V.  ASSESSMENT

We have assessed that chemical warfare agents were present at Khamisiyah and US soldiers definitely destroyed many, but not all, of the chemical agent weapons in the Pit and Bunker 73.  It is likely that the demolition of rockets in the Pit exposed some US units to very low levels of chemical warfare agents. UNSCOM inspectors verified the presence of chemical warfare agent rockets in the Pit, and our own investigation, supported by other DoD organizations and Intelligence Community investigations, have left little doubt that US units damaged or destroyed some of these rockets on March 10, 1991.

It is unlikely that the destruction of Bunker 73 exposed any US military units to a chemical warfare agent. Units in the area evacuated to a safe distance from the storage area before the explosion. The demolition virtually destroyed Bunker 73 and the rains that followed would effectively have dissipated any chemical warfare agent vapors that might have escaped the force of the demolition. Winds blew whatever chemical agent vapors were present in the atmosphere away from US units. In 1999, the CIA's estimated amount of agent release was 5 percent of that estimated in 1996, further reducing the possibility for exposure.  No evidence exists any soldiers at Khamisiyah exhibited symptoms consistent with exposure to a chemical warfare agent.

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