Opinions and Motivations

The Iraqi Chemical Weapons Program in Perspective [redacted]

Origins and Motivations

The Iraqi chemical warfare program originated in 1961 with the establishment of a chemical defense school. In 1964 Iraq established a Chemical Corps as a separate branch of the Army. The effort to acquire chemical weapons has since then been motivated by Baghdad’s perception of military threats, particularly from Israel and Iran, and also by Iraq’s desire to play a major role in the Middle East. The ongoing war with Iran has provided a major impetus for the continuation and acceleration of the program. Baghdad’s initial focus was on establishing a chemical warfare protective program, obtaining equipment and training from the USSR, and developing tactical plans for offensive use of riot control agents [redacted]

The earliest known reference to Iraqi plans to produce chemical weapons occurred in 1966 [remainder of paragraph redacted]

Following the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, Iraq began to perceive a chemical weapons threat from Israel, even though no chemical weapons were used during the fighting. [redacted] Director of Military Intelligence estimated that Israel had chemical weapons and that Iraq therefore needed to develop chemical weapons as a deterrent. Moreover, the Iraqis concluded that Israel would be a “good” target for Iraqi chemical weapons and they decided to make inquiries worldwide to determine if chemical weapons were commercially available [redacted]

Moreover, the USSR and the United States were aggressively pursuing development of chemical weapons in the 1960s. Other Arab countries such as Egypt and Syria also were trying to acquire chemical weapons. We believe Iraqi military leaders were aware of these programs and efforts; and their interest in acquiring CW weapons was partially driven by the existence of these programs. By 1968 Iraqi planning for the development of a full-scale agent production program, measures to obtain precursor chemicals, and the purchase of additional protective equipment from the USSR were under way. [redacted] a military study completed in 1970 recommended that a center for chemical weapons production be established under the Ministry of Defense and that the necessary raw materials be obtained for full-scale manufacture of chemical defense agents.
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By 1972 a research and development effort on chemical warfare was begun at the Iraqi Engineering Research Institute under Soviet direction. The Soviets provided equipment as well as training for Iraqi engineers. Small amounts of the nerve agent tabun and other chemical agents were produced for experimental purposes. By the early 1970s the Soviets also had begun providing large quantities of modern chemical warfare defensive equipment to the Iraqi Army. [redacted]

By the mid-1970s, political stability and the end of the Kurdish rebellion freed Baghdad to devote major efforts to long-range planning in a variety of fields including chemical warfare [redacted] many other important Iraqi programs also began in the mid-1970s including a major conventional arms buildup, establishment of a significant domestic arms industry, the Iraqi nuclear program, and many large economic development projects. [redacted]

At the same time, in our judgment, Iraqi motivations to pursue a chemical warfare program were growing stronger. Iraq’s poor performance during the 1973 Arab-Israeli—its first real exposure to sustained conventional combat—and its expressed desire to play a larger role in any future conflict with Israel sparked an across-the-board effort to improve military capabilities. Moreover, Iran, Baghdad’s other potential military opponent, also began a major arms buildup in the mid-1970s. As Iran modernized its armed forces, Iraqi leaders publicly expressed concern that they were falling behind and began a major arms buildup of their own. In addition, the oil price hikes following the 1973 Arab-Israeli conflict provided Iraq with increased revenues with which to pursue its military buildup, including its chemical warfare program. Oil provided it with the economic leverage and revenues to gain access to Western technology that normally might have been restricted by suppliers [redacted]