29 June 2006

U.S. General Confirms Discovery of Old Chemical Weapons in Iraq

Approximately 500 artillery shells filled with mustard, sarin found since 2004

By David McKeeby
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington – Since 2004, coalition forces have found approximately 500 artillery shells in various locations across Iraq filled with chemical weapons agents, the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) told a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee June 29.

The committee hearing was prompted by a June 21 statement from U.S. Senator Rick Santorum, who released a letter from Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte, concerning declassified portions of a report from the DIA’s National Ground Intelligence Center (NGIC) regarding chemical munitions that had been recovered in Iraq since May 2004.

“We … assess that the munitions that are addressed in the report were produced in the 1980s and that they were similar to the munitions that were used during the Iran-Iraq War,” said U.S. Army Major General Michael D. Maples.  

NGIC, explained Maples, is a division of the DIA that specializes in developing intelligence about foreign militaries and has been briefing U.S. commanders in recent years about the possible risks their troops face in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Saddam Hussein maintained stockpiles of chemical weapons, which were used in the 1980s against Iran and Iraqi citizens.  (See related article.) 

Many of these weapons were destroyed by Hussein’s regime following the 1991 Gulf War, but Maples said that international arms inspectors warned the coalition that they were likely to discover remaining chemical agents.  (See related fact sheet.)   

Recovered shells, Maples said, were filled with mustard agents, which cause severe burns and blistering, or sarin, a toxic nerve agent.  While most were degraded to the extent that they could not be fired, they remained dangerous to anyone who came into contact with them.

“[W]e … assess that the chemical munitions that have been found are hazardous, and, potentially, they could be lethal,” Maples said, recalling an incident where coalition forces in Iraq became ill while transporting captured chemical munitions.

Since the report details the potential threat of these chemical agents to coalition forces, he said, most of the report remains classified, but additional information about chemical agents found in Iraq might be made public at a later date. 

Maples said that coalition forces continue to seek out and secure remaining chemical shells. 

“[W]e believe that there are chemical munitions that continue to exist in Iraq, and we take that very seriously.  And we would like to continue to locate and dispose of those munitions,” Maples said.

Maples’ prepared remarks will be available on the House Armed Services Web site.

For more information, see Iraq Update and Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.

Santorum’s June 21 statement and the report (PDF, 3 pages) from Negroponte are available on Santorum’s Web site.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)