PRESS RELEASE

26 March 2003

US deploys chemical agents for possible use against Baghdad

As ‘coalition’ troops approach Baghdad, speculation mounts that both sides may use chemical agents in the battle for the capital of Iraq. The issue is urgent and timely.

Unconfirmed reports state that Saddam Hussein has issued orders for the use of chemical weapons against ‘coalition’ troops if they attack Baghdad. While the use of chemical weapons by Iraq would be a war crime, so called ‘non-lethals’ may be used by the US.

A briefing released today by the British American Security Information Council, written by Senior Analyst in Washington David Isenberg, details the possible use of chemical calmatives and riot control agents by US forces. This would put British forces fighting alongside in an extremely difficult position, as the UK and the Red Cross has deemed these weapons illegal.

“It is increasingly an Orwellian world. Up is down. White is black. Invading another country is providing for the defense of your own. And now, it appears that the use of lethal weapons will be ‘non-lethal’ if used by the United States in Iraq,” said David Isenberg.

Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz has been a principal advocate of the controversial US ‘Non-lethal weapons’ program since 1991. The US has in recent years developed a dangerously loose interpretation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), to which it is a signatory, which threatens the future of the international regime.

In an open letter to President Bush and Prime Minister Blair last Friday, transatlantic arms control experts urged the leaders "not use chemical incapacitating agents or chemical riot control agents in the war with Iraq." Such gases can be lethal, more so for civilians than troops trained in response strategies. The use of such weapons would break the taboo against chemical weapons use, opening the door to full-scale chemical warfare.

The briefing US Chemical ‘Non-Lethal’ Weapons in Iraq: A Violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention? is available on the BASIC website at: http://www.basicint.org/pubs/Papers/BP44.htm and on the iraqconflict.org website.

The full letter to President Bush and Prime Minister Blair is available from BASIC.

Contacts:

In London: Nigel Chamberlain. Tel: 020 7407 2977

In Washington: David Isenberg. Tel: 001 202 347 8340

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