Iraqi Chemical Weapon Trends
Filename:007bk.90p
INFORMATION PAPER
8 August 1990
To: JSJ
SUBJECT: Iraqi Chemical Weapon Trends
Iraqi Chemical Warfare (CW) Capabilities:
1. Agents. The Iraqis possess four confirmed CW agents and are
known to be developing three others. All the confirmed agents
were used during the Iran/Iraq War and include: the nerve agents,
Tabun, Sarin, and GF; and, the blister agent mustard in liquid
form and impregnated on dust. CW agents in development include:
the persistent nerve agent VX; the semipersistent nerve agent
Soman; and, the hallucinogen BZ. Of these latter, VX is believed
the most likely to be produced.
2. Weapons. The Iraqis are capable of delivering CW agents by
mortar, a variety of tube artillery, 122 mm surface-to-surface
rockets, 90 mm air-to-surface rockets, and 250 and 500 kg aerial
bombs. If Iraq has chosen to develop chemical warheads for its
SCUD missiles and FROG rockets, these could also be used.
However, although they have the ability to produce these warheads,
[ (b)(1) sec 1.3(a)(4) ].
3. Doctrine. Although authority to employ CW was decentralized
to the Corps commanders in 1986, the decision to use CW in Saudi
Arabia would certainly be made by President Saddam Husayn. During
the 1988 offensives, the Iraqis demonstrated an ability to
integrate CW into its offensive battle plans, and although used of
CW did not proved decisive or provided a strategic advantage, they
were tactically effective an influenced the outcome of some
battles. Generally, nonpersistent agents such as sarin were used
by Iraq against targets to be occupied quickly by advancing
forces. More persistent agents such as vesicant agent mustard or
nerve agent GF could be used against supply depots, assembly areas
or command control nodes. Persistent agents could be used for
long range weapons systems such as missiles or aerial bombs since
their lasting effect does not require that the target be
repeatedly attacked to remain effective.
4. [ (b)(1) sec 1.3(a)(4) ]. During the Iraq/Iran War, the
Iraqis used rather characteristic flatbed trucks to transport
chemical weapons to airfields and the FEBA. To date, no such
operations [ (b)(1) sec 1.3(a)(4) ]. If such activity [
(b)(1) sec 1.3(a)(4) ] for CW use would be high. An Nasiriyah
Ammunition Storage Facility Southwest and Ash Shuaybah Ammunition
Storage Depot Northeast are the most southern ammo depots with
special bunkers for CW weapons. Al Jarra airfield and Tallil
airfield are the two southernmost fields with special bunkers.
While the CW-associated transport vehicles have not yet [ (b)(1)
sec 1.3(a)(4) ], there was production-related activity at the
Iraqi production site at Samarra which was followed by the [
(b)(1) sec 1.3(a)(4) ] of crates around the CW-associated
bunkers at Tallil and Al Jarra Airfields. Following a [ (b)(1)
sec 1.3(a)(4) ] about activity near the chemical bunkers at the
airbase, SU-22 FITTER aircraft at Tallil Airfield [ (b)(1) sec
1.3(a)(4) ] on 2 August 1990, uploaded with possible chemical
munitions. FITTER aircraft were used to deliver chemical bombs
during the Iran-Iraq War. These actions are consistent with
Iraq's uploading of chemical bombs onto combat aircraft. However,
since the content of a bomb on an aircraft cannot be determined,
this activity cannot [ (b)(1) sec 1.3(a)(4) ] as chemical
weapons uploading.
COORDINATION: [ (b)(2) ]None
PREPARED BY: [ (b)(2) ][ (b)(6) ]
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