I want you to think before opening your mouth the next time somebody tells you about how Iraq conducted chemical and biological tests on civilians. I'm not "anti-war", I just want people to learn a little about history. Things have changed a little now here in the usa but that does not mean Iraq is the only one that did "bad" things.

Take a look at the following documents that I scoured the internet and declassified government documents to find so that the public can be informed. Then we can only come to the conclusion that we have indeed not been properly informed by the president.

"In 1956, the army conducted field tests in Georgia and Florida in which mosquitoes were released in residential areas. Many residents were attacked by mosquitoes and fell ill. It is thought that the mosquitoes had a strain of yellow fever. In 1968, the CIA experimented with the water supply of the Food and Drug Administration by poisoning it. There were no harmful effects, but none of the human subjects had given permission were provided with any information about the poison used. Other incidents such as the release of harmless cousins of anthrax in the New York Subway to test how quickly it spread, or the test gassing of San Francisco with Serratia marcescens in 1969 also stand out as unsafe and menacing test instances."

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"The Secretary of Defense may not conduct any test or
experiment involving the use of any chemical or biological agent on
civilian populations unless local civilian officials in the area in
which the test or experiment is to be conducted are notified in
advance of such test or experiment"

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From another document :

For Americans terrified by the anthrax crisis, here's some surprising news: This isn't the first time we've been the victims of a biological hazard.

And here's even more surprising news: The last time, it was the U.S. government that was secretly blasting American cities with bacteria, experimenting with different microbe delivery systems, and killing unsuspecting people.

In fact, the U.S. government conducted a total of 239 open-air tests of biological agents between 1949 and 1969, exposing millions of Americans from Florida to California to potentially dangerous bacteria and cancer-causing materials.

At least one person died from the top-secret tests, and at least a dozen other Americans were infected, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Details about the experiments finally came to light in 1977, after news of the tests were leaked to the press. That year, in testimony before a U.S. Senate subcommittee on health, the U.S. government admitted to:

* Blasting a bacterial fog over the entire 49-square-mile area of San Francisco from September 20-27, 1950. The bacteria, Serratia marcesens and Bacillus globiggi, was sprayed via giant hoses from U.S. Navy ships in San Francisco harbor.

While both bacteria were believed to be safe, 11 people checked into local hospitals in the weeks following the secret attacks, all with cases of pneumonia caused by Serratia marcesens. One person, a 75-year-old retired pipe fitter named Edward J. Nevin, died. Doctors were baffled by the unexplained outbreak.

* Releasing Bacillus globiggi bacteria in Washington, DC's National Airport and a Greyhound bus terminal in May 1956. At least 130 passengers -- who then traveled to 39 cities in seven states -- were exposed to the bacteria.

* Spreading Bacillus subtilis bacteria in the New York City subway in 1966. Military researchers dropped lightbulbs filled with bacteria onto subway tracks in midtown Manhattan, and then traced its spread throughout the subway system.

* Scattering zinc-cadmium-sulfide particles -- now recognized as a cancer-causing agent -- in the air over Minnesota and other Midwestern states. Researchers then tracked the fluorescent compounds as they spread more than 1,000 miles.

* Dispensing Serratia marcesens bacteria on Key West and Panama City, Florida, and releasing Bacillus globiggi along the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

Source: Libertarian Party Press Release, Oct 26, 2001
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They were authorized :

The Department of Defense is authorized to conduct chemical and biological tests on "human subjects", i.e. the civilian population. Congress and local authorities must be notified, but they are not required to notify the civilian population being tested!

Source: http://law.house.gov/uscsrch.htm Search on Chap 32 and Section 1520
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But they lied :

"the Department does not and does not intend to conduct any such tests."

Source: Letter from DoD

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Sodapop