Pentagon Plans
to Use Biochemical Weapons on Iraq
by Edward Hammond
Dissident Voice
February 9, 2003
Top US military
planners are preparing for the US to use incapacitating biochemical weapons in
an invasion of Iraq. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Gen. Richard
Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, revealed the plans in February
5th testimony before the US House Armed Services Committee. This is the first
official US acknowledgement that it may use (bio)chemical weapons its crusade
to rid other countries of such weapons. The Sunshine Project and other
nonprofits have warned since late 2001 that the "War on Terrorism"
may result the United States using prohibited biological and chemical
armaments, thereby violating the same treaties it purports to defend. The US
announcement creates grave concerns for the future of arms control agreements,
particularly the Chemical Weapons Convention.
Rumsfeld stated
that plans are being made for multiple applications, including use of gas or
aerosols on unarmed Iraqi civilians, in caves, and on prisoners. Rumsfeld
reiterated the confusing, typical US official language about so-called
"non-lethal" biochemical weapons, which is at odds with the Chemical
Weapons Convention (CWC). Rumsfeld described applications of a "riot
agent" that clearly imply the complete incapacitation of victims, combatant
and non-combatant, in armed conflict - a definition and usages that are at odds
with the CWC. Rumsfeld acknowledged US ratification of the CWC but expressed
"regret" about its restrictions, stating that the US has
"tangled ourselves up so badly" on policy for use of incapacitating
biochemical weapons. Rumsfeld indicated that - in his opinion - if President
Bush signs a waiver of long-standing restrictions on US use of incapacitating
chemicals, that the US will be able to legally field them in Iraq and
elsewhere.
An audio file of
the testimony from February 5th is posted with this news release at the
Sunshine Project website.
The focal points
for US development of these weapons are the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons
Directorate in Quantico, Virginia, and the US Army Soldier Biological Chemical
Command, located at Edgewood/Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. Following their
capture in Afghanistan and elsewhere, the US has used incapacitating chemicals
on suspected terrorists "detainees". In October 2002, Russian Special
Forces used a so-called "non-lethal" incapacitating biochemical
weapon when storming the Palace of Culture Theater in Moscow. It resulted in
the deaths of over 100 hostages and was used to facilitate the extrajudicial
execution of as many as 50 Chechen separatists. Before the War on Terrorism
began, British officials stated that they would not cooperate with the US
military in missions where US troops used incapacitating chemicals.
The Sunshine
Project has established an online clearinghouse of dozens of documents from the
US research program on these weapons, obtained under the Freedom of Information
Act. These are available at the Project's
website.
Edward Hammond is director of The Sunshine Project, based in
Austin, Texas. He can be reached at: hammond@sunshine-project.org