IRAQI SPECIAL WEAPONS CAPABILITIES

File: cia_70513_70513_01.txt
Page: 01
Total Pages: 2
Subject: IRAQI SPECIAL WEAPONS CAPABILITIES  
Not Finally Evaluated Intelligence 
 
TO FACILITATE ELECTRONIC ACCESS, THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN 
REFORMATTED TO ELIMINATE INFORMATION THAT DOES NOT PERTAIN 
TO GULF WAR ILLNESS ISSUES OR THAT IS CLASSIFIED. A COPY OF 
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PAGE: 013 
 
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY 
--------------------------- 
NOT FINALLY EVALUATED INTELLIGENCE. 
 
 
 
JANUARY 1991 
 
COUNTRY: IRAQ 
 
SUBJ:    IRAQI SPECIAL WEAPONS CAPABILITIES 
 
2.                     JANUARY 1991 
 THE STATE OF IRAQI WEAPON CAPABILITIES: 
 
A.    A MAJOR PRIORITY OF THE IRAQI GOVERNMENT IS TO 
DETERMINE HOW CLOSE ITS SCUD MISSILES ARE TO THEIR TARGETS 
WHEN THEY ARE DESTROYED BY PATRIOT MISSILES. WHILE IRAQ HAS 
CHEMICAL WARHEADS FOR SCUD MISSILES IT HAS NOT YET MASTERED 
THE FUSE TECHNOLOGY AND TRIGGER MECHANISM TO DETONATE THE 
WARHEAD. IRAQI MISSILE OFFICIALS ARE THEREFORE LOOKING AT 
THE POSSIBILITY OF HAVING A SCUD MISSILE DELIVER CHEMICAL OR 
BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS AND DISPERSE THEM UPON IMPACT FROM A 
PATRIOT MISSILE. IN THIS WAY THE OFFICIALS BELIEVE THAT THE 
CHEMICALS COULD BE SPREAD OVER AN AREA OF APPROXIMATELY 60 
SQUARE KILOMETERS.  BY CONTRAST, A SCUD MISSILE ARMED WITH A 
CHEMICAL WARHEAD WHICH DETONATES UPON IMPACT WITH THE GROUND 
COULD ONLY SPREAD THE CHEMICALS OVER A FEW SQUARE 
KILOMETERS. 
                           COMMENT: THE ABOVE INFORMATION 
SEEMS PLAUSIBLE AND IS TECHNICALLY ACCURATE. REGARDING THE 
SPREADING OF CHEMICALS OVER A 60 SQUARE-KILOMETER RANGE, THE 
EXTENT TO WHICH THE CHEMICALS WOULD SPREAD WOULD DEPEND ON 
PAYLOAD SIZE, BURST HEIGHT, AND TYPE OF FILL, 
I.E., CHEMICAL OR BIOLOGICAL AGENTS.  
 
B. IRAQ HAS NOW   LOST THE ABILITY TO PRODUCE MANUFACTURED