QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, there has been a lot made on Capitol
Hill about these chemical weapons that were found and may be quite
old. But do you a real concern of these weapons from Saddam’s past
perhaps having an impact on U.S. troops who are on the ground in Iraq
right now?
RUMSFELD : Certainly. What has been announced is accurate, that
there have been hundreds of canisters or weapons of various types
found that either currently have sarin in them or had sarin in them,
and sarin is dangerous. And it’s dangerous to our forces, and it’s a
concern.
So obviously, to the extent we can locate these and destroy them,
it is important that we do so. And they are dangerous. Anyone — I’m
sure General Casey or anyone else in that country would be concerned
if they got in the wrong hands.
They are weapons of mass destruction . They are harmful to human
beings. And they have been found. And that had not been by Saddam
Hussein, as he inaccurately alleged that he had reported all of his
weapons . And they are still being found and discovered.