Richard O. Spertzel is an expert in the area of biological warfare. He participated in germ warfare research at U. S. Army Medical Unit, Fort Detrick, Frederick, Maryland (now known as the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases)^[1]. Spertzel held several positions in the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases including Deputy for Research, Deputy Commander, and Chief of the Animal Assessment Division. From 1994 to 1998 Spertzel served as the Senior Biologist for the United Nations Special Commission in Iraq. Spertzel was a member of the Iraq Survey Group. Biological warfare, also known as germ warfare, is the use of any organism (bacteria, virus or other disease-causing organism) or toxin found in nature, as a weapon of war. ... Fort Detrick is a United States Army medical installation located in Frederick, Maryland. ... The U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases is based at Fort Detrick, Frederick, Maryland. ... United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) was a United Nations organisation performing arms inspections in Iraq after the Gulf War. ... The Iraq Survey Group (ISG) was a fact-finding mission sent by the coalition after the 2003 Invasion of Iraq to find weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs developed by Iraq under the regime of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. ...

Education

In 1955, Spertzel earned a B.A. in Microbiology at the University of Pennsylvania. Sperzel did postgraduate work at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine and in 1962 he was awarded a M.S. degree in Radiationbiology by the Graduate School of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Rochester. His terminal degree was obtained in 1970, a Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Notre Dame.

2003 Invasion of Iraq

As part of the Congressional hearings prior to authorization of the invasion of Iraq, Spertzel provided testimony to the U.S. House Committee on Armed Services on September 10, 2002. Congress in Joint Session. ... NOONE CARES Headline text The Joint Resolution to Authorize the Use of United States Armed Forces Against Iraq (H.J.Res. ... The U.S. House Committee on Armed Services, commonly known as the House Armed Services Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives, the lower house of Congress. ...

Testimony by Spertzel^[2]:

• "From its inception in the 1970s, Iraq's BW program included both military and terrorist applications."
• "Although Iraq claims that it "obliterated" the program in 1991 (without the supervision by the UN as was set out in the ceasefire resolution 687, April 1991), and in so doing it destroyed all weapons and bulk agents unilaterally without any further documentation. The evidence indicates rather that Iraq continued to expand its BW capabilities."
• "Iraq asserts that the program was obliterated in 1991 but this is patently not true."
• "Documentation recovered by UNSCOM indicated a continued build up of Iraq's BW program capability."
• "It has had 12 years to advance its viral capability and, as I have cited elsewhere, this almost certainly includes smallpox as an agent."
• "There is no doubt in my mind that Iraq has a much stronger BW program today than it had in 1990."

After the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the U.S. government concluded that Iraq did not have WMD during the period leading up to the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq (U.S. Iraq Survey Group Final Report September 30, 2004). Claimed links of Iraq to terrorist groups like al Qaeda were never verified, and the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States concluded that there was no real evidence of such links. Much of the "intelligence" suggesting WMD in Iraq prior to the 2003 invasion was fabricated by groups like the Iraqi National Congress. Weapons of Mass Destruction is also the name of rapper Xzibits 2004 album. ... The Iraq Survey Group (ISG) was a fact-finding mission sent by the coalition after the 2003 Invasion of Iraq to find weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs developed by Iraq under the regime of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. ... Osama bin Laden, leader of al-Qaeda al-Qaeda (Arabic: , el-Qā‘idah or al-Qā‘idah; the foundation or the base) is the name given to an international Islamic fundamentalist campaign comprised of independent and collaborative cells that all profess the same cause of reducing outside influence upon Islamic... The Commissions seal The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, also known as the 9/11 Commission, was set up in late 2002 to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001 attacks including preparedness for and the immediate response... The Iraqi National Congress (INC) is an umbrella Iraqi opposition group led by Ahmed Chalabi. ...

See also

• Benador Associates

Benador Associates is a public relations firm and speakers bureau that promotes neoconservative writers and speakers focusing primarily on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. ...

References

• ^ "Detection of air-borne Pasteurella tularensis using the fluorescent antibody technique" by R. F. Jaeger, R. O. Spertzel and R. W. Kuehne in Applied Microbiology (1961) volume 9, pages 585-587. Pasteurella tularensis was on the list of microorganisms that Spertzel was charged with monitoring in Iraq.
• ^  Testimony to House Armed Services Committee