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File: 120596_aaday_01.txtSUBJECT: TASK FORCE V LESSONS LEARNED: THE IRAN-IRAQ WAR APPENDIX B CHEMICALS DESCRIPTION: LISTS CHEMICALS USED DURING IRAN-IRAQ WAR, EMPLOYMENT AND THEIR EFFECTS. NOTE: FIVE PAGES RELEASED. CHEMICALS (U) (U) The Iraqis developed their proficiency in chemical weapons gradually during the 8 year war with Iran. They were motivated to find a solution to the Iranian human wave infantry attacks whose initial impact--like that of the Chinese attacks on U.S. forces in Korea--was devastating. The unpredictability of the attacks was very demoralizing, but the psychological impact on individuals caught up in the insensate violence of them was worse. For a psychological parallel in western experience one may look to the 1939 Russo-Finnish War, and, in a particularly dramatic sense, to German experiences on the Eastern Front as conveyed in Guy Sajer's Forgotten Soldier. (U) A quick rundown of Iraqi chemical weapons employment reveals an initial use in 1982 of CS, a riot agent producing massive tears, some skin irritation and some difficulty breathing. In this instance surprise was effective in achieving extreme disorganization on a tactical level, which in turn ruined the operations execution. (U) The next reported employment was in July 1983 in the (Val Fajr II) fighting near Haj Umran. Here, the Iraqis are reported to have employed mustard gas, a persistent blister agent which can blind and cause death under "ideal" conditions. Its principal use, from world War I to the present, however, is not to ki11, but to incapacitate and overburden rear services--it is very effective in degrading the performance of rear echelon activities as far forward as artillery and command and control operations. (U) In the 1983 employment, the Iraqis used mustard gas against an Iranian force which had captured a mountain top position. Unfamiliarity with the gas characteristics caused the attack to fail. Mustard gas is heavier than air and seeks the lowest elevation. The Iraqis discovered this as they attempted to counterattack up the mountain only to be met and overwhelmed by their own weapon. The next employment showed a rapid - learning curve as the Iraqis fired large quantities of mustard gas on the attacking Iranians at Penjwin (Val Fajr IV) in November 1983. They followed this with a more lethal attack in late February (Khaybar I) 1984. Here, they may have used the nerve agent, Tabun, although this is less definite. Tabun inhibits cholinesterase, an enzyme in the nervous system that allows successive nerve endings to connect with each other. Once the connection is interrupted, the natural body functions cease from lack of required external signals from the brain. (U) Tabun is a crude agent; however the Iraqis are believed to have developed Sarin, a more sophisticated variety that acts
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