File: 970613_60210020_922_txt_0001.txt
Page: 0001
Total Pages: 1
ENVELOPE
CDSN = LGX071 MCN = 91316/10784 TOR = 913161212
PTTSZYUW RUEKJCS5419 3161212-SSSS--RUEALGX.
ZNY SSSSS
HEADER
P 121212Z NOV 91
FM JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
INFO RUEADWD/OCSA WASHINGTON DC
RUEAHQA/CSAF WASHINGTON DC
RUEACMC/CMC WASHINGTON DC
RUSNNOA/USCINCEUR VAIHINGEN GE
RUFGAID/USEUCOM AIDES VAIHINGEN GE
RUCUAAA/HQ SAC OFFUTT AFB NE//XP//
RUETIAQ/MPCFTGEORGEGMEADEMD
RHFPAAA/UTAIS RAMSTEIN AB GE//IN-CMO//
RHFUMHE/BRFINK MHE BOERFINK GE
RHEPAAB/TAC IDHS LANGLEY AFB VA//IDHS//
RHCGSRB/COMUSARCENT FT MCPHERSON GA//AFRD-DSO//
RUFTAKA/USAINTELCTRE HEIDELBERG GE
RUFTAKC/UDITDUSAREUR HEIDELBERG GE
RUDOGHA/USNMR SHAPE BE//SURVEY//
RHDLCNE/CINCUSNAVEUR LONDON UK//N2/N24//
RHCGSRB/CINCFOR FT MCPHERSON GA//FCJ2-IC/FCJ3-OD//
RUCBSAA/USCINCLANT NORFOLK VA//J2//
RUWSMXI/MAC INTEL CEN SCOTT AFB IL//IN//
RUCJACC/USCINCCENT MACDILL AFB FL//CARA//
RUCQVAB/USCINCSOC INTEL OPS CEN MACDILL AFB FL
RUQYSDG/FOSIF ROTA SP
RUEOFAA/COMJSOC FT BRAGG NC//J2//
RULKQAN/MARCORINTCEN QUANTICO VA
RUSNNOA/USCINCEUR VAIHINGEN GE
RUFTAKA/CDR USAINTELCTRE HEIDELBERG GE
RUEALGX/SAFE
P 121157Z NOV 91
FM (b.1. sec. 1.5.c.)
TO RUEKJCS/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY
INFO RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC//ACIS/ISMTF// PRIORITY
RUEHDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY
RUFHMB/USMISSION USVIENNA//ACIS/VIENNA// PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/THE WHITE HOUSE WASHDC//SITUATION ROOM// PRIORITY
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY
(b.1. sec. 1.5.c.)
RUHGRPG/COMUSNAVCENT
RUEBFDA/USCENTAF FWD DHAHRAN//IN//
RUEBFDA/4404CW DHAHRAN//IN//
RUHGPSA/CTF ONE FIVE FOUR
RUHGMFG/CTF ONE FIVE SIX
RUHGMFG/CTF ONE FIVE EIGHT
RUWMHJA/NAVSTKWARCEN FALLON NV//N-2//
RUDHAAA/CDRINSCOM FT BELVOIR VA//IAOPS-H-F//
RUCDGDA/DIRMSIC REDSTONE ARS AL//AIAMS-T//
(b.1. sec. 1.5.c.)
SERIAL: (U) IIR 6 021 0020 92.
/*********** THIS IS A COMBINED MESSAGE ************/
BODY
COUNTRY: (U) IRAQ (IZ).
SUBJECT: IIR 6 021 0020 92/UNSCOM 20 (CW6) INSPECTION
RESULTS OF KAMISIYAH AMMUNITION STORAGE FACILITY (U).
WARNING: (b.1. sec. 1.5.c.)
THIS IS AN INFORMATION REPORT, NOT FINALLY
EVALUATED INTELLIGENCE.
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
DOI: (U) 911027.
(b.2.)
SOURCE: (b.1. sec. 1.5.c.)
