Posted on 07/07/2004 5:08:09 PM PDT by xlib
It's clear the US sided with Iraq in the Iran/Iraq War, and with good reason. What's not clear, and what's been trumpeted by hysterical leftwing websites for a while now, is the extent to which the US provided so-called "dual-use" components to Iraq during this period. I can't find much mainstream history on this, only the aforementioned leftwing links, which uniformly attribute sinister motives to the US in these transactions. Their claim is that Saddam got chemical and bio weapons from us. Can anyone provide me with the other side of this story?
MARINE CORPS HISTORICAL PUBLICATION
FMFRP 3-203 - Lessons Learned:
Iran-Iraq War, 10 December 1990
http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/ops/war/docs/3203/
I will give you a Ronald Reagan Quote from the 1980's.
Iran and Iraq are at war. They are both our enemies. If they make peace they may turn on us or our friends. It is to our advantage that they keep fighting. Lets help which ever side that is losing.
When SAddam was losing we helped him. When Iran was losing we tried to help Iran.. that lead to the IRan Contra situation.
Falure to keep our enemies fighting among themselves lead to 911.
Boland and his stupid Iran Admendment lead to lots of dead New Yorkers.
Of course the biggest help to our enemies was JImmy Carter who helped the Mullahs come to power in Iran. They repaid stupid Jimmah by taking our hostages.
bttt
The Iran-Iraq War
(1979-1988)
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/arabs/iraniraq.html
The Iran-Iraq war was fought for nearly nine years, during which time both countries suffered millions of casualties and billions of dollars in damage. The collateral damage to the economies of other nations was also immense. The war was one of the most strategically important conflicts of modern times because it involved two major oil producers and the region where more than half the world's reserves are located.
Background
The Arabs and Persians (natives of Persia, mostly descendants from places other than Arabia) have been historical rivals dating back centuries. Iran and Iraq, while under British and Turkish rule, also had a number of border disputes. In particular, the two have disputed control of the Shatt al-Arab, the major waterway connecting the Persian Gulf with the Iranian ports of Khorramshahr and Abadan, and the Iraqi port of Basra.
In 1847 a treaty was signed that established the Shatt as a boundary between Iraq and Iran (then the Ottomans and the Persians, respectively). Both agreed to respect freedom of navigation in the waterway, while Iran said it would cease interfering in northern Iraq in exchange for receiving control of two predominantly Arab cities, Khorramshahr and Abadan. The dispute was not completely settled and disagreements continued over the next several decades. In 1975, a new agreement was reached whereby the midpoint of the Shatt was determined to be the boundary between the countries.
By the end of the 1970's, both nations had reduced their dependence on the Shatt. Iraq had built new pipelines through Turkey and Syria, and it developed a new port and offshore oil- loading terminals in the Persian Gulf. Iran had built new oil facilities on Kharg Island in the Gulf. Still, key oil facilities of both nations were within artillery range of each other's armies.
Muslim Versus Muslim
A more important issue than geography was religion. Both nations are Muslim, with the leaders of Iraq primarily from the Sunni branch, and the Iranians, the Shiite. Prior to the Iranian revolution, the distinction between the countries was less religious than ideological. The ruling Ba'ath Party in Iraq was socialist and pro-Soviet, whereas the Iranian shah was anti-socialist (though certainly not democratic) and pro-Western.
The essentially secular Iraqi leadership became more of an issue after the Iranian revolution, when Ayatollah Khomeini, who had spent part of his exile in Iraq (he was expelled in October 1978), began encouraging his former colleagues to overthrow Saddam Hussein in Iraq because his regime was anti-Islamic. This was part of Khomeini's broader strategy of spreading the Islamic revolution throughout the Middle East. Saddam responded as he did to any challenge by a ruthless crackdown on Shiite fundamentalists and by sending aid to Arab separatists in Iran.
Rivals For for Power
Looking around the region at the end of the 1970s, Saddam also saw an opportunity to establish himself as the leader of the Arab world. The historic leader was the ruler of Egypt, but Anwar Sadat had been ostracized for making peace with Israel. The Gulf States had money, but were militarily weak. Syria was militarily strong, but financially weak.
Iraq's primary competition for regional dominance was its neighbor Iran, and Iran seemed vulnerable because the revolution there had not yet ended. Khomeini was still in the process of becoming the unchallenged Iranian leader, but he had not solidified his power. The Iranian army was still in disarray and radical Marxists were still battling the religious fundamentalists in parts of the country. From Saddam's vantage point, the timing seemed right to make a move.
