The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
Chemical
Weapons
•
“Iraq is
capable of producing the chemical agents mustard gas, tabun,
sarin,
cyclosarin
and VX.”
•
“Exact
quantities of agent available are unknown, but we judge it is
likely to be
between 10
and 100 tonnes (3.5 tonnes of nerve agent would fill 1,000
artillery
shells). We
continue to judge that Iraq has produced chemical agent
since
UNSCOM [UN
Special Commission] left in 1998, although intelligence
suggests
that agent
production stopped prior to UNMOVIC’s deployment last autumn.
We
do not know
where this activity took place, but it is probable that it used
dual-use
chemical
facilities.”
•
“We know
from intelligence that the regime expended a great deal of effort
in
cleaning up
all WMD associated sites, and dispersing equipment and
material
in advance
of UN inspections.”
•
“Details on
chemical munitions are scarce. UNSCOM could not account for
over
30,000
special munitions (both chemical and biological) although it is
unlikely
that all of
these remain.”
•
“We judge
the most likely delivery means are artillery and battlefield
rockets.
[Reference
to reporting of retention of shells] mustard filled artillery
shells from
a batch
of 550 supposedly destroyed by Coalition air attack in 1991
…”
•
“Other
means of delivery include aerial bombs, sprayers and
missiles.
UNMOVIC
could not account for 6,500 aerial bombs (which could easily
be
hidden in a
large hangar).”
•
“Despite
some reports that such munitions have been deployed to
Republican
Guard
units, we judge that they probably remain under tight control … in
the
area of
Baghdad.”
•
“Over last
few days there have been a number of reports concerning
chemical
weapons …
But the nature of the sources makes the veracity … difficult
to
judge.”
•
A “few
reports from senior Iraqi security officials” suggested that Iraq
could not
“prepare or
produce chemical weapons”, and that its stocks were
“dispersed,
and that
therefore such weapons will not be used”.
•
“In
assessing these statements it is necessary to take into account the
limited
access
these individuals appear to have to military planning, their lack
of
technical
expertise and accompanying comments which are less
credible.”
Biological
Weapons
•
Iraq was
“capable of producing biological agents, including anthrax,
botulinum
toxin,
aflatoxin and ricin”.
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