from a Transcript
link I found there.
========================================================
From the CNN web page:
http://www.cnn.com/US/9806/07/valley.of.death/
SOG commandos carried out "black operations" against unusual targets,
using unusual weapons. On Operation Tailwind, officers were briefed
that anything in the non-nuclear U.S. arsenal would be available to
them. That arsenal included a weapon known as "sleeping gas."
According to military officials with knowledge of the operation, that
"sleeping gas" was, in fact, a nerve gas known as sarin -- the same
gas that was used in the attack on a subway in Tokyo on March 20,
1995. The military name for the nerve gas was GB.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From the CNN Transcript:
http://www.cnn.com/US/9806/07/valley.of.death/transcript.html
FIRST. . .THE SLEEPING GAS WAS INDEED NERVE GAS...DEADLY SARIN, WHAT
THE MILITARY CALLS "GB." THESE MILITARY SOURCES TOLD CNN THAT
DURING TAILWIND NERVE GAS WAS DROPPED ON A VILLAGE BASE CAMP BELIEVED
TO HOLD AMERICAN DEFECTORS.
============================================================
Nowhere in any of my training in NBC Operations had I run across a
reference to "sleeping gas". Neither in official sources, nor in the
slang of any of my comrads or instructors, so I did a little on-line
research to see what I might have missed.
The US military divides chemical agents into four catagories: RIOT
CONTROL, INCAPACITATING, HERBICIDES, and LETHAL.
The GB described in the story is a LETHAL chemical agent. President
Nixon's promise that the US would never to be the first to use
chemical agents was made referring to lethal chemical agents. It
specifically excluded RIOT CONTROL, INCAPACITATING, and HERBICIDES.
Most people will be familiar with the RIOT CONTROL agent CS (commonly
called Tear Gas). More persistant versions of riot control agents with
military potential are designated as CN and CNS. Exposure to these
will produce symptoms similar to the milder symptoms of Nerve agent
poisioning, without (normally) the lethal effects.
A "sleeping gas" would naturally be an INCAPACITATING agent. The major
incapacitating agent in the US arsenal is BZ . An Infoseek search for
*CN | "chemical agent"* and for *BZ | "chemical agent"* produced the
following information.
===================================================
from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/waco/csgas.html
What are the physical effects of CS exposure?
Physical effects of this tear gas are felt almost immediately. They
are: severe burning in the eyes, involuntary closing of the eyes,
copious tearing, extreme burning in the nose, tendency to breathe
through the mouth, extreme burning in the throat, coughing,
consciousness of pain, holding of breath, breathing and heart rate
slows down, blood pressure rises, circulation on the periphery of the
body shuts down. In some cases there can be mucus secretion, nausea
and vomiting, also burning sensations on the body in places touched by
the hands. Recovery quickly follows after an affected person is
immersed in fresh air. CS gas is not known to have caused any deaths
or permanent injuries, however its use has been banned in some
American military operations.
===================================================
from http://www.nbc-med.org/amedp6/PART_III/chapter6.htm
CHAPTER 6
INCAPACITANTS
SECTION I - GENERAL
601. Introduction.
a. An incapacitant is a chemical agent which produces a temporary
disabling condition that persists for hours to days after exposure to
the agent has occurred (unlike that produced by riot control agents).
Medical treatment while not essential may in some cases facilitate
more rapid recovery.
In the narrower sense the term has come to mean those agents that are:
(1) Highly potent (an extremely low dose is effective) and
logistically feasible.
(2) Able to produce their effects by altering the higher regulatory
activity of the central nervous system.
(3) Of a duration of action lasting hours or days, rather than of a
momentary or fleeting action.
(4) Not seriously dangerous to life except at doses many times the
effective dose.
(5) Not likely to produce permanent injury in concentrations which
are militarily effective.
b. These criteria eliminate many drugs that might otherwise be
considered as incapacitants. Opiates and strong sedatives are too
dangerous on account of their low margin of safety and milder
tranquillizers cause little actual loss of performance capability.
Many compounds have been considered as incapacitants and medical
staffs must be on the alert to detect and report any unusual clinical
appearances. All lethal agents in low doses may produce incapacitating
effects and it is possible that new agents for incapacitation may be
developed. Agents which produce unconsciousness or induce vomiting may
well be developed in the future.
c. In this chapter, consideration will be given to two categories
which are well known: CNS depressants (anticholinergics) and CNS
stimulants (LSD). Although cannabinols and psylocibin, for instance,
have been considered in the past, their effective dose is too high for
these to be regarded as likely agents for use in the field.