The exact beginning of the war and its cause is difficult to pinpoint. One of the earliest clashes occurred in June 1979, when Iraqi aircraft attacked Iranian villages that were believed to be supporting Khomeini-backed Kurdish rebels.
For the next several months, Iran sought to undermine Saddam by encouraging protests by Shiites. Both countries supported rebel movements against the other, and the Iranian-backed rebel group Al Dawaa attempted to assassinate the Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz on April 1, 1980. Saddam outlawed the group, deported large numbers of Iraqis who'd been born in Iran, and executed one of the Shiite clerics who'd led the protests against his regime. Khomeini then began to publicly call for the overthrow of Saddam. Finally, in June 1980, the two nations severed relations.
Between June and September 1980, 193 clashes occurred along the Iran-Iraq border. On September 17, Iraq abrogated the 1975 treaty and proclaimed the Shatt "a national river." As Iraq mobilized Arab allies, Iran warned the Gulf states they would be overthrown if they supported Saddam. Tensions built, until a series of clashes occurred in early September along the border near Qasr e-Shirin. Each nation blamed the other for the fighting. Saddam threatened to seize territory he said Iran was supposed to transfer to Iraq under an earlier agreement, but Khomeini refused to give up the disputed lands. Sporadic fighting finally culminated in Iraq's invasion of Iran on September 22, 1980.
Allies Choose Sides
Given the perceived importance of the outcome, third parties aligned with one or the other in hopes of influencing the fighting. Iran's principal ally was Syria, which used its military to periodically divert Iraqi forces from the Iranian front. Syrian President Hafez Assad also closed a key Iraqi pipeline to the Mediterranean that affected Saddam Hussein's income. Libya, China, and North Korea all sent weapons, particularly missiles, to Iran.
The most unlikely country to support Iran was Israel, given that the revolutionary government had replaced the country's longstanding alliance with an obsessive and hostile anti-Zionism. Still, the Israelis did provide some arms to their Iranian enemies. Why?
Two main reasons:
One is that Israel often subscribes to the Middle East dictum, "the enemy of my enemy is my friend," and Iraq was viewed as a more immediate danger.
A large number of Jews remained in Iran, and the Israelis hoped to essentially buy their safety while covert and not-so-covert efforts were undertaken throughout the war to get Iranian Jews out of the country.
Iraq's support came primarily from the Gulf states, which that viewed Iran as the greater danger to their security. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait each provided billions of dollars in loans and grants. Egypt and Jordan provided some weapons and supplies. The United States, France, and the Soviet Union also sided with the Iraqis.
Rooting for a Draw
One of the major concerns throughout the Iran-Iraq war was that one of the nations would win a convincing victory and emerge as the dominant power in the Persian Gulf. This would threaten the security of the weaker nations in the region and ultimately the economic security of the Western nations (and Asian countries such as Japan) that depend on Gulf oil. The United States therefore had an interest in seeing the two countries engage in a protracted, inconclusive war that left both worse off than when they started.
Iraq did the best in the initial fighting, seizing a large swath of territory in southern Iran, and besieging Abadan and Khorramshahr. But the tide of the war began to turn in mid-1981, when Iran broke the siege of Abadan and later recaptured Khorramshahr. By June 1982, the Iraqis had been driven completely out of Iran. From that point on, Iraq spent most of the war on the defensive.
Saddam offered to end the war, but Khomeini was not satisfied with having fended off the invaders; he now was determined to exact vengeance on Iraq by demanding reparations for the damage the attack had caused; he also wanted to see the overthrow of Saddam. Not surprisingly, Khomeini's demands were rejected.
In the summer of 1982, Iran launched its own offensive, attacking the Iraqi port of Basra. The Iranians appeared on the verge of a breakthrough, but the Iraqi forces held, and the fighting settled into a war of attrition. Still, Basra was closed, and Iraq was denied access to the Gulf, severely restricting its commerce and, ultimately, the living conditions of the people.
Tanker Wars
After a period of stalemate, the war heated up again on a new front, the Persian Gulf. The April 1984 attack on a tanker by Iraq marked the beginning of the first phase of the "tanker war," which continued for 18 months., During this time more than 80 ships from various countries were targets. Because of a glut on the international oil market, the fighting did not significantly affect the rest of the world and did not immediately threaten the Gulf sheikdoms.
