Subject: IRAQI CAPABILITIES CONVENTIONAL 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. JAN 91 DIRECTOR 452713 REGARDING IRAQI CAPABILITIES TO USE CONVENTIONAL WEAPONS IN DELIVERING ARTILLERY SHELLS CARRYING BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL AGENTS ON OUR FORCES IN THE GULF. WE RECOGNIZE THAT THE IRAQIS HAVE PURCHASED IN TIMES PAST AN UNSPECIFIED NUMBER OF G-5 FIELD GUNS WHICH HAVE A MAXIMUM RANGE OF UP TO 42 KILOMETERS. WE ALSO RECOGNIZE THAT SHELLS FOR THE G-5 CAN BE MODIFIED TO CARRY HIGHLY DESTRUCTIVE CHEMICAL OR BIOLOGICAL AGENTS. IRAQ'S BIOLOGICAL WARFARE PROGRAM 1. IRAQ HAS AN EXTENSIVE BIOLOGICAL WARFARE (BW) PROGRAM. IRAQ HAS PRODUCED LARGE QUANTITIES OF THE BW AGENTS BOTULINUM TOXIN AND ANTHRAX SPORES. THE IRAQIS PROBABLY HAVE ALREADY FILLED SOME AERIAL BOMBS AND ARTILLERY ROCKETS WITH BW AGENTS. EVENTUALLY, THE IRAQIS WILL USE BW AGENTS TO FILL THEIR SCUD-TYPE MISSILES. 2. IRAQ'S EXPERTISE WITH CHEMICAL WEAPONS ALMOST CERTAINLY REINFORCED ITS DESIRE TO DEVELOP ADDITIONAL UNCONVENTIONAL WEAPONS. IRAQ'S AGGRESSIVE PURSUIT OF BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS UNDERSCORES OFFICIAL IRAQI STATEMENTS THAT JUSTIFY THE USE OF ANY WEAPONS TO DEFEND ITS TERRITORY. MOREOVER, IRAQ'S USE OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS IN ITS WAR WITH IRAN SHOWS THAT IRAQ IS PREPARED TO BACK RHETORIC WITH ACTION. 3. IRAQ BEGAN DEVELOPING ITS OFFENSIVE BW CAPABILITY IN THE LATE 1970S, DESPITE HAVING SIGNED THE 1972 BIOLOGICAL AND TOXIN WEAPONS CONVENTION THAT EXPRESSLY PROHIBITS SUCH ACTIVITIES. IRAQ HAS DEVELOPED BOTULINUM TOXIN AND ANTHRAX SPORES AS BW AGENTS. THE IRAQIS HAVE INVESTIGATED OTHER LIVING AGENTS AND TOXINS; BOTULINUM TOXIN DEGRADES FAIRLY RAPIDLY ON EXPOSURE TO THE ENVIRONMENT, WHILE ANTHRAX SPORES CAN REMAIN VIABLE FOR WEEKS TO YEARS. 4. IRAQ PROBABLY BEGAN LARGE-SCALE PRODUCTION OF ANTHRAX SPORES AND BOTULINUM TOXIN YEARS AGO. 5. WE BELIEVE THERE ARE OTHER FACILITIES INVOLVED IN THE PROUCTION OF BW AGENTS, FOR EXAMPLE BUILT A CLOSTRIDIUM VACCINE PLANT IN THE SUBURBS OF BAGHDAD IN THE EARLY 1980S. THIS PLANT COULD EASILY BE USED TO PRODUCE BOTULINUM TOXIN. THE PHARMACEUTICAL PLANT AT SAMARRA HAS BEEN PRODUCING VARIOUS VACCINES AND ANTIBIOTICS FOR YEARS; ITS EQUIPMENT COULD ALSO BE USED TO MAKE BW AGENTS. IRAQ'S CHEMICAL WARFARE PROGRAM 6. IRAQ HAS THE LARGEST CHEMICAL WARFARE (CW) PROGRAM IN THE THIRD WORLD. IRAQ HAS THE CAPABILITY OF PRODUCING UP TO TONS PER YEAR OF BLISTER AND NERVE AGENTS. DURING THE WAR WITH IRAN, IRAQ USED A VARIETY OF CHEMICALLY-FILLED MUNITIONS. IN ALL LIKELIHOOD, IRAQ ALREADY HAS A LIMITED NUMBER OF CHEMICALLY-FILLED MISSILE WARHEADS. 