602. CNS Depressants.
CNS depressants produce their effects by interfering with transmission
of information across central synapses. An example of this type of
agent is 3-quinuclidinyl BenZilate (BZ), which blocks the muscarinic
action of acetylcholine both peripherally and centrally. In the
central nervous system anticholinergic compounds disrupt the high
integrative functions of memory, problem solving, attention and
comprehension. Relatively high doses produce toxic delirium which
destroys the ability to perform any military task.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
605. Protection.
It is likely that such agents will be dispersed by smoke-producing
munitions or aerosols, using the respiratory tract as a portal of
entry. The use of the protective mask, therefore, is essential. With
some agents the percutaneous route may be used and full individual
protective equipment will be required.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
610. Mechanism of Action.
a. BZ (3-quinuclidinyl benzilate) is a cholinergic blocking agent
that at single doses of less than 1 mg produces delirium lasting
several days. In this respect it resembles the well known belladonna
alkaloids, atropine and scopolamine, except that it is more potent and
its effects last longer. The safety margin (ratio of lethal to
incapacitating dose) in people is estimated to be at least 30. No
permanent adverse effects have been reported from clinical
studies.
b. BZ is effective by all routes of administration, but its
effectiveness percutaneously (when mixed with a suitable solvent) is
limited, so that route is not likely to be used. However there are
other related compounds which are effective percutaneously.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
611. Signs and Symptoms.
Small doses of BZ cause sleepiness and diminished alertness. Diagnosis
can be made by noting increased heart rate, dry skin and lips,
drowsiness and a progressive intoxication in the untreated individual
as follows:
a. 1-4 hours: Tachycardia, dizziness, ataxia, vomiting, dry mouth,
blurred vision, confusion, sedation progressing to stupor.
b. 4-12 hours: Inability to respond to the environment effectively or
to move about.
c. 12-96 hours: Increasing activity, random unpredictable behaviour
with delusions and hallucination; gradual return to normal 48 to 96
hours after exposure.
==================================================
From http://www.gslink.com/~arison/codes.html
CHEMICAL AGENT CODES
<snip>
BZ 3-quinuclidinyl BenZilate (incapacitating agent)
(also known as QB)
CA Bromobenzylcyanide (tearing agent)
<snip>
CN Chloracetophenone (tearing agent)
CNB Chloroacetophenone with benzene and carbon tetrachloride
(tearing agent)
CNS Chloracetophenone with chloropicrin and chloroform (tearing agent)
CS Ortho-chlorobenzylidinemalononitrile (tearing agent)
<snip>
DM Adamsite (Diphenylamine Chlorarsine) (incapacitating agent)
[ I couldn't find out a lot about this one. What I could find
described it as an obsolete sneezing or vomiting agent J.S.]
<snip>
GB Sarin (Isopropyl methyl phosphonoflouridate) (nerve agent)
<snip>
QB 3-Quinuclidinyl Benzilate (incapacitating agent)
(also known as BZ)
<snip>
====================================================
The limited research I did for this posting turned up the following
things I had not known before.
1. The incapacitating agent BZ is also designated as QB, a designation
very similar to GB.
2. Small doses of BZ (QB) cause sleepiness and diminished alertness.
It could well be described as a "sleeping gas". It also produces some
of the same symptoms that nerve agent poisioning produces.
3. BZ (QB) would likely be dispersed by mixing with a smoke producing
munition. CS and CN are smoke producing munitions that also have some
of the same sympoms as nerve agent poisioning.
4. While BZ (QB) can be absorbed through the skin its effectiveness is
diminished. A M17-series protective mask would normally provide
adequate protection without the need for full protective ensemble.
I think it's possible the weapon described as being used in the attack
really was a "sleeping gas", the incapacitating agent BZ, possibly
used in conjunction with CS or CN riot control agents.
That combination would certainly mimic the effects of a nerve agent,
and incapacitate the target personnel so that they could be killed by
gunfire and grenade.
John Sessoms
>>If the goal was to simple kill the US defectors, than why go in on the
>>ground? An ARCLIGHT B-52 strike would be quicker and more effective.
>
>
>Wasnt the encampment, In Laos, we werent supposed to be there, so B-52
>strike would have been a bit more obvious.
>
>
We bombed Laos. We bombed Cambodia. Who's going to tell?
They're essentially jungles on the back side of nowhere. You don't get
quite the media coverage you get for bombing Hanoi.
These areas were in Viet Cong/NVA hands. Your average war
correspondent couldn't get there with a film crew to report on it, so
if the US military didn't tell them about it, they didn't have much
more than hear-say to report back to the US.
Hear-say doesn't have good pictures for the 6 o'clock news!