The Illegal Arms Trade – Iraq–Iran War 1980 – 1988 (Part 3)

Part 3

 

 

It would be relevant at this point to reveal a list of Iraq Purchased Weapons that was provided by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) for the period 1973-2002.

Country	$MM USD 1990	% Total
USSR	25145	57.26
France	5595	12.74
China	5192	11.82
Czechoslovakia	2880	6.56
Poland	1681	3.83
Brazil	724	1.65
Egypt	568	1.29
Romania	524	1.19
Denmark	226	0.51
Libya	200	0.46
USA	200	0.46
South Africa	192	0.44
Austria	190	0.43
Switzerland	151	0.34
Yugoslavia	107	0.24
Germany (FRG)	84	0.19
Italy	84	0.19
UK	79	0.18
Hungary	30	0.07
Spain	29	0.07
East Germany (GDR)	25	0.06
Canada	7	0.02
Jordan	2	0.005
Total	43915	100.0

 

The next big issue to debate was who provided Iraq with Chemical and Biological Warfare (CBW) know how? The main players here were both the US, UK and Spain.

 One has to fully understand that what has been revealed does not give a true account as to the total supply of CBW or of the total supply of military hardware and software. Everything was so cleverly concealed via offshore front companies that it almost became impossible to know it original source. I am sure your imagination can run wild in this respect and realise that the trade in illegal arms is a very profitable business. The deceit and corruption that was linked to supply went right to the top of the political ladder. It is rather ironic that to this day the same policy prevails and war is good for business!

 So let’s just look at  one typical consignment as shown in the Riegle Report which was obtained under the freedom of information and you will see just how generous western government were with Iraq:

The list in Figure 1 is merely one extract from the invoice details supplied to Senator Riegle by the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC). One item is particularly notable in this list, for it is the strain of anthrax which will be shown to be the exclusive strain of anthrax used in the Iraqi biological weapons programme. Before focusing on anthrax, however, consider the range of materials exported to Iraq. The Riegle Report confirms that from 1985: 

“Pathogenic (meaning ‘disease producing’), toxigenic (meaning ‘poisonous’), and other biological research materials were exported to Iraq pursuant to application and licensing by the U.S. Department of Commerce….These exported biological materials were not attenuated or weakened and were capable of reproduction. According to the Department of Defence’s own Report to Congress on the Conduct of the Persian Gulf War, released in April 1992: “By the time of the invasion of Kuwait, Iraq had developed biological weapons. It’s advanced and aggressive biological warfare program was the most advanced in the Arab world… The program probably began late in the 1970′s and concentrated on the development of two agents, botulinum toxin and anthrax bacteria… Large-scale production of these agents began in 1989 at four facilities near Baghdad. Delivery means for biological agents ranged from simple aerial bombs and artillery rockets to surface-to-surface missiles.”

 

It is at this point we can reveal the effects of these CBW the Report finds that among the US exports to Iraq were the following and it notes their associated disease symptoms:

Bacillus Anthracis: anthrax is a disease producing bacteria identified by the Department of Defense in the Conduct of the Persian Gulf War: Final Report to Congress, as being a major component in the Iraqi biological warfare program. Anthrax is an often-fatal infectious disease due to ingestion of spores. It begins abruptly with high fever, difficulty in breathing, and chest pain. The disease eventually results in septicaemia (blood poisoning), and the mortality is high. Once septicaemia is advanced, antibiotic therapy may prove useless, probably because the exotoxins remain, despite the death of the bacteria.  

Clostridium Botulinum: a bacterial source of botulinum toxin, which causes vomiting, constipation, thirst, general weakness, headache, fever, dizziness, double vision, dilation of the pupils and paralysis of the muscles involving swallowing. It is often fatal.  

Histoplasma Capsulatum: causes a disease superficially resembling tuberculosis that may cause pneumonia, enlargement of the liver and spleen, anemia, an influenza-like illness and an acute inflammatory skin disease marked by tender red nodules, usually on the shins. Reactivated infection usually involves the lungs, the brain, spinal membranes, heart, peritoneum, and the adrenals.  

Brucella Melitensis: a bacteria which can cause chronic fatigue, loss of appetite, profuse sweating when at rest, pain in joints and muscles, insomnia, nausea, and damage to major organs.  

Clostridium Perfringens: highly toxic bacteria, which cause gas gangrene. The bacteria produce toxins that move along muscle bundles in the body killing cells and producing necrotic tissue that is then favourable for further growth of the bacteria itself. Eventually, these toxins and bacteria enter the bloodstream and cause a systemic illness. 

Figure 1 provides details of a single shipment sent on 2 May 1986. Note the emboldened entry for Bacillus anthracis (ATCC 14578), which the Iraq Survey Group has since determined was the exclusive strain of anthrax used in the Iraqi biological weapons programme. This, then, is the source of the anthrax threat which was repeatedly promoted both inside Parliament and through the news media to the British People, prior to the decision being made for Britain to take part in the invasion of Iraq.    

 Because Iraq was removed from antiterrorism controls and because controls on missile technology and chemical and biological warfare were not in place until the late 1980s, few foreign policy controls were placed on exports to Iraq during the 1980s…this, along with the lack of national security controls, resulted in a long list of high technology items being sold to Iraq during the 1980s.

 Below is a list (Figure 1) of one such consignment sent from the US to Iraq. I would also like to point out that the UK also participated in such exports, which I will cover later.

 

 Bacillus Anthracis Cohn (ATCC 10)
Batch # 08-20-82 (2 each)
Class III pathogen.

