MSNBC's Chris Matthews Claims Hitler Never Used Chemical Weapons

MSNBC's Chris Matthews really stuck his foot in his mouth this time. He's very anxious to see President Obama launch a military strike against Syria based on dubious claims that the government's soldiers and not the U.S.-backed rebels are responsible for a recent attack in which chemical weapons were allegedly used. Matthews incredibly claims that not even Hitler used chemical weapons. Presumably the Holocaust victims who were put to death by Hitler's Nazis in cyanide gas chambers during World War II don't count. The worst ever attack in military history was committed by the U.S. when it dropped two nuclear bombs on Japan during World War II, which were far more deadly than any chemical weapons ever used in warfare. And, of course, our government oversaw and assisted Sadam Hussein in his use of chemical weapons during Iraq's War with Iran during the 1980s. It's a pretty safe bet that any modern chemical weapons floating around the Middle East today were originally manufactured by the U.S. government. The use of modern chemical warfare began when the Germans disseminated chlorine gas in battle during World War I to poison enemy troops. Toxic chemical agents, however, have been crudely employed in warfare for thousands of years. The Newport Ammunition depot in Newport, Indiana, which was closed in 2010, is the facility where the Army produced its infamous VX nerve agent.