Iraq Weapons of Mass
Destruction
Programs
U.S. Government White Paper,
released February 13, 1998
Overview
The Gulf War damaged Saddam Hussein's biological, chemical,
ballistic missile, and
nuclear weapons programs, collectively referred to as weapons of
mass destruction
(WMD). The U.N. Special Commission (UNSCOM) was established by
the Security
Council and accepted by Iraq following the war to eliminate and
verify the destruction of
Iraq's biological, chemical, and ballistic missile programs. The
International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) assumed responsibility for dismantling
Iraq's nuclear program.
Further, the United Nations established sanctions to prevent the
purchase of equipment
and materials needed to reconstitute Baghdad's WMD programs and
inspections to
find remaining elements of these programs and deter further
research or production
related to WMD.
On the basis of the last seven years' experience, the world's
experts conclude that
enough production components and data remain hidden and enough
expertise has
been retained or developed to enable Iraq to resume development
and production of
WMD. They believe Iraq maintains a small force of Scud-type
missiles, a small
stockpile of chemical and biological munitions, and the
capability to quickly resurrect
biological and chemical weapons production.
This conclusion is borne out by gaps and inconsistencies in
Iraq's WMD declarations,
Iraq's continued obstruction of UNSCOM inspections and monitoring
activities,
Saddam's efforts to increase the number of "sensitive"
locations exempt from
inspection, and Saddam's efforts to end inspections entirely.
Collectively, the evidence
strongly suggests that Baghdad has hidden remnants of its WMD
programs and is
making every effort to preserve them. Baghdad has also enhanced
indigenous
capabilities and infrastructure to design and produce WMD.
Saddam's strategy in
dealing with UNSCOM is unchanged: he is actively trying to retain
what remains of his
WMD programs while wearing down the will of the Security Council
to maintain
sanctions.
UNSCOM and IAEA inspections and monitoring activities have
severely curtailed Iraq's
WMD programs, but even a small residual force of operational
missiles armed with
biological or chemical warheads would pose a serious threat to
neighboring countries
and US military forces in the region. Iraq has demonstrated its
capability to employ
other delivery systems. Saddam has used such weapons for tactical
military purposes
against Iran, and to suppress rebellious segments of his
population in Kurdish-held
areas.
Assessment of Cooperation With UNSCOM and the IAEA
Baghdad has a long history of obstructing UNSCOM inspections and
has taken an
increasingly hard line since March 1996 when the United Nations
began inspecting
security facilities suspected of concealing WMD-related documents
and material.
UNSCOM is targeting these facilities because Iraq admitted after
Husayn Kamil --
Saddam's son-in-law and former head of Iraqi military industries
-- defected in August
1995 that security organizations were involved in concealing
material from the United
Nations:
-- Resolution 687 demanded that Iraq provide declarations on all
aspects of its WMD
programs 15 days after the Security Council enacted the
resolution in 1991. Nearly
seven years later, gaps and inconsistencies remain in each of
Iraq's WMD declarations
covering chemical, biological, nuclear, and missile programs.
-- Baghdad has modified each declaration several times to
accommodate data
uncovered by UNSCOM of the IAEA and provides new information only
when
confronted with direct evidence. For example, Baghdad revised its
nuclear declaration
to the IAEA four times within 14 months of its initial submission
in April 1991 and has
formally submitted six different biological warfare declarations
to date, each of which
UNSCOM has rejected.
Baghdad has sought to constrain UNSCOM from inspecting numerous
facilities since
March 1996, mostly by declaring the sites "sensitive"
and the inspections a violation of
Iraqi sovereignty. Iraq has applied the term
"sensitive" to a variety of facilities -- on one
occasion security officials declared a road sensitive. Most
consistently, Iraq has sought
to limit U.N. access to Special Republican Guard garrisons that
are responsible for
executing the highest priorities of Saddam's inner circle:
-- Iraq is trying to keep the whole WMD story out of reach.
UNSCOM and the IAEA have
detected Iraqi officials removing documents and material from
buildings, and even
burning documents to prevent them from being evaluated.
Inspectors have routinely
found high-interest facilities cleaned out after their entry was
delayed for several hours.
-- Baghdad is interested in debilitating UNSCOM's ability to
monitor elements it has
declared. Iraq disabled monitoring cameras and hid production
equipment after
expelling US inspectors from the country in November 1997.
-- Iraqi officials have interfered with inspection operations.
Iraqi escort have endangered
U.N. helicopter flights supporting inspections by harassing the
pilot and grabbing the
flight controls. Security guards have harassed inspectors on the
ground.
