US gave Chemical Weapons to Iraq?

[Blown_Injected]

…To fight Iran.
I do not believe it.
What’s TSD?

[Ravenman]

A Senate Banking Committee report in 1994 found evidence from the US Department of Commerce that the United States sold Iraq various biological specimens useful to a biological weapons program: anthrax, Clostridium, and other nasties. There are detailed export license records from the mid-1980s in the report itself. However, it has never been announced whether the BW destroyed in the aftermath of the 1991 war has been traced to those samples. So, it’s probably fair to say that we sold things to Iraq (for very little money, BTW) that were key to starting a BW program, but it is not conclusively known if Iraq’s BW program actually used those samples to grow its weapons.

Cite.
Cite.

I’m sure someone can chime in on chemical weapons, of which I am not aware of any specific, smoking gun evidence, but the above seemed relevant to the OP.

[mks57]

Iraq has imported CW precursors in the past, but as far as I know, no chemical weapons. Precursors are chemicals that can be used in the synthesis of chemical agents. Here, you can get into the area of dual-use chemicals, chemicals that have both peaceful and weapons production applications. Many pesticides are just nerve gas for bugs.

[rjung]

Note that shipments of anthrax, salmonela, and E coli continued to flow into Iraq even after the world was aware that Saddam was using CWs to massacre the Kurds. To quote from the Sunday Herald of Scotland:

The shipments to Iraq went on even after Saddam Hussein ordered the gassing of the Kurdish town of Halabja, in which at least 5000 men, women and children died. The atrocity, which shocked the world, took place in March 1988, but a month later the components and materials of weapons of mass destruction were continuing to arrive in Baghdad from the US.

Also:

The Senate report also makes clear that: ‘The United States provided the government of Iraq with ‘dual use’ licensed materials which assisted in the development of Iraqi chemical, biological and missile-system programs.’

This assistance, according to the report, included ‘chemical warfare-agent precursors, chemical warfare-agent production facility plans and technical drawings, chemical warfare filling equipment, biological warfare-related materials, missile fabrication equipment and missile system guidance equipment’.

[mks57]

@rjung

Note that shipments of anthrax, salmonela, and E coli continued to flow into Iraq even after the world was aware that Saddam was using CWs to massacre the Kurds.

A bacterial culture is not a weapon. It takes a lot of effort and technology to get from point A to point B.

[sinical_brit]

MKS57:
“A bacterial culture is not a weapon. It takes a lot of effort and technology to get from point A to point B.”

Phew - i thought the US had lost the moral high ground there…
At this point i urge you all to find the Bill Hicks cd where he compaires the 1st gulf war with the movie Shane:

"I’m so sick of arming the world, then sending troops over to destroy the fucking arms, you know what I mean? We keep arming these little countries, then we go and blow the shit out of them. We’re like the bullies of the world, y’know. We’re like Jack Palance in the movie Shane, throwing the pistol at the sheepherder’s feet.

“Pick it up.”

“I don’t wanna pick it up, Mister, you’ll shoot me.”

“Pick up the gun.”

(He picks it up. Three shots ring out.)

“You all saw him - he had a gun.”

Bill Hicks.

(from here: http://www.quotesplace.com/info/browse/Bill_Hicks)

Yup - that was in the early 90’s folks !!!

Sin