The fact that Iraq had raised the stakes in the war was a signal that Saddam was becoming more desperate in his desire to force Iran to negotiate a cease-fire. The Iranians were unmoved and responded with their own desperate measures, notably suicide missions against Iraqi strongholds and terrorist attacks on third parties, including the French and Americans (whose embassies in Kuwait were targets).
The United States's Nonposition
The U.S. was in a strange position throughout the war: It wasn't sure exactly how to react. Policymakers definitely did not want Iran to emerge victorious. The consensus was that Khomeini was a serious threat to the stability of the region and to U.S. vital interests, notably oil supplies and Israeli security.
On the other hand, Saddam was viewed as a psychopath backed by the Soviet Union who was less of a threat to American interests, but certainly no friend. Thus, the policy that emerged was to support the pro-Western regimes in the region, bolster their defenses, and hope the combatants weakened each other to the point where neither would emerge from the war as a regional threat to the region.
The Body Count Grows
Given the dictatorial regimes running the war effort in both countries, Iranian and Iraqi citizens could do little more than lament the horrific casualty tolls. These figures continued to rise in 1985, when Iran launched an offensive to cut the main highway between Baghdad and Basra and a combined total of as many as 40,000 soldiers from the two armies were killed. Iraq responded with air strikes against Iranian positions that soon were expanded to include targets in Tehran. Not surprisingly, Iran retaliated in kind, and the civilians in Baghdad and other Iraqi cities became casualties of war.
Arms For for Hostages
In the midst of the war, the United States changed its position and unexpectedly helped the Iranians. In 1985, the Reagan Administration agreed to secretly sell weapons to Iran to win support for the freeing of American hostages being held by terrorists in Lebanon. The principal negotiator on the U.S. side was Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North, a military aide to the National Security Council, who reported his activities to the National Security Adviser Robert McFarlane and his successor John Poindexter.
When the exchange was revealed, it proved embarrassing because of Reagan's oft-stated pledge not to negotiate with terrorists and his claim not to have traded arms for hostages. The situation was further complicated by the disclosure that part of the proceeds of the arms sale had been diverted to support the Contra rebels fighting the Sandinista government in Nicaragua; this was in violation of a law prohibiting U.S. aid to the Contras.
If this was not convoluted enough, the initial sales to Iran were made through Israel. The Iran-Contra Affair, as it came to be known, tarnished Reagan's image, but he was ultimately found to have had no direct knowledge of the secret operation.
Kuwait As Middleman
In 1986 and the beginning of 1987, Iran launched new offensives, the last reaching the outskirts of Basra before again bogging down. Meanwhile, Iraq initiated a new tanker war in the Gulf, prompting Iran to target neutral shipping.
Kuwait, in particular, found itself in the middle of the combatants. To protect its ships from the Iranians, the Kuwaitis sought naval escorts from the Soviet Union and the United States. The U.S. would not cooperate with the Russians, however, and the Kuwaitis refused to accept only American assistance. While the issue was being negotiated, the U.S. began to provide Iraq satellite intelligence with information about Iranian troop movements, and it beefed up its naval presence in the Gulf. An agreement was then reached whereby Kuwait agreed to transfer some of its tankers to American registry so the U.S. could protect them.
On May 17, an Iraqi missile hit the U.S. missile frigate Stark and killed 37 American sailors. Saddam apologized for the mistake and rather than being mad at the Iraqis, the United States directed its anger at Iran.
The United States and its allies began to escort ships with an eye toward preventing another Stark disaster, but the next threat came not from the sky as they expected, but from the sea, where Iranian mines bobbed unseen below the surface. When the U.S. supertanker Bridgeton hit a mine in July 1987, the Iranians exulted at having used "invisible hands" to defeat the United States. Acting once again after it was too late, the United States began minesweeping operations. Eventually, other nations joined the effort to clear the Gulf after Iran threatened to spread mines throughout the vital shipping lanes. Several months later, an Iranian ship was caught in the act of laying mines.
The "Final" Battle
In 1987 and 1988, Khomeini continued to threaten a "final" offensive against Iraq, but none of these changed the situation on the battlefield. Meanwhile, the tanker war continued unabated.
On July 3, 1988, the USS Vincennes was patrolling the northern portion of the Straits of Hormuz. A group of Iranian gunboats had been threatening a Pakistani merchant vessel and one fired on the Vincennes. During the confrontation with the gunboats, the Vincennes picked up an aircraft on radar moving in its direction. The plane didn't not respond to the ship's warnings, so the Vincennes fired a missile, bringing the plane down. It turned out to be an Iran Air commercial jet carrying 290 people; who all died in the crash. The Iranians claimed it was an intentional act, but President Reagan said it was a terrible accident, apologized and offered to pay compensation to the victims.
