IRAQ BIOLOGICAL WARFARE PROGRAM

File: cia_70570_70570_01.txt
Page: 01
Total Pages: 2
Subject: IRAQ BIOLOGICAL WARFARE PROGRAM 
Not Finally Evaluated Intelligence 
 
TO FACILITATE ELECTRONIC ACCESS, THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN 
REFORMATTED TO ELIMINATE INFORMATION THAT DOES NOT PERTAIN 
TO GULF WAR ILLNESS ISSUES OR THAT IS CLASSIFIED. A COPY OF 
THIS REDACTED DOCUMENT, IN ORIGINAL FORMAT, IS AVAILABLE ON 
REQUEST. 
 
MSR 
SUBJ: STATUS AND BACKGROUND ON IRAQ BIOLOGICAL WARFARE 
PROGRAM 
 
PAGE 001 
                                                               
FEB 92        CIA  252025 
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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY 
--------------------------- 
NOT FINALLY EVALUATED INTELLIGENCE. 
 
 
 
FEBRUARY 1992 
 
COUNTRY: IRAQ 
 
SUBJ: STATUS AND BACKGROUND ON IRAQ BIOLOGICAL WARFARE 
PROGRAM 
------------------------------------------------------------ 
92 7384010    MSR  
                                                                  
FEB 92        CIA 252025 
------------------------------------------------------------ 
 
2.   IRAQ HAS CURRENTLY STOPPED ITS BIOLOGICAL WARFARE (BW) 
PROGRAM AND, AS OF EARLY FEBRUARY 1992, HAS NO SPECIFIC 
PLANS TO RESTART THE PROGRAM. ALSO, IRAQ CURRENTLY HAS     
NO PLANS TO EITHER RECONSTRUCT FACILITIES FORMERLY 
ASSOCIATED WITH THE BW PROGRAM OR BUILD NEW BW SITES. 
 
3. THE THREE BW AGENTS INTO WHICH IRAQ CONDUCTED RESEARCH 
ARE CLOSTRIDIUM BOTULINUM A TOXIN, BACILLUS ANTHRACIS, AND 
CLOSTRIDIUM PERFRINGENS. COMMENT: THE ORGANISM CLOSTRIDIUM 
PERFRINGENS NOT ITS TOXIN WAS USED IN RESEARCH.) ALL 
RESEARCH TOOK PLACE AT SALMAN PAK BUT THE LOCATION OF THE 
PRODUCTION SITE IS UNKNOWN.   IRAQ WAS THE FOLLOWING AREAS 
OF RESEARCH IN REGARDS TO EACH AGENT: 
 
A. CLOSTRIDIUM BOTULINUM A TOXIN: PRODUCTION OF THE 
EXOTOXIN; CONCENTRATION TO ABOUT 10 FOLDS, STORAGE, EFFECT 
ON ANIMALS AND MEANS OF APPLICATION. 
 
B. BACILLUS ANTHRACIS: GROWTH OF THE ORGANISM; OPTIMAL 
MEDIA AND  CONDITIONS FOR SPORULATION; CONCENTRATION; 
STORAGE AND EXPERIMENTS ON ANIMALS.  
C. CLOSTRIDIUM PERFRINGENS: SUITABLE MEDIA AND CONDITIONS 
FOR SPORULATION; AND EXPERIMENTS ON ANIMALS. THERE WAS NO 
RESEARCH INTO TOXIN PRODUCTION 
4. RESEARCH FOR IRAQ'S BW PROGRAM BEGAN AT THE IBN AL-
HAITHAM IN BAGHDAD WHILE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS HAD BEEN 
DEVOTED TO THE PROGRAM ALL EFFORTS AT THIS FACILITY WERE 
STOPPED     RESEARCH WAS RESUMED AT AL-MUTHANA AND WAS LATER 
TRANSFERRED TO SALMAN PAK.  WORK ON THE PHYSIOLOGY OF 
CLOSTRIDIA WAS BEGUN   AT THE UNIVERSITY OF BAGHDAD.  
PRODUCTION OF BW AGENTS WAS ACHIEVED IN LATE 1989.  COMMENT: 
IT IS BELIEVED THAT SEVERAL THOUSAND LITERS OF CLOSTRIDIUM 
BOTULINUM