SUMMARY: ON 26 AND 27 OCT 91, THE
UNITED NATIONS SPECIAL COMMISSION CHEMICAL WARFARE TEAM
6, UNSCOM 20, INSPECTED CHEMICAL MUNITIONS AT AN
AMMUNITION STORAGE DEPOT NEAR AN NASIRIYAH. A POTENTIAL
NERVE AGENT CASUALTY WAS COMPLETELY PROTECTED BY A
GERMAN-MADE PROTECTIVE SUIT.
TEXT 1. BACKGROUND--BETWEEN 22 OCT
91 AND 1 NOV 91, THE UNITED NATIONS SPECIAL COMMISSION
(UNSCOM) CHEMICAL WARFARE (CW) INSPECTION TEAM 6, UNSCOM
20, CONDUCTED DETAILED INSPECTIONS OF DECLARED CW STORAGE
SITES THROUGHOUT IRAQ. ON 27 OCT 91, THE TEAM COUNTED
AND CATALOGUED CHEMICAL MUNITIONS STORED AT AN AMMUNITION
STORAGE FACILITY NEAR AN NASIRIYAH. IN ADDITION, THE
TEAM INSPECTED TWO OTHER SITES CONTAINING 155MM ARTILLERY
ROUNDS AND SALVAGED 122MM ROCKETS.
2. AMMUNITION DEPOT--THIS DEPOT
//GEOCOORD:3074N04429E//, IS LOCATED APPROXIMATELY 25
KILOMETERS SOUTHEAST OF AN NASIRIYAH. THIS FACILITY IS
OF EQUAL SIZE TO THE AN NASIRIYAH DEPOT SOUTHWEST
//GEOCOORD:3057N04306E//. THE DEPOT CONSISTS OF A
MIXTURE OF BUILDINGS OF VARIOUS CONSTRUCTIONS, AND
NUMEROUS TANKS, CONTENTS UNKNOWN, ALL SURROUNDED BY
EARTHEN BERMS. THESE TANKS COULD BE WATER SUPPLIES.
3. 155MM ARTILLERY SHELLS--155MM
ARTILLERY SHELLS WERE LOCATED IN AN UNFENCED OPEN AREA
APPROXIMATELY FIVE KILOMETERS EAST OF THE DEPOT AT
//GEOCOORD:3043N04625E//. THE SHELLS WERE PAINTED GREY
WITH THE WORD GAZ, WRITTEN IN ARABIC SCRIPT, FOLLOWED BY
THE LETTER "H", WRITTEN IN ROMAN SCRIPT. THE LOT NUMBER
WAS WRITTEN UNDERNEATH THIS. THE SHELLS HAD
LIFTING/HANLING RINGS ON TOP. SOME OF THE RINGS HAD
WASHERS, WHILE OTHERS DID NOT. THE ONLY MUSTARD DETECTED
WAS FROM ONE ROUND WHERE THE LIFTING RING HAD LOOSENED.
THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE OF ANY EXPLOSIVES, BURSTER CHARGES,
OR FUSES. THE SHELLS WERE NOT NEATLY STACKED. ALTHOUGH
THE SHELLS HAD BEEN ON PALLETS, SOMEONE APPARENTLY HAD
PUSHED THEM OVER. WHEN THE TEAM ARRIVED, THE SHELLS WERE
COVERED WITH CANVAS. THE IRAQIS REMOVED THE CANVAS SO
THE TEAM COULD COUNT THE SHELLS. ALTHOUGH THE IRAQIS
DECLARED 6,240 SHELLS, THE TEAM COUNTED A TOTAL OF 6,323.
OTHER THAN THE LEAKING SHELL, ALL THE SHELLS APPEARED TO
BE IN GOOD CONDITION, AND WILL BE MOVED TO THE "UTHANNA
STATE ESTABLISHMENT //GEOCOORD:334956N0434813E// FOR
DESTRUCTION.
