Subject: IRAQI AL QAIM CHEMICAL FACILITY Not Finally Evaluated Intelligence TO FACILITATE ELECTRONIC ACCESS, THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN REFORMATTED TO ELIMINATE INFORMATION THAT DOES NOT PERTAIN TO GULF WAR ILLNESS ISSUES OR THAT IS CLASSIFIED. A COPY OF THIS REDACTED DOCUMENT, IN ORIGINAL FORMAT, IS AVAILABLE ON REQUEST. DEC 90 DIRECTOR 433380 WARNING: INFORMATION REPORT NOT FINALLY EVALUATED INTELLIGENCE COUNTRY: IRAQ SUBJ: 1. COMMENTS ON IRAQI AL QAIM CHEMICAL FACILITY AND ITS DEFENSES DOI: 1990 E. INSIDE THE "CHOCOLATE FACTORY" BUT OUTSIDE THE BARRACKS AREA WERE 18 METAL VATS, EACH ABOUT 20 FEET HIGH AND 10 FEET IN DIAMETER. THERE WERE "BIG MIXING PADDLES WITH MOTORS ON TOP GOING ALL THE TIME." FREQUENTLY SAW TECHNICIANS, WEARING BLUE SMOCKS AND CARRYING CLIPBOARDS, WHO WOULD TAKE SOME SORT OF READINGS; THERE WAS ALSO A SENSOR THAT WOULD SOUND AN ALARM OCCASIONALLY. WHEN THE ALARM SOUNDED, THE TECHNICIANS WOULD HURRY TO ASCERTAIN THE PROBLEM. ONE DAY IN EARLY NOVEMBER THE SENSOR ACTIVATED A WATER SYSTEM WHICH DOUSED THE 18 VATS AT THE "CHOCOLATE FACTORY." TWO DAYS LATER, THE ENTIRE AL QAIM FACILITY WAS SHUT DOWN--OSTENSIBLY BECAUSE OF THE SABOTAGE EFFORTS THE VATS WERE OUTSIDE THE FACTORY, AND WERE ARRANGED IN THREE PARALLEL LINES, SIX VATS TO A LINE. ON THE SIDE OF THE VATS OPPOSITE THE FACTORY WAS A TWO-STORY CINDERBLOCK BUILDING. ON THE FIRST FLOOR OF THIS BUILDING WERE RED AND GREEN LIGHTED INSTRUMENT PANELS WHICH WERE VISIBLE AT NIGHT FROM THE BARRACKS. ON THE SECOND FLOOR, TWO OR THREE WHITE-SMOCKED PEOPLE COULD BE SEEN. BELOW THE VATS WAS A MOAT IN WHICH THE WATER LEVEL WAS CONSTANTLY CHECKED AND ADJUSTED. THE STAGNANT WATER IN THE MOAT WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR A MOSQUITO PROBLEM IN THE COMPOUND. SURMISED THAT THE VATES WERE MADE BY A COMPANY, AS PHOTOGRAPHS OF SIMILIAR VATS ON THE WALL OF THE "CHOCOLATE FACTORY" WERE LABLED AT THE "CHOCOLATE FACTORY" THE ALSO SAW SHIPPING BOXES, WHICH SPELLED THE LOCATION "AL KAIM." F. DURING TRIPS TO HOSPITALS AND TO THE CABIN CAMP FOR EXERCISE ABLE TO OBSERVE THE AREA FROM OUTSIDE THE "CHOCOLATE FACTORY" CONCRETE ENCLOSURE TO THE MAIN FACILITY AT AL QAIM. THE ENTIRE FACILITY MEASURES APPROXIMATELY 8 KM BY 8 OR 10 KM, AND GUARDS SAID IT WAS 8 YEARS OLD. THE MAIN PLANT WAS "HUGE" AND HAD "HUGE" PILES OF GREEN AND WHITE MATERIAL OUTSIDE IT. THE GREEN MATERIAL PROBABLY WAS SULPHUR, THE WHITE MATERIAL PROBABLY WAS AMMONIA.) WHEN THE WIND BLEW, THE AMMONIA-SMELLING WHITE SUBSTANCE WOULD LIGHTLY COAT EVERYTHING. AL QAIM, DEVELOPED SKIN RASHES CHARACTERIZED BY BLISTERS; THESE RASHES DISAPPEARED COMPLETELY WHEN THE FACILITY STOPPED OPERATING. "A LOT" OF PHOSPHOROUS WAS SEEN AT THE FACILITY. THERE WAS CONSTANT RAIL TRAFFIC INTO AND OUT OF THE MAIN PLANT, AND THE BOXCARS-- GENERALLY 10 TO 15 PER LOCOMOTIVE--WERE ALWAYS COVERED. THERE WERE ALWAYS AT LEAST 100 CARS SITTING ON TRAIN SPURS. THE "CHOCOLATE FACTORY" WAS LOCATED APPROXIMATELY 200 METERS FROM A ROAD, AND THE COULD HEAR TRUCKS CONTINUALLY PASSING BY. C. THE IRAQIS CONDUCTED A MISSILE TEST-FIRING, THE MISSILE MISFIRED, WENT STRAIGHT UP, AND THEN FELL AND EXPLODED THE MISSILE EVIDENTLY DESTROYED THE AND, PRESUMABLY, KILLED ONE OR TWO AS WELL. THREE DAYS LATER THE IRAQIS DID ANOTHER MISSILE TEST-FIRING. THIS MISSILE WENT DOWNRANGE, AND HEARD BUT DID NOT SEE THE EXPLOSION. NOTED THAT THESE TEST- FIRED MISSILES WERE SURFACE-TO-SURFACE AND PROBABLY WERE OF RUSSIAN OR MAKE. NO ADDITIONAL MISSILE TEST-FIRINGS WERE CONDUCTED AFTER THIS SECOND, APPARENTLY SUCCESSFUL TEST. END OF MESSAGE 1.5(c) 64193:64193First Page |Prev Page |Next Page |Src Image
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