By August 1988, both the Iranians and Iraqis were growing weary of war. Both economies were in shambles, and it was clear a conclusive military result was impossible for either side.
Iran finally agreed to a U.N.-mediated cease-fire. A major factor in the decision to end the war was the Iraqi use of poison gas. Both sides used chemical weapons, but the Iraqis had the capability to use them on a large-scale, a factor that sapped the morale of the Iranian troops and the civilian population.
Ironically, two years later, after Iraq invaded Kuwait (which had previously been more concerned about an Iranian attack), Saddam agreed to withdraw all his troops from Iranian territory, share control of the Shatt al-Arab (he had previously insisted on Iraqi control), and exchange prisoners. The two countries then resumed diplomatic relations.
No one is sure of the total casualties during the Iran-Iraq war, but estimates range from 500,000 to 1 million dead, 1-2 million wounded, and more than 80,000 prisoners. There were approximately 2.5 million refugees, and whole cities were destroyed. The financial cost is estimated at a minimum of $200 billion.
A Draw
After eight years of fighting, neither side could claim victory. The border disputes were not resolved. Both autocrats remained in power and had shored up their internal support, but had lost influence outside their countries. Both countries suffered devastating loses of men, materiel, and financial resources. Nevertheless, Iraq emerged from the war with roughly one million men under arms, 500 combat aircraft, and 5,500 tanks, the nucleus of the force that would fight the U.S.-led coalition in the next Gulf war.
Despite the long war and its high cost, both Khomeini and Saddam continued to pursue their foreign policy agendas, and, within a couple of years, were fomenting instability elsewhere in the region. In the case of Iran, its revolutionaries continued to threaten the Gulf monarchies, particularly Saudi Arabia. The terrorists it sponsored persisted in their efforts to undermine Western interests and menace Israel, particularly from the Lebanese border. Iraq rebuilt its forces and launched another invasion, this time of Kuwait, in August 1990.
In the years since the war, moreover, neither country has abandoned its dream of dominating the region. While Iraq's hopes have been severely undermined by United States military action, Iran has been left largely untouched. The United States has included both in its dual containment strategy, but most other nations have ignored American entreaties to impose strict sanctions on Iran. We know from the results of the 1991 Gulf War, U.N. inspections and intelligence that Iraq has still been able to build up its military and pursue a nuclear weapons program. The Iranians have not faced the same scrutiny or constraints as Iraq and undoubtedly have been even more successful in building their military capability, particularly in the area of nonconventional weapons.
Actually, we did provide them with precursors, according to this congressional report:
http://www.gulflink.osd.mil/medsearch/FocusAreas/riegle_report/report/report_s01.htm#Chapter%201.%20Iraqi%20Chemical%20and%20Biological%20Warfare%20Capability
The question I can't find the answer to is: what were the non-weapon uses of these agents?
Thanks; just found that a little while ago. My main question now is: Most of the bio agents transferred from the US went to universities, drug development agencies, or the Iraqi Ministry of Higher Education. But several, including a series of agents described as "clone: human hypoxanthine," went to the Iraq Atomic Energy Commission. Can anyone knowledgeable tell me what that is, and why it wuold be of interest to the Iraq Atomic Energy Commission?
wuold=would. sorry
Researchers and professors basically sent this stuff all over the world with basically no controls.
Only active, directed support we gave Iraq was satellite intel on the IRanians when they were really on the ropes.
Thiodiglycol is a very common precursor, used in the production of herbicides and pesticides for farming. It was delivered to the Ministry of Agriculture. But it can also be used to produce poison gas.
Chlorine is an essential component of any water purification system. But again, it can be used to produce poison gas.
We also provided laboratory samples of anthrax and other livestock disease pathogens to the Ministry of Agriculture. Unfortunately, they could also be used in a biological weapons program.
The critical components of a bacteriological or chemical weapons program are not the bacteria or the chemicals, but the sophisticated equipment and training that are needed to turn them into weapons. These were provided by the French, the Germans and the Soviets.
Yes, that's right: the very same people who fought so hard against a war resolution at the UN Security Council. What a coincidence.
Thiodiglycol is an essential component in the production of herbicides and pesticides. Chlorine is an essential component in water purification. By cutting off these dual-use chemicals through sanctions, we effectively destroyed Iraq's ability to produce food and drinking water.