4. 122MM ROCKETS--THE IRAQIS
DECLARED 2,160 ROCKETS, WHICH ARE STORED IN TWO SEPARATE
LOCATIONS. DUE TO THE HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS AT THE TWO
SITES, THE TEAM WAS ABLE TO ONLY COUNT 297 ROCKETS.
A. OPEN PIT--ON 26 OCT 91, THE TEAM
INSPECTED A PIT NEXT TO THE CANAL WHERE THE IRAQIS HAD
DUMPED THE SALVAGED 122MM BINARY SARIN ROCKETS, WHICH
WERE FILLED WITH A MIXTURE OF GB AND GF. THESE ROCKETS
WERE APPARENTLY SALVAGED FROM WHAT THE IRAQIS REFERRED TO
AS WAREHOUSE '73' AT THE DEPOT. THE APPROXIMATE LOCATION
FOR THIS PIT IS //GEOCOORD:304480N0462580E//. INSIDE THE
PIT, MEASURING 300 METERS BY 150 METERS, THE ROCKETS WERE
HEAPED INTO FOUR PILES, THREE LARGE PILES AND ONE SMALL
PILE, ALONG WITH THEIR ASSOCIATED WOODEN CRATES. IT
APPEARED TO THE TEAM THAT THE WOODEN BOXES HAD BEEN PILED
UP WITH EXPLOSIVES UNDERNEATH AND BLOWN TO PIECES. THERE
WERE VARIOUS OTHER REMAINS OF CONVENTIONAL ROCKETS, ALONG
WITH OTHER "ILITARY-TYPE LITTER IN THE PIT.
(b.1. sec. 1.5.c.)
B. 122MM ROCKET SAMPLING--ON 27 OCT
91, THE TEAM TOOK SAMPLES FROM THE 122MM ROCKETS. THE
SAMPLING WAS PRECEDED BY AN EXPLOSIVE ORDNANCE
DESTRUCTION (EOD) TECHNICIAN DRILLING A HOLE IN THE
ROCKET. AS THE TECHNICIAN PREPARED, A DECONTAMINATION
LINE WAS ESTABLISHED WITH DOCTORS STANDING BY. PRIOR TO
DRILLING THE HOLE, EOD PERSONNEL DONNED FULLY-IMPERMEABLE
CHEMICAL PROTECTIVE SUITS WITH OXYGEN BOTTLES. THE EOD
TECHNICIAN ATTEMPTED TO DRILL INTO THE ROCKET, BUT WAS
UNSUCCESSFUL AT THIS SPOT. HE CHOSE A SECOND SPOT, AND
BEGAN TO DRILL AGAIN. ALTHOUGH THE DRILLING WAS VERY
DIFFICULT, THE DRILL SUDDENLY ENTERED THE ROCKET AND WAS
IMMEDIATELY FORCED BACK OUT. A FOUR-"ETER STREAM OF
SARIN, UNDER CONSIDERABLE PRESSURE, SPRAYED FROM THE
ROCKET, AND HIT THE EOD TECHNICIAN UNDER THE JAW WITH
CONSIDERABLE FORCE. APPROXIMATELY ONE-THIRD OF THE
ROCKET'S CONTENTS ESCAPED. THE TECHNICIAN IM"EDIATELY
UNDERWENT FULL DECONTA"INATION PROCEDURES. THIS PROCESS
WAS CONDUCTED TWICE BEFORE THE TECHNICIAN WAS CO"PLETELY
DECONTA"INATED BECAUSE THE SARIN WAS IN ALL THE FOLDS OF
THE GARMENT AROUND THE NECK AND AR"S. IN ADDITION, THE
CHEMICAL AGENT "IXTURE CONTAINED GF, WHICH IS "ORE
DIFFICULT TO REMOVE THAN GB. THE INDIVIDUAL SPENT
APPROXIMATELY 40 MINUTES IN THE SUIT AND SUFFERED NO
EFFECTS FROM THE ORDEAL. THERE WAS PLENTY OF WATER ON
THE SITE FOR THE DECONTAMINATION PROCEDURE AND TO KEEP
THE INDIVIDUAL COOL DURING THE PROCESS. FOLLOWING THIS
INCIDENT, THE REQUIRED SAMPLES OF THE AGENT WERE TAKEN.
