Page "Iraq and weapons of mass destruction" Paragraph 8

In the early 1970s, Saddam Hussein ordered the creation of a clandestine nuclear weapons program.

Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programs were assisted by a wide variety of firms and governments in the 1970s and 1980s.

As part of Project 922, German firms such as Karl Kobe helped build Iraqi chemical weapons facilities such as laboratories, bunkers, an administrative building, and first production buildings in the early 1980s under the cover of a pesticide plant.

Other German firms sent 1, 027 tons of precursors of mustard gas, sarin, tabun, and tear gasses in all.

This work allowed Iraq to produce 150 tons of mustard agent and 60 tons of Tabun in 1983 and 1984 respectively, continuing throughout the decade.

Five other German firms supplied equipment to manufacture botulin toxin and mycotoxin for germ warfare.

In 1988, German engineers presented centrifuge data that helped Iraq expand its nuclear weapons program.

Laboratory equipment and other information was provided, involving many German engineers.

All told, 52 % of Iraq's international chemical weapon equipment was of German origin.

The State Establishment for Pesticide Production ( SEPP ) ordered culture media and incubators from Germany's Water Engineering Trading.