7. THE WAR WITH IRAN PROMPTED IRAQ TO ACCELERATE ITS PROGRAM TO DEVELOP A CHEMICAL WARFARE CAPABILITY. IRAQ HAS PRODUCED CHEMICAL AGENTS AND MUNITIONS SINCE THE EARLY 1980S. THE MAIN CHEMICAL WARFARE COMPLEX, LOCATED SOME 70 KILOMETERS NORTHWEST OF BAGHDAD NEAR SAMARRA, HAS PRODUCED THOUSANDS OF TONS OF CHEMICAL AGENTS OVER THE YEARS. SAMARRA IS AN EXTENSIVE FACILITY THAT CONTAINS CW AGENT PRODUCTION, MUNITIONS FILLING, AND STORAGE AREAS. IRAQ PRODUCES THE BLISTER AGENT MUSTARD AND THE NERVE AGENTS SARIN AND TABUN AT SAMARRA. 8. IRAQ FIRST MADE MILITARY USE OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS IN 1983 AND 1984, LHEN IT BEGAN TO USE MUSTARD AND NERVE AGENTS AGAINST IRANIAN FORCES. IN FACT, IRAQ WAS THE FIRST NATION TO USE NERVE AGENTS ON THE BATTLEFIELD. THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THESE CHEMICAL ATTACKS WAS MINIMAL AT FIRST, BUT THE IRAQIS GAINED EXPERIENCE IN THE USE OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS THROUGHOUT THE WAR. CHEMICAL WEAPONS HELPED BRING THE WAR WITH IRAN TO AN END IN 1988, WHEN IRAQ INCORPORATED USE OF NERVE AGENTS INTO A SERIES OF OFFENSIVES. 9. IRAQ PROBABLY DECIDED TO USE CHEMICAL WEAPONS AS A FORCE MULTIPLIER, TO COMPENSATE FOR IRAN'S MANPOWER ADVANTAGE. IRAQ'S USE OF CW HELPED TO MINIMIZE IRAQI PERSONNEL AND LAND LOSSES BY STALLING IRANIAN HUMAN WAVE ATTACKS. IRAQI CW USE WAS ALSO ENHANCED BY LIMITED IRANIAN CW PROTECTIVE CAPABILITY AND IRAN'S INABILITY TO RETALIATE IN KIND ON ANY APPRECIABLE SCALE. 10. IRAQ HAS A VARIETY OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS DELIVERY SYSTEMS AVAILABLE. IN THE WAR WITH IRAN, IRAQ USED AERIAL BOMBS, ARTILLERY AND MORTAR ROUNDS, AND MULTIPLE ROCKET LAUNCHERS FILLED WITH CW AGENTS. IN ALL PROBABILITY, IRAQ ALREADY HAS A LIMITED NUMBER OF WARHEADS AVAILABLE FOR ITS SCUD-TYPE MISSILES. 11. IN APRIL 1990, SADDAM HUSAYN ANNOUNCED THAT IRAQ HAD BINARY CHEMICAL WEAPONS. IRAQ PROBABLY HAS PRODUCED AT LEAST SOME BINARY WEAPONS, MOST LIKELY CONTAINING THE NERVE AGENT SARIN. CURRENTLY, IRAQ HAS A STOCKPILE OF TONS OF CW AGENT, EQUALLY DIVIDED BETWEEN BLISTER AND NERVE AGENTS. END OF MESSAGE 1.5(c) 63910:63910First Page |Prev Page |Next Page |Src Image
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