This cost the lives of 200 Iraqi children each and every day. Of course, the keys to Iraq's "cell" were in the hands of Saddam Hussein. All he had to do was cooperate with weapons inspections. But he never did.
This cost the lives of 200 Iraqi children each and every day."
And your source would be?
If memory serves America supplied Iraq with 2% of their weapons. What we did do is supply Saddam with intel.
You might want to take a look at John Keeganss "The Iraq War" for more.
The source is UNICEF. But remember, Hussein could have put an end to the sanctions (and the deaths of Iraqi children)simply by permitting the weapons inspectors to proceed. He refused.
"Included in the approved sales are the following biological materials (which have been considered by various nations for use in war), with their associated disease symptoms:[56]
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 septicemia (blood poisoning), and the mortality is high. Once septicemia 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 favorable for further growth of the bacteria itself. Eventually, these toxins and bacteria enter the bloodstream and cause a systemic illness.
In addition, several shipments of Escherichia Coli (E.Coli) and genetic materials, as well as human and bacterial DNA, were shipped directly to the Iraq Atomic Energy Commission.
The following is a detailed listing of biological materials, provided by the American Type Culture Collection, which were exported to agencies of the government of Iraq pursuant to the issuance of an export licensed by the U.S. Commerce Department: [57]
Date : February 8, 1985
Sent to : Iraq Atomic Energy Agency
Materials Shipped:
Ustilago nuda (Jensen) Rostrup
Date: February 22, 1985
Sent to: Ministry of Higher Education
Materials Shipped:
Histoplasma capsulatum var. farciminosum (ATCC 32136) Class III pathogen
Date: July 11, 1985
Sent to: Middle and Near East Regional A
Materials Shipped:
Histoplasma capsulatum var. farciminosum (ATCC 32136) Class III pathogen
Date: May 2, 1986
Sent to: Ministry of Higher Education
Materials Shipped:
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
Date: August 31, 1987
Sent to: State Company for Drug Industries
Materials Shipped:
Saccharomyces cerevesiae (ATCC 2601)
Batch# 08-28-08 (1 each)
Salmonella choleraesuis subsp. choleraesuis Serotype typhi
(ATCC 6539) Batch# 06-86S (1 each)
Bacillus subtillus (ATCC 6633)
Batch# 10-85 (2 each)
Klebsiella pneumoniae subsp. pneumoniae (ATCC 10031)
Batch# 08-13-80 (1 each)
Escherichia coli (ATCC 10536)
Batch# 04-09-80 (1 each)
Bacillus cereus (11778)
Batch# 05-85SV (2 each)
Staphylococcus epidermidis (ATCC 12228)
Batch# 11-86s (I each)|
Bacillus pumilus (ATCC 14884)
Batch# 09-08-80 (2each)
Date : July 11, 1988
Sent to : Iraq Atomic Energy Commission
Materials Shipped:
Escherichia coli (ATCC 11303)
Batch# 04-87S
Phage host
Cauliflower Mosaic Caulimovirus (ATCC45031)
Batch# 06-14-85
Plant virus
Plasmid in Agrobacterium Turnefaciens (ATCC37349)
Ti plasmid for co-cultivation with plant integration vectors in E.