Baghdad has tried to generate a public impression of cooperation
while working hard
to conceal essential information on the scope and capabilities of
its WMD programs. It
has allowed UNSCOM to monitor dormant WMD production facilities
and has provided
incomplete documentary evidence to support its claims. For
example, Iraq dramatically
disclosed nearly 700,000 pages of WMD-related documents following
Husayn Kamil's
defection. Sparse relevant information was buried within a
massive volume of
extraneous data all of which was intended to create the
appearance of candor and to
overwhelm UNSCOM's analytic resources:
-- For example, Iraq released detailed records of how many
ball-point pens it ordered in
the late 1980s, but it has not provided records of how it
procured biological precursors
or supported claims that it destroyed missile warheads capable of
delivering biological
and chemical agents.
-- UNSCOM and the IAEA have examined much of the documentary
material and
concluded that, despite advertisements to the contrary, Iraq did
not release its most
important WMD-related documents.
Biological Weapons
No concrete information on the scope of Iraq's biological warfare
program was
available until August 1995, when Iraq disclosed, after Husayn
Kamil's defection, the
existence of an offensive biological warfare (BW) capability.
Iraqi officials admitted that
they had produced the BW agents anthrax/1 (8,500 liters),
botulinum toxin/2 (19,000
liters), and aflatoxin/3 (2,200 liters) after years of claiming
that they had conducted only
defensive research. Baghdad also admitted preparing BW-filled
munitions -- including
25 Scud missile warheads (five - anthrax, 16 - botulinum toxin,
four - aflatoxin), aerial
bombs (157), and aerial dispensers -- during the Gulf war,
although it did not use them.
Iraq acknowledged researching the use of 155mm artillery shells,
artillery rockets, a
MiG-21 drone, and aerosol generators to deliver BW agents:
-- UNSCOM has destroyed a range of BW production equipment, seed
stocks, and
growth media claimed by Iraq for use in its BW programs.
-- UNSCOM believes Iraq has greatly understated its production of
biological agents,
and could be holding back such agents which are easily concealed.
Iraq resisted dismantling the Al Hakam BW production facility for
nearly one year after
disclosing in 1995 that it manufactured more than 500,000 liters
of BW agents at the
facility between 1989 and 1990. UNSCOM finally pressed Iraq to
destroy Al Hakam in
the summer of 1996:
-- Baghdad claimed that Al Hakam was a legitimate civilian
facility designed to produce
single-cell proteins and biopesticides.
-- Al Hakam's remote location (55 km southwest of Baghdad) and
the security involved
in its construction suggest that Al Hakam was intended to be a BW
production facility
from the outset.
Baghdad has provided no hard evidence to support claims that it
destroyed all of its
BW agents and munitions in 1991. UNSCOM Chairman Richard Butler
stated that Iraq's
most recent BW declaration, submitted in September 1997,
"failed to give a remotely
credible account of Iraq's biological weapons program:"
-- In late 1995, Iraq acknowledged weapons testing on Ricin, but
did not provide details
on the amount produced. In early 1997, two years later, UNSCOM
discovered
documents that showed Iraq had produced the biological agent
Ricin.
-- Iraq has the expertise to quickly resume a small-scale BW
program at known facilities
that currently produce legitimate items such as vaccines and
other pharmaceuticals.
Without effective U.N. monitoring, Baghdad could probably begin
production within a
few days. For example, Iraq can convert production of
biopesticides to anthrax simply
by changing seed material.
Chemical Weapons
Iraq had an advanced chemical warfare (CW) capability that it
used extensively against
Iran and against its own Kurdish population during the 1980s.
Iraqi forces delivered
chemical agents (including Mustard 5 agent and the nerve agents
Sarin and Tabun/6) in
aerial bombs, aerial spray dispensers, 120-mm rockets, and
several types of artillery
both for tactical military purposes and to terrorize rebellious
segments of the population.
Iraq maintained large stockpiles of chemical munitions and had a
major production
capacity.
UNSCOM supervised the destruction of more than 40,000 CW
munitions (28,000 filled
and 12,000 empty), 480,000 liters of CW agents, 1,800,000 liters
of chemical
precursors, and eight different types of delivery systems --
including ballistic missile
warheads -- in the past six years. Following Husayn Kamil's
defection, Iraq disclosed
that it:
-- Produced larger amounts of the nerve agent VX/7 than it
previously admitted. Iraq
acknowledged, despite previous claims that it only conducted
research, that it had
conducted pilot production of about 4 tons of VX from 1988 to
1990.
