C. Baghdad Has Been Able to Renovate and Expand its Fired Dual-Use BW Agent Production Facilities
( ) The introduction of the BW section of the NIE said that, "Baghdad has been able to renovate and expand its fixed dual-use BW agent production facilities . . . ." Later in the NIE, however, the reference to renovation of fixed facilities said, "we are increasingly concerned that Baghdad's renovation and expansion of its fixed, dual-use facilities that served as Iraq's BW agent production capability prior to the Gulf War are part of an effort to increase significantly Iraq's BW agent holdings." The second version of this assessment makes it more clear that the dual-use facilities were not known to be BW agent facilities, but that the IC had concerns about their potential use as BW facilities because they had been used for BW agent production prior to the Gulf War. To support this assessment, the NIE discussed renovation and expansion activity at three fixed, dual-use facilities: the Amiriyah Serum and Vaccine Institute, the Habbaniyah I Castor Oil Plant, and the Dawrah Foot and Mouth Disease Vaccine Production Plant.
1. Amiriyah Serum and Vaccine Institute
( ) The NIE noted that increased activity and construction at Iraq's Amiriyah Serum and Vaccine Institute has been observed DELETED since at least 2000 "suggesting more than pharmaceutical production or distribution is taking place." PARAGRAPH DELETED
( ) The IC provided the Committee a National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA)24 report that described DELETED of Amiriyah from April 1999 to November 2001, which stated that the facility remained active during this period and may have increased its level of operations. SENTENCE DELETED The report said that these changes may represent changes in the facility's operations.
( ) The NIE's discussion of Amiriyah also states that "Iraqi scientists reportedly conducted quality testing at this site on BW agents produced in the mobile production units, DELETED A HUMINT report from DELETED CURVE BALL, who provided the majority of the intelligence reporting concerning the mobile BW program, DELETED.
( ) In discussions with Committee staff, both CIA and DIA BW analysts said they assessed that the changes DELETED at the facility suggested Amiriyah was active, but said the activity could have been consistent with legitimate pubic health related activity. A CIA Iraq analyst DELETED also told Committee staff that in the late 1990's and in the 2000 to 2002 period Iraq did have "some huge vaccination campaigns," particularly against polio and foot and mouth disease (FMD). A CIA BW analyst also told Committee staff that she was not aware of any effort in the IC to analyze the impact of those mass vaccination campaigns on dual use facilities like the Amiriyah Serum and Vaccine Institute.
( ) PARAGRAPH DELETED
2. Habbaniyah I Castor Oil Plant
( ) The NIE noted that the Habbaniyah I Castor Oil Plant, which was damaged during Operation Desert Fox in 1998 because it was assessed to be involved in the production of the biotoxin ricin. was rebuilt by early 2000. The NIE said. "The facility continues to extract oil from the castor beans, allegedly for use in brake fluid production. SENTENCE DELETED The NIE stated that while the extraction of castor oil is a legitimate activity, the bean mash that is left over contains the BW agent ricin. The IC assessed that ricin was probably not being extracted at the castor oil plant but said concurrent activity at the nearby main production building, "suggests that toxin extraction may be taking place in the main production building."
( ) PARAGRAPH DELETED
( ) PARAGRAPH DELETED
3. Dawrah Foot and Mouth Disease Vaccine Production Plant
( ) The NIE also pointed to DELETED of the Dawrah Foot and Mouth Disease Vaccine Production Plant in support of the assessment that Iraq may be rebuilding dual-use fixed facilities for BW production. Iraq used Dawrah to produce BW agent before UNSCOM rendered the facility useless for BW work in 1996 by filling ductwork with a cement and foam mixture and destroying equipment used for BW agent production. Other research and production equipment at Dawrah deemed by UNSCOM to be legitimate was left in place. The NIE noted that Iraq probably renovated the facility after UNSCOM's work, but said "We are unable to determine whether BW agent research or production has resumed." Iraq claimed in 1999 that the facility was going to be renovated to produce foot and mouth disease vaccine.
( ) In a September 2001 report, DELETED assessed that the facility had been renovated beginning in 1999 DELETED. SENTENCE DELETED . As noted in the NIE, the DELETED report said it was unclear whether the possible restart of the plant was related to Iraq's BW program or was for legitimate vaccine production.
( ) A CIA Iraq analyst DELETED told Committee staff that Iraq may have had a legitimate need for foot and mouth disease (FMD) vaccine because for years the U.S. had vetoed Iraqi requests under the UN Oil for Food program for FMD vaccines based on suspicion that these materials were intended for BW purposes. The U.S. Government (USG) and IC later learned that Iraq had in fact had an FMD outbreak, prompting the USG to start approving Iraqi imports of FMD vaccinations in 1999. The USG, as a member of the UN Iraq Sanctions Committee, rejected a proposal from the Iraqis and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization to rehabilitate Dawrah because the USG believed that was able to import as many FMD vaccines as it needed.
( ) PARAGRAPH DELETED The information that Iraq may have had legitimate public heath reasons to restart the Darwah plant was not included in the NIE.
footnotes
24 NIMA has recently been renamed the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA)
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