Coli) Batch# 05-28-85
Date: April 26, 1988
Sent to: Iraq Atomic Energy Commission
Materials Shipped:
Hulambda4x-8, clone: human hypoxanthine
phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) Chromosome(s) X q26.1 (ATCC
57236) Phage vector; Suggested host: E.coli
Hulambdal4-8, clone: human hypoxanthine
phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) Chromosome(s): X q26.1
(ATCC 57240) Phage vector; Suggested host: E.coli
Hulambda15, clone: human hypoxanthine
phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) Chromosome(s) X q26.1
(ATCC 57242) Phage vector; Suggested host: E.coli
Date: August 31, 1987
Sent to: Iraq Atomic Energy Commission
Materials Shipped:
Escherichia coli (ATCC 23846)
Batch# 07-29-83 (1 each)
Escherichia coli (ATCC 33694)
Batch# 05-87 (1 each)
Date: September 29, 1988
Sent to: Ministry of Trade
Materials Shipped:
Bacillus anthracis (ATCC 240)
Batch#05-14-63 (3 each) Class
III pathogen
Bacillus anthracis (ATCC 938)
Batch#1963 (3 each)
Class III pathogen
Clostridium perfringens (ATCC 3629)
Batch#10-23-85 (3 each)
Clostridium perfringens (ATCC 8009)
Batch#03-30-84 (3 each)
Bacillus anthracis (ATCC 8705)
Batch# 06-27-62 (3 each)
Class III pathogen
Brucella abortus; (ATCC 9014)
Batch# 05-11-66 (3 each)
Class III pathogen
Clostridium perfringens (ATCC 10388)
Batch# 06-01-73 (3 each)
Bacillus anthracis (.ATCC 11966)
Batch# 05-05-70 (3 each)
Class III pathogen
Clostridium botulinum Type A
Batch# 07-86 (3 each)
Class III pathogen
Bacillus cereus (ATCC 33018)
Batch# 04-83 (3 each)
Bacillus ceres (ATCC 33019)
Batch# 03-88 (3 each)
Date : January 31, 1989
Sent to : Iraq Atomic Energy Commission
Materials Shipped:
PHPT31, clone: human hypoxanthine
phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) Chromosome(s) X q26.1
(ATCC 57057)
plambda5OO, clone: human hypoxanthine
phosphoribosyltransferase pseudogene (HPRT)
Chromosome(s): 5 p14-pI3 (ATCC 57212)
Date: January 17, 1989
Sent to: Iraq Atomic Energy Commission
Materials Shipped:
Hulambda4x-8, clone: human hypoxanthine
phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) Chromosome(s) X q26.1
(ATCC 57237) Phage vector Suggested host: E.coli
Hulambda14, clone: human hypoxanthine
phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) Chromosome(s): X q26.1
(ATCC 57240) Cloned from human lymphoblast
Phage vector Suggested host: E.coli
Hulambda15, clone: human hypoxanthine
phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) Chromosome(s) X q26.1
(ATCC 57241) Phage vector Suggested host: E.coli
Additionally, the Centers for Disease Control has compiled a listing of biological materials shipped to Iraq prior to the Gulf War. The listing covers the period from October 1, 1984 (when the CDC began keeping records) through October 13, 1993. The following materials with biological warfare significance were shipped to Iraq during this period:[58]
Date: November 28, 1989
Sent to: University of Basrah, College of Science, Department of Biology
Materials Shipped:
Enterococcus faecalis
Enterococcus faecium
Enterococcus avium
Enterococcus raffinosus
Enterococcus gallinarium.
Enterococcus durans
Enterococcus hirae
Streptococcus bovis
(etiologic)
Date: April 21, 1986
Sent to: Officers City Al-Muthanna, Quartret 710, Street 13, Close 69
House 2811, Baghdad, Iraq
Materials Shipped:
vial botulinum toxoid
(non-infectious)
Date: March 10, 1986
Sent to: Officers City Al-Muthanna, Quartret 710, Street 13, Close 69
House 28/1, Baghdad, Iraq
Materials Shipped:
1 vial botulinum toxoid #A2
(non-infectious)
Date: June 25, 1985
Sent to: University of Baghdad, College of Medicine , Department of Microbiology
Materials Shipped:
3 yeast cultures
(etiologic)
Candida. sp.
Date : May21, 1985
Sent to : Basrah, Iraq
Materials Shipped:
Lyophilized arbovirus seed
(etiologic)
West Nile Fever Virus
Date: April 26, 1985
Sent to: Minister of Health, Ministry of Health, Baghdad, Iraq
Materials Shipped:
8 vials antigen and antisera
(r. rickettsii and r. typhi)
to diagnose rickettsial
infections (non-infectious)"
--from the Riegle Report. That's a lot of highly technical names, most of which is unrecognizable to a layman like me; I can see how someone unschooled could find that list alarming. Can any chemists out there tell me how commonly such stuff is traded, and whether we were likely Iraq's only source for it?
Anthrax specimens, for example, can be recovered from just about any animal carcass that has been buried in the ground for a few weeks. Botulism bacteria are easily cultivated. Hussein didn't need to come to us for these.
Many of the examples on the extensive list you provided are actually intended for countermeasures, not for use in offensive weapons. Consider the last entry on the list, for example:
8 vials antigen and antisera
(r. rickettsii and r. typhi)
An antigen or antiserum is intended for the treatment of victims who have been exposed to these pathogens. Think of such an item as a shield rather than a sword. Even the disease bacteria themselves are useless without the equipment and training to weaponize them.
Thanks for the explanation. Would it be fair to say that the items on that list would be commonplace in a university setting or other benign research agency in most countries during the 1980's?
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