-- Researched in-flight mixing of binary CW weapons before the
Gulf war -- an advance
in the development of a CW capability that extends the shelf life
of chemical agents.
-- Perfected techniques for the large-scale production of a VX
precursor that is well
suited to long-term storage.
UNSCOM believes Iraq continues to conceal a small stockpile of CW
agents,
munitions, and production equipment. Baghdad has not supplied
adequate evidence to
support its claims that it destroyed all of its CW agents and
munitions. The destruction
of as much as 200 metric tons of chemical precursors, 70 Scud
warheads, and tens of
thousands of smaller unfilled munitions has not been verified.
-- Baghdad retains the expertise to quickly resume CW production.
In the absence of
UNSCOM inspectors, Iraq could restart limited mustard agent
production with a few
weeks, full-scale production of sarin within a few months, and
pre-Gulf war production
levels -- including-VX -- within two or three years.
-- Since the Gulf war, Iraq has rebuilt two facilities it once
used to produce chemical
agents and has the capability to shift smaller civilian
facilities to CW production.
Ballistic Missiles
Iraq had an active missile force before the Gulf war that
included 819 operational Scud
B missiles (300-km range) purchased from the Soviet Union, an
advanced program to
extend the Scud's range and modify its warhead (e.g., the
Al-Husayn with a 650-km
range and the Al Abbas with a 950-km range), and an extensive
effort to
reverse-engineer and indigenously produce complete Scud missiles.
Iraq also had
programs to indigenously produce long-range missiles (e.g., the
Condor) that never
entered the production phase:
-- UNSCOM reports that it supervised the destruction of 48
Scud-type missiles, 10
mobile launchers, 30 chemical and 18 conventional warheads, and
related equipment.
-- UNSCOM has verified Iraq's unilateral destruction of only 83
Scud-type missiles and
nine mobile launchers. Iraq has tried to account for the
remainder by claiming the
missiles were destroyed by having fired in the Iran-Iraq and Gulf
wars, or used in static
tests or for training.
Unmonitored unilateral destruction and discrepancies in Iraqi
accounting suggest that
Baghdad could still have a small force of Scud-type missiles and
an undetermined
number of warheads and launchers. UNSCOM believes it has
accounted for all but two
of the original 819 Scud missiles imported from the former Soviet
Union. Iraq has not
adequately explained the disposition of important missile
components that it could not
produce on its own and may have removed before destruction. There
are still many
gaps on the scope of Iraq's indigenous missile programs:
-- Iraq may have pieced together a small inventory of missiles by
integrating guidance
and control systems it concealed with indigenously produced
parts.
-- Iraq admitted producing Scud engines, airframes, and warheads
before the war, but
UNSCOM has not verified claims that it destroyed all of these
components.
-- Baghdad probably continues to receive some parts through
clandestine procurement
networks. In 1995, Jordan interdicted missile-guidance equipment
(gyroscopes) bound
for Iraq. Baghdad admitted under UNSCOM questioning that it
received a similar
shipment earlier in 1995.
-- In November 1995, Iraq turned over a previously undeclared
SS-21 short-range
ballistic missile launcher it acquired from Yemen before the Gulf
war, illustrating Iraq's
ability to conceal major elements of missile systems from UNSCOM
inspectors.
Baghdad has not given up its plans to build larger, longer-range
missiles. UNSCOM
has uncovered numerous Iraqi design drawings, including
multistage systems and
clustered engine designs, that theoretically could reach Western
Europe. Inspectors
have uncovered evidence that Iraq has continued missile research
since the imposition
of sanctions. If sanctions were lifted, Iraq could probably
acquire enough material to
resume full-scale production of Scud-type missiles, perhaps
within one year.
-- Iraq's Al-Samoud and Ababil-100 missile programs -- within the
U.N.-allowed 150-km
range limit -- serve to maintain production expertise within the
constraints of sanctions.
Iraq has apparently flight-tested the Al-Samoud -- which UNSCOM
describes as a
scaled down Scud -- successfully. Iraq probably will begin
converting these programs
into long-range production as soon as sanctions are lifted.
-- Iraq continues to expand a missile production facility at Ibn
Al Haytham -- currently
used to support its authorized missile programs. Two new
fabrication buildings at the
facility are spacious enough to house the construction of large
ballistic missiles.
-- Baghdad's claim that the buildings at Ibn al Haytham are
intended to be computer and
administrative facilities is inconsistent with the facility's
inherent size and capacity.
