Yet another chemical weapons attack in Iraq committed by ISIS. AFP.

A Kurdish Peshmerga fighter in Iraq. Yahoo/AFP. 

German authorities claim that Kurdish troops in Iraq came under yet another chemical weapons attack. AFP. ISIS is accused of shelling Kurdish positions and using chemical arms during an attack southwest of the town of Arbil. Nobody was killed in the attack but many Kurdish troops were sickened. German trainers, who have been assisting and training the Kurds, were not hurt. Iraqi and American investigators are on their way to determine what chemical was used and how it was delivered. The Germans believe that chemicals were delivered via a mortar or artillery shell. ISIS has used chemical weapons in the past. In March they were accused of using chlorine in a bombing. Last month ISIS used modified artillery shells in three attacks, one in Iraq and two near Hasakah, Syria. 

My Comment:

ISIS's use of chemical weapons has largely flown under the radar. I have covered the issue before and talked about last months attacks here. In that post I described how ISIS has very rapidly gained the capability to use chemical weapons. The rate of advancement in this area is staggering. In March all they could do was a crude car bomb. Now they have actual chemical shells that they can use without having to sacrifice a bomber and a vehicle. At this rate they may have more advanced capabilities very soon. 

Chlorine isn't the most deadly chemical agent, but it does have some obvious advantages. The most obvious is how common it is. Chlorine has many industrial uses and is pretty much everywhere in any country that has even the most basic of industrial economies. Any idiot can get a hold of it. It's not nearly as dangerous to work with as other chemical agents and is a good starting chemical for ISIS to use. I have also heard that ISIS is suspected of using another chemical, phosphine, but it is even less deadly then chlorine is, but offers the same advantage of being common and safe to work with.

Chlorine isn't as effective as Sarin or VX in terms of casualties, but if ISIS is able to prefect their techniques it could have a major impact on the battlefield. Chemical warfare gear, like gas masks and suits, are rare in both Iraq and Syria and the Kurds especially don't have much in terms of protection. The German trainers almost certainly have protection, if they were even in the line of fire, but for the average soldier fighting against ISIS? I doubt even the Iraqis or Syrian government troops still have gas masks. 

Even though chlorine and phospine are not ideal chemical weapons they can have an effect beyond just killing. They obviously sicken soldiers and a sick soldier is not one that is on the front line, which makes any follow up attacks more likely to succeed. It is also devastating to morale. Chemical weapons are scary enough when you have protective gear. When you don't have it, it is terrifying. It makes is very hard to keep fighting if a chemical you can't even see makes you sick.

The real question is why this isn't a bigger story? Obviously this has huge implications for international terrorism. As ISIS becomes more skilled at working with chemical weapons the chances of them using those weapons on western targets grows. They might not be able to attack the United States and Europe with chemical weapons directly, but they could target our people in places like Egypt or Tunisia. They could also export the knowledge they gain to other terror groups across the globe. That sounds like a nightmare scenario for WMD proliferation, but it is getting very little coverage in the international media. 

Why? I'm not sure. By all rights it should be a huge story. Especially as the election campaign heats up here in the United States. You would think that ISIS gaining chemical weapons capability would be a major campaign issue and we would be hearing plans on how to destroy that capability but I've heard nothing but silence. 

My only guess is that after the Iraq War, nobody wants to talk about chemical weapons anymore. Even though we did eventually find some old stockpiles in Iraq, we never found any active programs and that has made the media wary. Even though these attacks have been confirmed, I am guessing the media doesn't really want to talk about them, lest they make the same mistake they did in the lead up to the Iraq War. My fear is that sooner or later it will become a huge issue because a major chemical weapons terror attack will kill and sicken a large number of people. And by that point the knowledge to make these weapons will have spread to the point that we won't be able to contain it. 

The last time this issue came up last month, I said that the top priority for U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria is to find the people that are making these chemical weapons and kill them. The fact that these attacks have not stopped is a major sign that this hasn't been done. There are, of course, huge difficulties in locating a couple of shell makers in a region as large as Syria and Iraq. But I think it can be done and we should make it a major priority. As I said before, this kind of knowledge is dangerous and we need to do whatever we can to stop it from spreading. My hope is that an airstrike or commando raid takes out the people making these shells and the threat subsides. If that doesn't happen, then there will be hell to pay...