[PEN-L:30267] Iraq, US, and chemical biological weapons

["ken hanly" <khanly@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

http://www.counterpunch.org/blum0820.html

CounterPunch  August 20, 2002

Chemical weapons, the US and Iraq:

What the New York Times Left Out

by William Blum

It was page one of the New York Times Sunday (August 18), picked up
extensively by the international media, a featured story on America On Line.
"Officers Say U.S. Aided Iraq in War Despite Use of Gas", shouted the
headline. Senior military officers revealed that the Reagan administration
had provided Iraq with critical battle planning assistance in waging
decisive battles of the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s. The assistance was given
at a time when American intelligence agencies knew that Iraq had already
employed chemical weapons and would likely continue to do so.

This of course raises obvious questions about the current Bush
administration's near-frenzied demonization of Saddam Hussein, particularly
for his alleged chemical and biological weapons (CBW) threat. Readers can be
forgiven if they think this is a revelation of some sort. It isn't.

The story may add a new detail or two about the precise nature of US
tactical assistance to the Iraqis, but the basic story has long been known.
Strangely, the Times story leaves out the most significant part -- the
furnishing of chemical and biological materials by the United States to Iraq
which markedly enhanced Iraq's CBW capability. (There is one isolated line
in the Times piece, almost at the very end, hinting at something of the
sort: "Former Secretary of State Shultz and Vice President Bush tried to
stanch the flow of chemical precursors to Iraq.")

At the risk of sounding like I'm blowing my own horn, I must point out that
I wrote a story on this very subject in 1998, which was published in several
"alternative" magazines, distributed widely on the Internet to this day, and
won a Project Censored award in 1999. As far as I know, the American
mainstream media has never covered this story, and if the Times article is
any guide, the censorship will continue.

Following is the crux of my article as published in 1998:

In his recent State of the Union address, President Clinton, in the context
of Iraq, spoke of how we must "confront the new hazards of chemical and
biological weapons, and the outlaw states, terrorists and organized
criminals seeking to acquire them." He castigated Saddam Hussein for
"developing nuclear, chemical and biological weapons" and called for
strengthening the Biological Weapons Convention.

Who among his listeners knew, who among the media reported, that the United
States had been the supplier to Iraq of much of the source biological
materials Saddam's scientists would require to create a biological warfare
program?

According to a Senate Committee Report of 1994 [1]: From 1985, if not
earlier, through 1989, a veritable witch's brew of biological materials were
exported to Iraq by private American suppliers pursuant to application and
licensing by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Amongst these materials, which
often produce slow, agonizing deaths, were: Bacillus Anthracis, cause of
anthrax. Clostridium Botulinum, a source of botulinum toxin. Histoplasma
Capsulatam, cause of a disease attacking lungs, brain, spinal cord and
heart. Brucella Melitensis, a bacteria that can damage major organs.
Clotsridium Perfringens, a highly toxic bacteria causing systemic illness.
Clostridium tetani, highly toxigenic. Also, Escherichia Coli (E.Coli);
genetic materials; human and bacterial DNA. Dozens of other pathogenic
biological agents were shipped to Iraq during the 1980s.

The Senate Report pointed out: "These biological materials were not
attenuated or weakened and were capable of reproduction." [2] "It was later
learned," the committee revealed, "that these microorganisms exported by the
United States were identical to those the United Nations inspectors found
and removed from the Iraqi biological warfare program."[3]

These exports continued to at least November 28, 1989 despite the fact that
Iraq had been reported to be engaging in chemical warfare and possibly
biological warfare against Iranians, Kurds, and Shiites since the early 80s.


NOTES

[1] "U.S. Chemical and Biological Warfare-Related Dual Use Exports to Iraq
and their Possible Impact on the Health Consequences of the Persian Gulf
War," Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs with Respect to
Export Administration, reports of May 25, 1994 and October 7, 1994.

[2] Ibid., May 25 report, pp. 36-47

[3] Ibid., October 7 report, p. 3

William Blum is the author of Killing Hope: U.S. Military and CIA
Interventions Since World War II, Rogue State: a guide to the World's Only
Super Power. and West-Bloc Dissident: a Cold War Political Memoir. He can be
reached at: BBlum6@xxxxxxx