Nuclear Weapons
Iraq had a comprehensive nuclear weapons development program
before the Gulf war
that was focused on building an implosion-type weapon. The
program was linked to a
ballistic missile project that was the intended delivery system.
After Husayn Kamil's
defection in 1995, Iraq retreated from its longtime claim that
its nuclear program was
intended only to conduct research:
-- Iraq admitted experimenting with seven uranium enrichment
techniques and was most
actively pursuing electromagnetic isotope separation, gas
centrifuge, and gas diffusion.
-- Baghdad planned to build a nuclear device in 1991 by using
IAEA-safeguarded highly
enriched uranium from its Soviet-supplied reactors.
UNSCOM and IAEA inspections have hindered Iraq's nuclear program,
but Baghdad's
interest in acquiring or developing nuclear weapons has not
diminished:
-- Iraq retains a large cadre of nuclear engineers, scientists,
and technicians who are
the foundation of its nuclear program. We have concerns that
scientists may be
pursuing theoretical nuclear research that would reduce the time
required to produce a
weapon should Iraq acquire sufficient fissile material.
-- Iraq continues to withhold significant information about
enrichment techniques, foreign
procurement, weapons design, and the role of Iraq's security and
intelligence services
in obtaining external assistance and coordinating postwar
concealment. Iraq continues
to withhold documentation on the technical achievements of its
nuclear program,
experimentation data, and accounting.
-- Baghdad has not fully explained the interaction between its
nuclear program and its
ballistic missile program.
The Husayn Kamil Connection
Husayn Kamil Hasan al-Majid, Saddam's son-in-law, was the
pre-eminent military
industries official and a fundamental player in Iraq's efforts to
procure weapons of mass
destruction before his defection to Jordan in August 1995. A
strict and capable
manager, Kamil took charge of Iraq's efforts to develop its WMD
program around 1987.
As the head of the Ministry of Industry and Military
Industrialization until 1990, he
oversaw Iraq's nuclear weapons research, continued Iraq's
development of biological
and chemical weapons, and supervised the successful development
of the Al-Husayn
missile -- an indigenous modification of the Scud. During this
time, it is possible that
Kamil directed Iraq's testing of its chemical and biological
weapons on Iranian
prisoners of war.
-- After the Gulf war, Kamil -- first from his position as
Minister of Defense and then as
the director of the Ministry of Industry and Minerals and the
Organization of Military
Industrialization -- led Iraq's efforts to conceal its WMD
program from international
inspectors.
-- Husayn Kamil's influence over the Iraqi weapons of mass
destruction program did not
end with his defection in 1995. For instance, he is largely
responsible for using
Saddam's security services -- of which he was a member in the
early 1980s -- to hide
proscribed materials and documents from the United Nations.
Despite Kamil's influence, the Iraqi WMD program did not die with
his defection and
subsequent murder, as Iraq claims it did. Qusay Husayn --
Saddam's second son -- has
assumed many of the responsibilities for concealing the
proscribed programs. In
addition, many of the leading scientists in Iraq's WMD programs
during Husayn Kamil's
tenure are still associated with the regime:
-- Lt. Gen. Amir Hamud Sadi -- who serves officially as a
presidential adviser and is a
leading official in Iraqi relations with UNSCOM -- was one of the
principal engineers in
the WMD program and essentially served as Husayn Kamil's deputy.
With a doctorate
in chemical engineering, Sadi has dedicated his entire career to
conventional and
non-conventional weapons development. In 1987, Sadi received rare
public praise from
Saddam for his role in the development of the Al-Husayn missile.
-- Humam Abd al-Khaliq Abd al-Ghafur -- currently Minister of
Culture and Information --
is Iraq's leading nuclear official and the former head of its
nuclear program. Abd
al-Ghafur also was a close associate of Husayn Kamil, and he
occasionally serves as
an interlocutor with the IAEA, leading an Iraqi delegation to the
IAEA annual conference
in October 1997.
-- Jafar Dia Jafar is perhaps Iraq's foremost nuclear scientist
and served as Abd
al-Ghafur's deputy in the Iraqi Atomic Energy Organization. Jafar
now officially serves as
a presidential adviser, but his position -- unlike that of Sadi
-- appears to be largely
nominal.
-- Dr. Rihab Taha is the leading official in charge of Iraq's
biological weapons program.
She has overseen Iraqi efforts to develop anthrax and botulinum
toxin and directed
testing on animal subjects. Taha is also politically
well-connected -- she is married to
the Minister of Oil, Amir Rashid Ubaydi, who helps direct Iraqi
relations with UNSCOM.
February 13, 1998
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