U.S., Thailand Hold Chemical War Drills (PHOTOS)

Chemical war? In Thailand? Don't worry; it's just a drill. On Tuesday, U.S. and Thai forces held joint exercises simulating a chemical attack 80 miles east of Thailand's capital Bangkok.

"The U.S was the model country that trained our soldiers and served as our teacher. The soldiers can come and see how their training was utilized. We can work together," a Thai captain told Reuters.

An American Marine told the news service that the Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and High Explosive training was good practice for threats in the real world.

The U.S.-Thai exercises are part of operation Cobra Gold, a regular joint drill which, according to the U.S., "strengthens the ability of the Royal Thai Armed Forces to defend Thailand or respond to regional contingencies."

Earlier this week, American Marines received a few lessons in jungle survival as part of their training. The Marines learned to kill chickens, eat insects, and slaughter and skin cobras.

See photos from operation Cobra Gold in the slideshow below.

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Comments

[azOutlawz44]

01:11 PM on 02/15/2012

we are seeing Black ops Helocopters training in dwntwn LA and other States as well..we are seeing training of other Countrymen..Cause they know most Americans will not fire upon their own.We see Obama put a law forward that can strip us of our Citizenzship for even speaking out against the Government..we have seen Obama sign into law for Military to to arrest and imprison Americans without explination but only a reasonable cause or accusation..Americans..Hell is on the way...

[azOutlawz44]

01:06 PM on 02/15/2012

yeah don't worry it's just a dril...Or maybe a Traing of people who will most likely be doing war crimes to us in America as soon as the time comes..Would it be so far off to think our Governmnet would train and stage a false attack from China uponus ? look at 911...yeah im a Conspiracy nut..did not start out that way but way to much is known and unexplained..Like Building 7 which was set up for Demo as the twinn towers fell,it was a 47 story building that was untouched by the attacks..But somehow empty of all personel and set for destruction that day..Fully Furnished and seeming untouched..i think we all know how long it takes to bring buildings down and all the prep work that goes with it..Can't be done in an Hour..But Building 7 fell just the same way the twinn towers fell.

[IfIonlyknew]

01:42 PM on 02/15/2012

And it is all blamed on burning diesel fuel....Yep,Pretty fishy.

[azOutlawz44]

02:10 PM on 02/15/2012

we live in a fascinating time..it's almost like having a vertual reality war Game at our figertips huh...we know whats comming and going to happen..we posistion them with our thoughts of the next move..and we accept it cause it's being played out before out eyes and we can't do anything to stop it..Reality is becoming a game..have a good day peace

[juan321]

12:22 PM on 02/15/2012

thailand is a beautiful country, been there twice

[3echo9]

11:50 AM on 02/15/2012

It’s just tear gas or some similar riot control agent. Nothing other than what anyone in basic training has to go through. Not a big deal, but good training.

[Trustfunded1]

09:14 AM on 02/15/2012

These drills should come in hand when used against the American people during an economic collapse.

Sarc

[hungryaardvark]

05:13 AM on 02/15/2012

Chemical weapons are WMDs.

We are now openly advocating the open use of WMDs.

But we will propagandize it be saying our WMDs ar OK, while theirs are EEEEEVIL. And Dumbmericans will fall for it.

Any idea where we may be planning on using these chemical WMDs soon?

[GraphicMatt]

11:10 AM on 02/15/2012

How are we advocating the use of chemical weapons? This was a training exercise on how our troops are supposed to respond to a chemical attack, not on how to conduct one.

[hungryaardvark]

02:23 PM on 02/15/2012

How you fight in a chemical warfare environment is training in how to conduct chemical warfare. Who sets the chemicals off doesn't matter. If one is not susceptible, that means it is safe to use chemical weapons in the fight and prevail.

That's really not too hard to understand.

[GraphicMatt]

02:40 PM on 02/15/2012

Faulty logic and condescension are no way to conduct a conversation. You sound like a very paranoid individual. Training soldiers to fight in chemical conditions is not the same as training them to conduct chemical warfare.

[hungryaardvark]

05:12 PM on 02/15/2012

From a functional standpoint, it's exactly the same. Fighting and sustainability in a chemical warfare environment in which one country's military can survive and the other can't is exactly the strategic information a nation wants to know before it launches a chemical war. That is not paranoia. It is truth and reality. Your propaganda is not reassuring.

[Dosadi]

08:32 PM on 02/14/2012

News Flash. 

The US just discovered where the WMD is.

We had it all along.

[Jack Glastra]

08:05 PM on 02/14/2012

Imperialism kills....

[waldopepper]

05:57 PM on 02/14/2012

Misleading headline. They practice for a chemical gas attack, on them. To say that they practice with chemical gas is to disingenuously imply that they practices using it themselves as an offensive weapon.

What they are doing to common with almost all armies. Certainly virtually all NATO nations do this,with only rare exceptions. Russia China - all armies offer their troops training and protection from this sort of attack.

[Dosadi]

08:34 PM on 02/14/2012

Did you get paid to obfuscate this?

Someone has to know how to deploy the chemicals properly or our guys training is a waste of time.  That means they learn how to use these weapons on offense and defense.

[waldopepper]

11:18 PM on 02/14/2012

They do not get training on offence. The US is a signatory to the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Here is the related website. http://www.cwc.gov/cwc_treaty.html
Note it prohibits --THE DEVELOPMENT, PRODUCTION, STOCKPILING AND USE OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS.

Because it prohibits the use - this also naturally precludes training in their use.

[charleshbuchannan]

11:58 PM on 02/14/2012

Again with the adult analysis.

[Daniel Alman]

04:51 PM on 02/14/2012

Like something out a sci-fi movie...
Keep up the good work marines....

[J R M]

03:34 PM on 02/14/2012

So what?

Just because chemical weapons are banned does not mean that soldiers will not run into them. By being prepared for them, they reduce the likelihood of their usage.

The militaries of the world accumulated a lot of experience with chemical weapons over the past century. Against prepared forces, chemical weapons cause modest casualties - though they do greatly slow down equipment maintenance. But chemical weapons do kill off all the nearby civilians.

[Dosadi]

08:35 PM on 02/14/2012

That used to be the case. A lot of the new ones are designed to sicken the enemy. That allows for less clean up later.

[hungryaardvark]

05:18 AM on 02/15/2012

Are some chemical WMDs OK? Does that mean that OURS are OK but others aren't? The simple fact is that we have the ability to deliver WMDs more effectively tha any other nation. We have done so. We will continue to do so.

[choicana]

12:05 PM on 02/15/2012

JUst where did you come up with that fairy tale?