ACCESSION
ACCESSION NUMBER:213229 FILE ID:PO-109 DATE:02/03/92 TITLE:CONGRESSIONAL REPORT, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 3 (02/03/92) TEXT:*92020309.POL CONGRESSIONAL REPORT, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 3 (Iraq) (310) LAWMAKER SAYS U.S. FIRMS ASSISTED IRAQ Dozens of U.S. business concerns provided "critical support to Iraqi weapons program, including missiles," says the head of a congressional panel. Henry Gonzalez, chairman of the House of Representatives Banking Committee, asserted February 3 that his staff has "clear evidence" of American business involvement in building the war machine that invaded Kuwait and started the Persian Gulf war. President Bush reported to Congress in September 1991 that U.S. firms did not directly contribute to enhancing Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's arsenal. But Gonzalez charged in a letter to the president January 31 that the White House report was "clearly inaccurate." He called on Bush to issue a new report that would "reflect the true role played by U.S. companies and federal agencies in permitting the transfer of technology...to Saddam Hussein's war machine." Gonzalez cited evidence that American firms were involved in two programs that were intended to modify the Scud missile. And U.S. businesses were "directly involved in the development of a ballistic missile known as Condor Two." The evidence collected by the Gonzalez panel is part of its ongoing probe into the activities of the Italian-owned Banca Nazionale del Lavoro, which it says loaned $2,000 million to Iraq for weapons procurement purposes. Gonzalez charged that the Bush administration has been hampering the investigation. He said that Secretary of State Baker has refused to give the panel information on the Iraqi weapons program that was compiled by the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency. He said that the Treasury Department has failed to identify Iraqi procurement as required by U.S. law. He criticized the Commerce Department for granting export licenses to firms supplying segments of the Iraqi government involved in missile projects. NNNN .
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