Origins of Iraq’s NBC Interests
by Joseph D. Douglass Jr., Washington D.C.On February 12, during the Senate hearings on terrorism, one of the Senators posed a variety of questions to the heads of CIA, FBI, and DIA. One of these questions was: How did Iraq acquire its interest in nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) weapons?
This was a highly relevant question. It went to the heart of the proliferation problem. If we knew more about the origins of Iraq’s interest, our nation’s strategy for combating terrorism and proliferation could be profoundly affected.
Unfortunately, the question was not answered satisfactorily by any of the heads of the U.S. intelligence agencies.
To understand the reasons why Iraq turned to weapons of mass destruction, we need to go back to the early 1960s. At that time, secret discussions were held between the White House and Israel. From them emerged a U.S. decision to help Israel acquire nuclear weapons. The individual given the responsibility for managing the transfer to Israel was James Jesus Angleton. He was a perfect choice. Angleton was the legendary head of counterintelligence at the CIA. Even more important, at the same time Angleton ran the Israeli desk at the CIA. This desk had been placed under Angleton because of significant intelligence concerns respecting Israel and its intelligence connections to the Soviet Union.
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"The individual given the responsibility for managing the transfer to Israel was James Jesus Angleton. He was a perfect choice. Angleton was the legendary head of counterintelligence at the CIA. Even more important, at the same time Angleton ran the Israeli desk at the CIA. This desk had been placed under Angleton because of significant intelligence concerns respecting Israel and its intelligence connections to the Soviet Union."
Imagine that, an American Indian (Angleton) comes to the aid of the Israelis. How poetic...and it makes perfect sense when you think about it, no? You do know that the Israelis trusted Angleton more than any other American intel. officer don't you??? When I first found that out, Angleton's stock went way up in my book.