Tuesday, 30, November, 2004 - It looks like a shelf in an elderly lady’s bathroom, scattered with half-full and almost empty bottles so old the faded labels are peeling off. But Qassem Daoud, Iraq’s national security adviser and Prime Minister Allawi’s confidant, calls it a "chemical laboratory" where Fallujan insurgents supposedly made "deadly explosives and poisons," including anthrax.

Noninsurgents probably have more chemical containers underneath the kitchen sink at home.

But Fallujah’s where Al-Zarqawi, Jordan’s notorious kidnapper, assassin, and reputed master poisoner, reportedly gave US Marines the slip. And so when Daoud claims Zarqawi left souvenirs behind, the world pays attention.

But not everyone is impressed.

Former UN weapons inspector Hans Blix urged restraint: "Let’s see what the chemicals are....Many of these stories evaporate when they are looked at more closely." Blix added that "the chances" soldiers had actually "found something" significant "are...relatively small. I would be surprised if it was something real."

Something real. That’s the ticket, always has been. Those elusive weapons of mass destruction.

And Daoud’s perceptions aren’t always the best. In an invasion interview, Daoud (then in Kuwait) assured CNN that US "military force(s) are (being) received with flowers and with very warm feeling toward them."

But actually, Daoud is uniquely qualified to assure the authenticity of the insurgents’ "chemical laboratory" or, alternatively, create a hoax. Daoud is a scientist with a microbiology doctorate. In office and in Allawi’s affections, he replaces another scientist-politician, Dr. Mowaffak Al-Rubaie, a neurologist. But Al-Rubaie inopportunely tested Allawi’s patience by promoting reconciliation with radical cleric Moqtada Sadr when Allawi preferred a more radical solution.

Daoud’s proved infinitely more flexible. Originally opposing elections in January, 2005, Daoud seems to now have no serious objections. Initially willing to release Saddam Hussein’s female science advisors "Dr. Germ" (Dr. Rihab Rashed Taha) and "Mrs. Anthrax" (Huda Salih Mahdi Ammash) so "that British guy," as Daoud called hostage Kenneth Bigley, could be saved, he bowed respectfully when Western officials resisted. And Daoud is reportedly a decorous neocon "Iraqi friend with ties to Mr. Franklin," meaning Larry Franklin of the US Defense Department who’s under investigation for leaking secret documents to AIPAC — the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

One wonders why Daoud rushes to conclude the musty shelf scattered with aged containers is a covert laboratory. Surely Daoud knows that much, much more is required even for a primitive weapons operation. If insurgents planned to make anthrax, as Daoud implies, they needed more kit.

Where are the incubators? Anthrax and most biological agents need a warm, stable place to grow at a very specific temperature. Refrigerators, dry ice, and vacuum pumps are also needed. Where’s the fermentor, necessary for the growth of large quantities of bacteria and pathogens? Where’s the sterilizing autoclave? Where’s the centrifuge spinning anthrax spores, concentrating them for weaponization?

And such equipment requires copious, steady amounts of electricity. Sporadic surges would make short work of insurgents’ scientific efforts, unless they had generators. But generators require fuel, which in Iraq is in notoriously unreliable supply.

Serious insurgents would need yeast extract, tryptone, sporulation medium, glucose, and salts — all of which make biological nasties grow. Insurgents would also need glass flasks, tubes, and Petri dishes to handle nasties safely. A pH meter would be needed for measuring acidity, although this could run off a battery. But where is it?

And to make sure the insurgents live long enough to make their toxic cocktails, decent ventilation is essential. And then an assortment of extra rubber gloves, masks, and protective clothing.

Finally, for anthrax, insurgents would need a drying apparatus, ideally less windy than a hair dryer, and a grinding apparatus — silicate placed in a tumbler of anthrax spores and mechanically churned. Could one do it by hand? Conceivably, answered a Washington, D.C. National Institutes of Health scientist, but it would take days of constant shaking to humanly replace the machine.

What might those dusty jars tell us?

Each bottle of chemical or agent will have a label lot number indicating where and when it was made, and from what larger batch it derives. The manufacturer could conceivably determine where smaller batches were shipped or repackaged, and to whom they were sold. A National Science Foundation-funded scientist examining Daoud’s lab picture declared: "The chemicals look like they’ve been taken from a university laboratory. The lone glove appears to be planted. The most recognizable bottle is fourth from the left with the light blue top. This is a Fluka chemical bottle in an old style." Daoud’s Fluka bottle is square-shaped, whereas contemporary Fluka bottles are noticeably rounded.

Ironically, the country nearest Iraq that’s done the most anthrax weaponizing research is Israel. Look at Daoud’s shelf, look at what’s not there, then look at the clock and check the time.

Time to examine Daoud’s "friendly ties to Mr. Franklin." Time to look at something real.