Steve Quayle News Alerts

January 24, 2003

Documents smuggled out of Iraq by an opposition group appear to indicate that Baghdad is equipping key units with protection against chemical weapons.

The hand-written papers, said to have been smuggled out by the Iraqi opposition, refer to new chemical warfare suits to protect soldiers and distribution of the drug atropine to counter the effects of nerve gas.

We have members of our organisation in most of the camps and cities in Iraq, from soldiers to generals - Tawfik al-Yassiri, Iraqi national Coalition

The notes, passed on by the opposition Iraqi National Coalition to the BBC, also included details for attacking ships in the Gulf.

BBC diplomatic correspondent Bridget Kendall says the Iraqi opposition groups that provided these documents has vested interests in seeing Saddam Hussein undermined, so it is very difficult to assess whether we should believe the documents.

She adds that the timing of their release is significant at a time when the United States and the UK are trying to win over opinion to their approach to the Iraq crisis.

A spokesperson for UK Prime Minister Tony Blair said the documents would fit with Saddam Hussein's efforts to hide weapons of mass destruction.

BBC defence correspondent Paul Adams says US and British planners have speculated on the possibility of Iraq using drones to spray chemical weapons on coalition troops, but there is no conclusive proof this has been done.

Opposition in Exile

The Iraqi National Coalition is a group of former Iraqi army officers who have turned against Saddam Hussein and are now living in exile.

The Secretary General of the coalition, Tawfik al-Yassiri - a former brigadier-general - told the BBC's Today programme that the documents originated from serving members of the Iraqi military.

"We have members of our organisation in most of the camps and cities in Iraq, from soldiers to generals," he said.

Mr al-Yassiri said the information had been verified through various sources.

Iraq's Republican Guard and Special Republican Guard are among the recipients of special suits and atropine, according to the documents.

A former arms inspector, Bill Tierney, told Today that "if both these two units have new equipment, then it would indicate that they are prepared to use chemical weapons".

The report of Iraqi war preparations is bound to intrigue UN weapons inspectors, the BBC's Rageh Omaar reports from Baghdad.

According to a UK Government report last year and UN inspectors' findings, Iraq has undeclared stocks of VX and sarin nerve agent. It is thought Iraq could deploy such chemicals quickly.

Iraq Chemical Weapons

Iraq has admitted to manufacturing the chemical agents mustard gas, VX, sarin and tabun before the 1991 Gulf War, although much of this has been destroyed by UNSCOM inspectors.

However, the UK Government estimates that 360 tonnes of chemical warfare agent remain unaccounted for – and that Iraq could produce mustard gas within weeks and nerve agents such as VX, tabun and sarin within months.

Iraq says anything that has not been destroyed will have degraded beyond use by now.

Mustard gas: 'Mustard' is liquid at room temperature, but is more commonly used in its gas form - which has a strong smell likened to horseradish or garlic.
Absorption: Contact with skin or inhalation
Effects: Mustard gas is a blistering agent, burning eyes and skin exposed to it and lungs, mouth and throat if it is inhaled. It is not normally lethal, but can cause cancer and serious disfigurement.
Symptoms: Conjunctivitis, skin burns, throat pain, cough and susceptibility to infection and pneumonia. Symptoms are not usually noticed until 1 – 6 hours after exposure.
Protection: Protective clothing and early decontamination, followed by antibiotics.
Iraqi programme: Iraq has admitted making 2,850 tonnes of mustard gas, has filled bombs with it and used it against Kurds at Halabja in 1988.

VX: A clear, colourless liquid – technically named methylphosphonothioic acid and described as the most deadly nerve agent ever created.
Absorption: Through eyes, lungs and skin
Effects: Like other nerve agents, VX attacks the nervous system – severe doses can cause death within 15 minutes of exposure.
Lethal dose: Fraction of a drop
Symptoms: Small doses trigger nasal discharge, chest tightness, wheezing and headaches – severe doses lead to convulsions, confusion and respiratory failure.
Protection: Immediate injection of atropine
Iraqi programme: Iraq has admitted making 3.9 tonnes, including 1.5 tonnes which the UK says remain unaccounted for. Also unaccounted for are 300 tonnes of a chemical which Iraq had used only for the production of VX. VX was used in the Iraqi attack on the Kurds at Halabja and traces of it have also been found on remnants of ballistic missile warheads.

Sarin: A colourless liquid several times more deadly than cyanide, sarin is related to a group of pesticides and was initially developed in Germany in the 1930s.
Effects: Sarin attacks the nervous system when inhaled or absorbed through the skin. Inhalation can cause death within 1 – 10 minutes of exposure.
Lethal dose: 0.5 milligrams
Symptoms: Pupils shrink to pinpoints and sweating and twitching precede symptoms similar to those for VX exposure.
Protection: Injection of antidote immediately after contact.
Iraqi programme: Iraq has admitted to manufacturing 795 tonnes of sarin, filling bombs with it and developing ballistic missile warheads to deliver it. Iraq used sarin against Iranian troops during the Iran-Iraq war, and against Kurds at Halabja in 1988.

Tabun: Also known as GB, tabun was discovered in Germany by Dr Gerhard Schrader, who also first developed sarin.
Effects: If inhaled or absorbed through the eyes or skin, tabun can kill in as little as one or two minutes.
Symptoms: Similar to VX and sarin.
Protection: Injection of antidote immediately after contact.
Iraqi programme: Iraq has admitted to producing 210 tonnes of tabun and using the agent to fill bombs. A UN-backed team has confirmed that Iraq used tabun as early as 1984 against Iranian forces. Tabun was also used in the Iraqi attack on Kurds at Halabaja in 1988.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2690163.stm