Bacillus Subtitles (Ehrenberg) Con (ATCC 82)
Batch # 06-20-84 (2 each)

Clostridium botulinum Type A (ATCC 3502)
Batch# 07-07-81 (3 each)
Class III Pathogen

Clostridium perfringens (Weillon and Zuber)

Hauduroy, et al (ATCC 3624)
Batch# 10-85SV (2 each)

Bacillus subtilis (ATCC 6051)
Batch# 12-06-84 (2 each)

Francisella tularensis var. tularensis Olsufiev

(ATCC 6223)
Batch# 05-14-79 (2 each)
Avirulent; suitable for preparations of  diagnostic antigens.

Clostridium tetani (ATCC 9441)
Batch 03-94 (3 each)
Highly toxigenic.

 Clostridium botulinum Type E (ATCC

9564) Batch# 03-02-79 (2 each)
Class III pathogen

 Clostridium tetani (ATCC 10779)
Batch# 04-24-84S (3 each)

 Clostridium perfringens (ATCC 12916)
Batch# 08-14-80 (2 each)
Agglutinating Type 2.

Clostridium perfringens (ATCC 13124)
Batch# 08-14-80 (3 each)
Type A, alpha-toxigenic, produces  lecithinase C.J. Appl,

 Bacillus Anthracis (ATCC 14185)

Batch# 01-14-80 (3 each) G.G. Wright (Fort Detrick) V770-NPI-R.

Bovine anthrax, Class III pathogen

 Bacillus Anthracis (ATCC 14578)
Batch# 01-06-78 (2 each)
Class III pathogen.

Bacillus megaterium (ATCC 14581)
Batch# 04-18-85 (2 each)

Bacillus megaterium (ATCC 14945)
Batch# 06-21-81 (2 each)

Clostridium botulinum Type E (ATCC 17855)
Batch# 06-21-71
Class III pathogen.

Bacillus megaterium (ATCC 19213)
Batch# 3-84 (2 each)

Clostridium botulinum Type A (ATCC 19397)
Batch# 08-18-81 (2 each)
Class III pathogen

Brucella abortus Biotype 3 (ATCC 23450)
Batch# 08-02-84 (3 each)
Class III pathogen

Brucella abortus Biotype 9 (ATCC 23455)
Batch# 02-05-68 (3 each)
Class III pathogen

Brucella melitensis Biotype I (ATCC 23456)
Batch# 03-08-78 (2 each)
Class III pathogen

Brucella melitensis Biotype 3 (ATCC 23458)
Batch# 01-29-68 (2 each)
Class III pathogen

Clostridium botulinum Type A (ATCC 25763)
Batch# 8-83 (2 each)
Class III pathogen

Clostridium botulinum Type F (ATCC 35415)
Batch# 02-02-84 (2 each)
Class III pathogen

“The United States did not believe that they would be used for anything other than legitimate research purposes and therefore did not knowingly export the materials to assist a biological weapons programme”……………….How naive can you get?

The United States secretly supported Iraq in its eight-year war with Iran, and that in February 1982 the US Administration removed Iraq from its list of ‘terrorist states’ in order to do so. Furthermore, there is the astonishing fact that, among the various agencies of the Government of Iraq listed in the Riegle Report, one repeated recipient of these deadly materials was no less than the Iraqi nuclear weapons research facility, the Iraq Atomic Energy Commission. One could ask the US how could the conclusion possibly be reached that between 1985 and 1989 anthrax and other warfare-related biological materials were exported from the US to Iraq for “legitimate research purposes”?  

 

 

One also needs to look at the fact that the UK supplied Biological and Chemical agents to Iraq, unfortunately documentation on this is well hidden but evidence does exist that the UK certainly did supply such agents.

Back in the 1970’s Iraq had approached the USSR to buy a plant to manufacture chemical weapons, but his request was refused. Saddam then began courting the West, and received a much more favourable response.

An American company, Pfaulder Corporation of Rochester, New York, supplied the Iraqis with a blueprint in 1975, enabling them to construct their first chemical warfare plant. The plant was purchased in sections from Italy, West Germany and East Germany and assembled in Iraq. It was located at Akhashat in north-western Iraq, and the cost was around $50 million for the plant and $30 million for the safety equipment.

In the late 1970′s, it was actually the German firm ‘Karl Kobe’ that sold Iraq the ingredients for its first chemical weapons. Karl Kobe and others sold Iraq over 1,027 tons of the chemicals needed to produce mustard gas, Sarin, Tabun, and various tear gasses including CS and CN. The chemical weapons program was operational by late 1983/early 1984. Iraq then bought botulin toxin and mycotoxin from a total of 5 other German firms to begin a germ/biological weapons program.

The United States CDC (Center for Disease Control) provided Iraq with biological samples up until 1989 for “Medical research and other purposes”. The US supplied anthrax, West Nile virus, botulism, and Brucella melitensis to Iraq for little or no charge. (that was very nice of them).

The United Kingdom paid, in full, for the Iraqi chlorine plant where mustard gas was manufactured.
Brazil provided around 100 tons of mustard gas in the early 80′s before the British funded plant was up and running.

 

George Bush Snr

 Singapore and India provided the ingredients for VX nerve agent and yet still more Tabun.

Egypt and Spain both provided the majority of Iraq’s munitions that were designed to carry and disperse the chemical weapons.

As you can clearly see it was truly a very international affair, a sort of United Nations!

It should also be made clear that the US. UK and other countries assisted Iraq in its development into nuclear research which did not reach a successful conclusion.

 Part 4 will bring you more details on actual arms shipments and other military support.

Peter Eyre – Middle East Consultant – 21/9/2012

 

 

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