BASED ON THIS INCIDENT, THE TEAM BELIEVED THE IRAQIS
COULD NOT HAVE SAFELY OPENED THE ROCKETS. THE CONTENTS
OF THE ROCKETS MUST BE UNDER CONSIDERABLE PRESSURE.
AFTER THE SARIN EJECTED FROM THE ROCKET, THE PLASTIC
CONTAINER INSIDE RECOVERED ELASTICALLY AND ACTUALLY MOVED
ABOUT FOUR MILLIMETERS, OBSCURING THE HOLE. THERE WAS NO
OBVIOUS EXTERNAL SIGN OF THE PRESSURE. THERE WAS NO
OBVIOUS DISTORTION OR BULGING OF THE ROCKET CASING, AND
NO APPARENT LEAKAGE. THE IRAQIS WERE GENUINELY CONCERNED
AND VERY SURPRISED BY THE INCIDENT. IN THE TEAM'S
ESTIMATION, THE IRAQIS DO NOT HAVE THE EQUIPMENT TO
SAFELY DRAIN THE ROCKETS, AND UNDER THE SAME
CIRCUMSTANCES WOULD HAVE SUFFERED A SEVERE CASUALTY,
PROBABLY A FATALITY.
C. BUNKER 73--ON 27 OCT 91, THE
TEAM INSPECTED BUNKER 73, AS IT IS KNOWN BY THE IRAQIS,
WHICH IS LOCATED ABOUT THREE KILOMETERS FROM THE
HEADQUARTERS BUILDING OF THE AMMUNITION DEPOT, AND WAS
COMPLETELY DESTROYED. ALL THAT REMAINED WAS A PILE OF
EARTH WITH A FEW STANCHIONS STICKING UP, AND SOME TWISTED
REINFORCING STEEL WITH CHUNKS OF CONCRETE ATTACHED. THIS
BUNKER WAS JUST A STANDARD AMMUNITION STORAGE BUNKER,
SURFACE CONSTRUCTION, WITH EARTHEN BLAST PROTECTION ON
THE SIDES. THIS BUNKER APPEARED TO BE STANDARD WHEN
COMPARED TO OTHER BUNKERS IN THE AREA. IT APPEARED TO
HAVE NO SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR VENTILATION AND WAS
CHEAPLY CONSTRUCTED. 122MM ROCKETS, WITH THEIR CANISTERS
SPLIT OPEN, WERE SCATTERED THROUGHOUT THE BUNKER AREA.
HOWEVER, NO CONTAMINATION WAS DETECTED. ALTHOUGH THE
IRAQIS HAVE "OVED A LARGE "AJORITY OF "UNITIONS TO THE
PIT, THERE ARE STILL ROCKETS, EITHER WITH SPLIT CASINGS
OR OTHER DAMAGE, SCATTERED AROUND THE AREA. NONE OF THE
122M" MUNITIONS OBSERVED COULD BE CONSIDERED SERVICEABLE.
THE IRAQIS WERE TOLD NOT TO "OVE THE "UNITIONS. THE
IRAQIS CLAIMED THE BUILDINGS AND "UNITIONS WERE DESTROYED
BY OCCUPYING COALITION FORCES. IN THE TEA"'S ESTIMATION,
THE DESTRUCTION OCCURRED AS A RESULT OF LOCALLY-PLACED
EXPLOSIVES AS OPPOSED TO BOMBING.
COMMENTS: (U) NONE.
//IPSP: (U) (b.2.)
//COMSOBJ: (U) (b.2.)
ADMIN PROJ: (U) (b.2.)
INSTR: (b.1. sec. 1.5.c.)
PREP: (U) (b.2.).
ENCLS: (U) NONE.
ACQ: (U) (b.2.)
DISSE": (U) FIELD: NONE.
(b.2.)
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